Ace, I might just hook it up to 12 volts and bypass that AND circuitry. Can you foresee and issues with this thought?
I really like all this custom stuff you do man. Very very cool.
-Milk
Milk,
Yes, the problem with leaving the fan on when riding is that it actually impairs cooling when it's turned-on above a certain(low) road speed.
Riding the bike at road speeds pushes more air thru the cooler than the fan can pull when it's running.
So, the fan running would then effectively become an obstruction behind the radiator,and reducing the ability of the radiator to cool. If the fan is off, it can free-wheel, and as much air can come thru as the road speed will give it.
Additionally, when you first start up the bike cold, you don't want the fan to come on until the oil temp is hot, so that your oil comes up to temp in a short warm-up period before riding. Having the fan on when the bike is just started would just impair the warm-up functions, and is not needed/wanted during that time.
The radiator alone, without the fan, is just fine and dandy for when you're in motion.
The fan is only needed when the bike is idling at a stop, because there's no airflow thru the radiator when the bike is idling at a stop.
So, if you don't encounter situations where you have traffic jams, or long idling periods like city people do, then the fan system really isn't needed.
But for city people, or those who commute during rush hour times when they might encounter some stop-and-go traffic or traffic jams during hot weather, then this can help to keep the oil more cool during those difficult times when the bike is basically getting no cooling at all, either thru the engine fins or in the oil.
The fan then takes up the task of supplying airflow thru the rad when the bike is not moving, and helps keep the oil at lower temps in situations like traffic jams.
We do have a reasonable number of Bullet owners that live in or near cities, and use the bike for commuting, and who do encounter traffic problems.
This fan system is primarily aimed at those users who see problems from sitting in traffic with a hot engine, and no way to do any cooling during those times. Even the radiator and the fan system are only a partial solution, because without air going thru the engine cooling fins, the engine will eventually overheat anyway. But the radiator with the fan can help to lengthen the time period that they can idle without moving, and keep the lubricating oil at safer temps.
I won't be using the fan system on my own bike. I don't encounter conditions in my area where the fan would be of use to me, personally.
But I recognized that some Bullet riders DO need something like this for their riding conditions, and that's what this product is for, and also why it is an optional thing, and not just included on every oil cooler that I make. Because not everyone needs or wants the added fan capability, nor would they want to pay extra for a feature they don't need for their riding habits.
This is a pretty leading-edge type of product for motorcycles, and there's only one other product out there on the market that I'm aware of, that provides these functions.
It's made for a Harley, and it's quite big, and it isn't vintage looking, and would look totally out of place on our Bullets. But, it's okay for big Harleys.
And it's expensive. Like $450 expensive!
It does have the radiator bypass function, and I could add that function to my unit, but it starts to get messy with plumbing and might spoil the clean look. That's why the Harley unit has a big plastic housing all around it, to cover up all the mess.
I like my system a whole lot better, and its more compact and vintage looking, with basically the same function.
Here's the only "competition", if you want to call it that.
On their website, they rant and rave about how amazing and new and innovative their Harley fan-cooler is, and how it's "cutting edge" latest technology and blah blah blah.
And it's a nice cooler with a fan and a controller for a Harley.
But I have basically the same thing in a smaller vintage style for a Bullet right here that I make in my work room by hand, one at a time, for way less than half their retail price, and probably about $250 total price once I get my auto-controller on it.
So, we now have the "latest whiz-bang technology" for the old antique Bullet now, in a style that goes with the Bullet, for alot less money, just because some idiot like me decided to build them.
And if you "just gotta have" a radiator bypass circuit, I can get you one to go on the one I make. It will just add some bulk and extra plumbing work, and cost more money.