Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

Lubrication System (oil feed pump and scavenger pump, reservoir, filter, and lines)
Post Reply
Alford
Member
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:35 am
Bikes: 1953 FLH
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#1

Post by Alford »

I would like to attach an oil pressure gauge to my 53 Panhead. Any suggestions on a good gauge to use, and a good place to mount it?
Thanks
mbskeam
Senior Member
Posts: 1014
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2003 12:26 pm
Bikes: *
Location: Sultan, WASH
Been thanked: 6 times
Contact:

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#2

Post by mbskeam »

DSCF1671.jpg
DSCF1672.jpg
did the same thing on the OEM type pump......
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Larry
Senior Member
Posts: 522
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:14 pm
Bikes: -
Has thanked: 33 times
Been thanked: 108 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#3

Post by Larry »

Add an inch of rubber hose and the gauge will last forever.
steinauge
Inactive member
Senior Member
Posts: 521
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:05 pm
Bikes: 1938U,1949FL,1961FL,1968XL,1979FL ,1958 FL, 1965 BMW,1975 Honda CB750
Been thanked: 14 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#4

Post by steinauge »

See if you can find a gauge from an old IHC tractor or some such.They only went to 15 pounds and dont scare you as bad when the engine heats up. :shock:
Alford
Member
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:35 am
Bikes: 1953 FLH
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#5

Post by Alford »

Thanks for the tips... The rubber hose is a great idea to take some of the beating!
panz4ever
Senior Member
Posts: 696
Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2004 5:55 pm
Bikes: EL, FXE & FLH
Has thanked: 20 times
Been thanked: 74 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#6

Post by panz4ever »

Isn't the idea of an oil pump on a pan a bit of an oxymoron. There is not a lot of pressure on the stock pumps. Seems like as long as it is returning oil you are probably okay. probably a bit over-simplified, but you can go nuts looking at the pressure especially on very hot days and idling at a stop light.
awander
Senior Member
Posts: 2082
Joined: Fri Sep 21, 2007 3:03 am
Bikes: '52 FL
'64 FLH
Has thanked: 163 times
Been thanked: 511 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#7

Post by awander »

I don;t use an oil gauge on my Pan, and I don;t intend to start.

But saying that the return of oil to the tank is an adequate way of checking, for someone who is concerned about their oil pressure, strikes me as strange. It is a lot easier to glance at a gauge than to get off the bike, lift the seat, and take off the oil tank cap to check return! no?
NightShift
Senior Member
Posts: 534
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2009 4:20 pm
Bikes: Two Schwinns, a Hercules, and a Hiawatha
Location: Underground in Illinois
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 6 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#8

Post by NightShift »

Y'know,
Guages quit working a whole lot more often than oil pumps.
Then ya feel like an idiot with out an idiot light.
They quit too but it doesn't give anyone a heart attack.

I'd start a poll on guages, but only if Cotton cant vote.

'Spectful,
john HD
Moderator
Senior Member
Posts: 3711
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2003 11:38 pm
Bikes: '42 WLA X 2, '55FL, '93 Ultra Classic, '91 Fatboy, '97 883, '03 Rokon Trailbreaker, '83 GPz 750.
Has thanked: 70 times
Been thanked: 128 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#9

Post by john HD »

never had one never will.

dash light seems hard enough to view when riding.

john
steve_wood
Senior Member
Posts: 953
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:32 am
Bikes: 56 FLH, 2007 FLHRCI
Location: Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Has thanked: 49 times
Been thanked: 28 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#10

Post by steve_wood »

I had them on my shovel head. After the second one broke I gave up. Idiot light works great.
Hauula Pan
Member
Posts: 403
Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2008 2:15 am
Bikes: 1952 FL
Location: California
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 30 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#11

Post by Hauula Pan »

Here is how I set mine up on my stock pump. I run both a light & gauge. The gauge is mostly just to make sure I have pressure on start up, I don't try to look at it when riding. The light is a good enough indicator but on the old 6 volt relay systems it doesn't always go out right away and can come back on at idle. Even the manual tells you it doesn't go out until you hit about 20mph. So either can be a bit deceiving but my personal opinion is at least I have some indication that the pump is working. Without either one your first clue that you have a pump problem is nasty sounds from the engine, not good...
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Bigincher
Former member
Senior Member
Posts: 2784
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:10 pm
Bikes: 1941/59 EL
1952 FL
1977 FLH
1994 Fatboy
Has thanked: 22 times
Been thanked: 110 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#12

Post by Bigincher »

The oiling system is based on volume, anyway ---not 'pressure'. The only guage that might make sense is a volume guage, and I ain't never seen one of those.....
I'll check the no guage box in the poll......
Jack_Hester
Inactive member
Member
Posts: 460
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 2:05 pm
Location: Roxboro, NC, U.S.A.
Been thanked: 4 times
Contact:

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#13

Post by Jack_Hester »

I use an oil pressure gage with a 270° swing, for more accuracy. It is mounted with a bracket to the right mirror, and piped with flexible line encased in wire loom. I warm my engine up by my running pressure in high gear. I stay at 45 mph until my pressure drops down to where it runs when the oil has reached it's optimum temperature (read that as a very warm/hot oil tank). With 20W-50 Amsoil, my cold oil pressure is 30-32 psig at 45 mph. When warmed up, my pressure will be 18-20 psig at any speed above 45. Though I don't have enough miles on this new build, to run at sustained speeds above 45 mph, I do make occasional stretches up to 55.

I've run a gage on this engine since acquiring the bike in '74, with my Army severance pay. It was a tired old bike, rescued from being chopped. I babied it all these years, never abusing it. It was my loaner for a number of years, when someone needed a 'real' bike to ride along on planned road trips to the 'all Harley drags' at Famington Dragway. And on occassion, I've had to inform individuals that they could no longer ride my '59, as they could not follow instructions on how I wanted it handled (read that as 'not abused'). But more often, it became the platform to inspire many to go out and buy their own Harley. That was back in the Shovelhead days. By the time the Evo years came along, I had stopped loaning it to the dismay of many.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. My point is, I use instrumentation in my full-time work, and have applied the same for my motorcycles. When I was able to make cross-country trips on a regular basis (or at all), I could not read any dash lights during the daylight hours. But, I sure could read my instruments at a glance. The '59 gave up in August of '08, but is back on the road now with a fresh engine, transmission, and electrical system. It still uses the same OEM oil pump. I did replace the old gage with a new one, as the sun had faded the first one very badly. And, the bike is not stored in the sun. A testament to the fact that it spent a great deal of time on the road.

Jack
stroker93
Inactive member
Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:36 pm
Bikes: 2003Santee down & dirty
1981 shovel rigid
1955frankenpan
Location: Ingleside ,,Ontario
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#14

Post by stroker93 »

This is my set up from Vulcan/Motorway
Dave
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
NightShift
Senior Member
Posts: 534
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2009 4:20 pm
Bikes: Two Schwinns, a Hercules, and a Hiawatha
Location: Underground in Illinois
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 6 times

Re: Panhead Oil Pressure Gauge

#15

Post by NightShift »

Dear Jack,

If all it tells you is how warmed up your motor is, wouldn't a temperature guage make more sense?

Just asking respectful,
Post Reply

Return to “Lubrication System/Oil pump/Oil filter”