Hi guys,

Read somewhere that the Oil Cooler on the GS500F's are unnecessary? Can anyone confirm that removing won't cause any damage?

If it helps I'm located in Sydney, Australia so it doesn't get too hot, and not to cold either.

Cheers

Didn't Sydney just have one of their hottest ever heatwaves, which are in fact fairly typical if I recall my school holidays in the 70's correctly. I'm just guessing here but I can't imagine Suzuki putting on an unnecessary oil cooler. Maybe what you heard were stories about people who buy a GS500F that has been involved in an accident so they have removed the fairings, it's quite possible that without the fairings that it would not need an oil cooler because it would just be a GS. In fact people searching for a GS are often warned to watch out for the tell tale oil cooler to alert them to the possibility that the bike is a converted F.

Under certain conditions the old GS5 engine is prone to evaporating oil. Thrash it over a long distance in high ambient temps for a long time at high revs and the oil will simply disappear out of the breather. If you don't keep an eye on the oil level it wont be long before the inevitable happens, Several members have been subject to this scenario.

On that basis if you are going to subject your bike to those kind of conditions, an oil cooler is obviously a good idea. However if you are just pottering around here and there in moderate climes a cooler isn't going to do much or have much benefit

All this talk about its got a fairing therefore it needs a cooler is very debatable. In the 90s Suzuki sold hundreds of them across Europe with a factory fitted 3/4 fairing and no cooler. 

Pray, tell the benefit of removing the oil cooler.

Reduced weight?

I'd rather add one, and I live in the "temperate" NE U.S.

Removing it in Australia is a big no-no. Unless you have an endless free supply of something like SAE60 oil or similar

Quote from: user11235813 on March 03, 2016, 01:07:55 AM
Didn't Sydney just have one of their hottest ever heatwaves, which are in fact fairly typical if I recall my school holidays in the 70's correctly. I'm just guessing here but I can't imagine Suzuki putting on an unnecessary oil cooler. Maybe what you heard were stories about people who buy a GS500F that has been involved in an accident so they have removed the fairings, it's quite possible that without the fairings that it would not need an oil cooler because it would just be a GS. In fact people searching for a GS are often warned to watch out for the tell tale oil cooler to alert them to the possibility that the bike is a converted F.

We did, Hah.

Quote from: sledge on March 03, 2016, 02:58:10 AM
Under certain conditions the old GS5 engine is prone to evaporating oil. Thrash it over a long distance in high ambient temps for a long time at high revs and the oil will simply disappear out of the breather. If you don't keep an eye on the oil level it wont be long before the inevitable happens, Several members have been subject to this scenario.

On that basis if you are going to subject your bike to those kind of conditions, an oil cooler is obviously a good idea. However if you are just pottering around here and there in moderate climes a cooler isn't going to do much or have much benefit

All this talk about its got a fairing therefore it needs a cooler is very debatable. In the 90s Suzuki sold hundreds of them across Europe with a factory fitted 3/4 fairing and no cooler. 

I don't mind watching the oil level constantly, I do ride hard over long distances.

Quote from: cWj on March 03, 2016, 05:59:27 AM
Pray, tell the benefit of removing the oil cooler.

Reduced weight?

I'd rather add one, and I live in the "temperate" NE U.S.

Hm. I'm in the process of a build at the moment and doing it purely for aesthetic reasons.

Just thought if I could get away with removing it would clean up the front a lot more.

Cheers for the replies guys

Joking aside, riding long distances hard in the heat is really when oil consumption happens. Air cooled technology is what it is. If you plan on doing that often, I would consider an oversize oil cooler. Has been done, actually looks cool. I saw it here on the forum in one of the build threads.

I'd keep it. Aesthetics aside, its practicality is more than enough to justify its existence. I wish I could figure out how to add one to my bike (95 GSe), but I haven't the foggiest how to do it.