Oil Bud/Dakota Digital Install - Hot Bike Baggers Magazine

Oil Bud Dakota Digital Install Oil Bud Parts

Oil Bud - Dakota Digital Part One
Being that our baggers are air-cooled it is crucial to keep the lifeblood of our engine, the oil, at cool operating temperatures. Though the stock oil cooling system does an adequate job, we always prefer to install an aftermarket oil cooler on our bikes due to the long rides we take as well as our not-so-regular oil change intervals.

When we first heard of the Oil Bud we were very interested in it's thoughtful design and attachment location underneath the bike between the frame rails. After a few calls back and forth, we ended up wrangling one of the Oil Bud units from them and in a day or so we had one on our doorstep along with a really trick Dakota Digital LED oil temp gauge kit accompanying it. We took no time in bolting it onto our "White Knight" '02 Road King and then putting some miles to see just how cool the oil runs while on the open highway.

(1.) We started by getting the White Knight on our trusty Ranger lift.
(2.)We pulled off the other aftermarket oil cooler and the regulator from between the front frame rails.
(2.)We pulled off the other aftermarket oil cooler and the regulator from between the fron
(3.) The front motor mount bolt (arrow) was removed and turned around to where the nut was now on top. We left the large washer on the bottom, but added Oil Bud's jam nut on the top.
(3.) The front motor mount bolt (arrow) was removed and turned around to where the nut was

(4.) The existing oil filter was pulled off of the bike and set aside.
(5.) The Bolt that holds the standard oil filter to the engine was removed.
(6.) We greased the o-ring on the Oil Bud inner adaptor and correctly lined up one of the 90-degree fittings as per our provided instructions.
(6.) We greased the o-ring on the Oil Bud inner adaptor and correctly lined up one of the

(7.) We then installed the longer braided hose in the kit to the inner Oil Bud adaptor and torqued it down.
(7.) We then installed the longer braided hose in the kit to the inner Oil Bud adaptor and
(8.) The braided hose was strung through the frame rails and down to where it attaches at the rear point of the Oil Bud. We took care in making sure the line did not contact any existing wiring or the head pipe.
(8.) The braided hose was strung through the frame rails and down to where it attaches at
(9.) At this time we screwed the inner adapter to the engine's OE oil filter mounting point and torqued it to 40 lb-ft. We left 3/8-inch of clearance between the thermostat housing and the exhaust's 02 sensor.
(9.) At this time we screwed the inner adapter to the engine's OE oil filter mounting poin

(10.) We removed the right side forward control allen bolt since this is one of the mounting points of the cooler.
(10.) We removed the right side forward control allen bolt since this is one of the mounti
(11.) We slid the Oil Bud up into the left side frame rail, reinstalled the forward control allen bolt through the slot on the Oil Bud and tightened to factory specs.
(11.) We slid the Oil Bud up into the left side frame rail, reinstalled the forward contro
(12.) The braided hose coming from the inner adaptor was attached to the Oil Bud cooler and the fitting tightened.
(12.) The braided hose coming from the inner adaptor was attached to the Oil Bud cooler an

(13.) After the shorter braided hose was installed onto the outer adaptor, it was then mated to the inner adaptor. We took care in making sure both sides were lined up before the hardware was installed.
(13.) After the shorter braided hose was installed onto the outer adaptor, it was then mat
(14.) The shorter braided hose was then screwed onto the front port of the Oil Bud and tightened.
(14.) The shorter braided hose was then screwed onto the front port of the Oil Bud and tig
(15.) We pre-filled the new oil filter with some Royal Purple 20w-50 oil and installed it on the Oil Bud adaptor.
(15.) We pre-filled the new oil filter with some Royal Purple 20w-50 oil and installed it

(16.) We are now done with the placement and plumbing portions of the install. Check out next month for Part 2 where we install a Dakota Digital oil temperature gauge and wrap up the install.
(16.) We are now done with the placement and plumbing portions of the install. Check out n