MotorcycleJazz - Jagg Oil

Jagg Oil Cooler

by Martin Hackworth

Photos: Martin Hackworth. Jagg

We dig almost every feature of our CRF450X a lot - especially things like the twin-sump lubrication system that oils the engine and transmission separately. We are amazed to find how much dirtier the tranny oil is every time we change it! One inconvenient feature of this arrangement, however, is that there are only about 693 precious milliliters (about 7/10 of a quart) of oil between a smooth running engine and a Chernobyl style catastrophic meltdown. For long (1000+ mile rides) like the Tour of Idaho this is simply cutting it too close.

Even though the CRF450X power plant has twin radiators with relatively large overall capacity the engine still runs hot. This places additional stress on the engine and engine oil. After just a few summer rides where we nervously monitored engine oil levels we couldn't take it anymore. An afternoon on the web perusing external oil coolers that would both increase capacity and help keep the engine oil cool yielded several options. There are several systems out there but the only one we found that did everything we wanted and was truly bolt-on was the Jagg Oil Cooler manufactured by Setrab. A few minutes on the phone with the knowledgeable folks at Jagg and we had a unit for our CRF450X on the way.

The CRF450X Jagg oil cooler system consists of a radiator, a mounting bracket for the radiator, a filter adapter, two hoses and some heat tape. On a stock CRF450X installation would be a snap - but the presence of our Acerbis 4.75 gallon tank required some modification to the supplied bracket in order to slightly relocate the radiator. This was accomplished with some minor fabrication.

The Jagg system increases the oil capacity by about 50% and, according to our infrared temperature monitor, helps the bike run much cooler. We've been able to go on extremely long rides in very hot weather

without worrying about oil capacity, usage or heat. The Jagg radiator (even with stock fitment) is tucked in safely behind the right radiator - but on our bike it's completely protected by the Acerbis tank. The only small nit we have with our unit is that the plumbing on the filter adapter was installed in such a manner as to bind against the oil dipstick cap.

Price Paid: $264.95 - Jagg/Setrab USA

Rating: Cool-o and that stands for cool oil! We highly recommend this product.

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