Motorcycling and Harley-Davidson® motorcyles are an obsession for many and I guess each of us have our own little obsessions about our rides. For me it's engine heat and with another Advanced Rider Training track day at Eastern Creek Raceway looming I've been thinking back to last January when it was very hot and there were plenty of periods of the day when the air cooled 103ci engine was idling without air going past it. Added to that a couple of days riding in Sydney and Melbourne that caused me some concern and it was time to consider alternatives.
I'd been researching the Harley-Davidsion Fan Kit for Touring Models for some time after having seen one on a Road King® Classic in Mt Isa last year, pardon the pun, it looked cool and I decided that it was now or never. So I've been to the dealership and parted with around $600 for the kit and it was fitted today, another two hours labour on top of the parts cost.
The odd thing is that you don't know if it's working until the motorcycle gets hot, so I'll wait for the comment on that later. However, if you like bling and have some on your Harley already here's some things to know.
- The horn relocation kit puts the horn on a stem that juts out in front of the right side of the petrol tank (as you sit on the bike). It looks ridiculous there and "ridiculous" is the kindest word I can think of. Mine has been relocated again to somewhere that makes visual sense, above the oil filter attached to the frame.
- I had chrome bridges around the spark plugs on the heads, the rear one is now gone because the brackets for the fan kit don't allow it to fit any more.
- I also had a chrome panel that sat between the primary cover and the bottom of the cooling fins that also doesn't fit now because of the fan kit brackets.
So in some ways it was two steps forward with only one back, of course depening on whether or not the fan kit works. Looks wise, you probably either love or hate the departure from the standard H-D horn look. Personally I like it.
Note: The fan kit does work, it whirred into action on quite a number of occasions in a recent hottish day at Eastern Creek and the difference in the oil temperature was noticeable (thanks to my LED oil gauge).
