oil cooler onto GSX650F

As we've got a few GSX650F owners on here I thought I'd post up some info on fitting a oil cooler to a GSX650F I did this mod to the wifes GSX650F a while back. If you can find the parts cheep enough (don't buy new, it's dam expensive) I recon it's a good mod to do as it lowers temps a little on the bike which should be good for longevity but who knows


I got all this stuff from a guy in the states that was parting out a gsf1250 engine. Cost me about about $120 aud at the time (the exchange rate was no where near what it is today)


It was an pretty easy job to complete as everything just bolts straight up and it took about 3 hours. the toughest bits were the restricted access through the headers and frame (not that bad really) and getting the old filter union out as it is basically a straight pipe with thread on the outside so one end screws into the case and the other end the filter screws onto. The day I did the job I couldn't get hold of an ezi-out or similar big enough to grab the ID of the union to minimise damage, so being impatient I used vice grips to get it out. Doing it this way destroyed the union but they are cheep to get if you want to reverse the mod.

some pics

The filter union removed. The orange stuff appears to be a low strength thread locker or perhaps sealant. PITA to remove

New cooler and filter installed. The filter union - 30mm socket (the union holds the cooler in place also) is torqued up to 70 Nm according to the book

The coolant connection block near the top of the cyl case fitted up. 8mm (socket size) bolts are torqued up to 10Nm according to the book

Cooler and filter all hooked up and not leaking (yay)


so for about $120 aud for me to buy and ship from the US plus the cost of a filter, oil and coolant. Not bad I recon.

Thanks Dhula - nice post and thanks for wording us up on the union. Just have to scour fleabay now.

I think that another advantage of this type of cooler is that when the engine is cold, the water heats up the oil and gets the whole engine up to temperature more quickly, so a good mod all around.

Cheers Peter

FT. I think the best option for finding all the bits you need will be find someone with a 1250 that they are parting out and are not too worried about separating engine bits, or perhaps has a engine ready to sell and you could ask them if they will take the cooler and associated bits off. Don't forget you will also need the hoses (the smaller diameter ones) and the tee piece that fits into the lower hose. The main rad hoses are the same on the 650 and 1250 so don't get too stressed if you can't find them.
Not sure if the 650 bandit has an oil cooler as I never looked, but that could be an option also. You best bet for a bandit 650 parts would probably be the UK as that is the main market for that bike.

DekenaiYes agree. This isn't technically a oil cooler but more of a heat exchanger unit. It tends too keep oil and water at more stable and consistent temps by transferring heat between each other. Some data that is out there on the interweb indicates faster warm up times and slightly lower but more stable temps (ie: not such a difference between the hottest and coldest) for the bike which may lead to better service life and better fuel economy overall


One thing I forgot to mention is that there will be slightly less room to remove/refit the oil filter at oil change time, but it's not too bad and can still be done quite happily without skinning knuckles or swearing. From my experience it is no different to changing the filter on the 1250 now.