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Crotch Cooler - Heat Shield

7K views 57 replies 14 participants last post by  Mowoc 
#1 · (Edited)
I saw a post about how hot the rear cylinder header gets and someone posted about a Harley product called Crotch Cooler. So after contacting them, they told me to put Honda VTX 1300 in the make and model info and they would send me something that should work, with very little modification.


***I did not get a discount or any incentive for posting this, I paid full price, including shipping***


I ordered the model with studs (1.25" apart to match my ultimate seat):

https://captain-itch.com/product/crotch-cooler-with-studs-patented-3/


Here is how it came:




Since I have push pins to remove/install my ultimate seat, it was a 3-5 minute install:




I slid the front part under the tank so the square hole opening would allow the seat tongue to fit where it should go:




It made the front tongue fit a little tighter, but it still fit perfectly. Here it is with the seat back on:







 
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#4 ·
Simple, but looks very effective. And damn, I am loving that pipe, wherever it came from! :)
 
#7 ·
Thanks!

The exhaust is a Roadhouse Classic 2:1 with serrated heat shield (basically the heat shield is flexible exhaust tube). I bought it used (but never installed). I think they went out of business back in 2008, so it is very unlikely there are anymore never installed out there.

I LOVE the sound, quiet deep rumble.

Roadhouse also made the doolies (dual exhaust for the VTX - both sides) that people love.
 
#6 ·
What ever works for enjoyable ride..13 years,54k all kinds of riding ,some with shorts..zero issues....when I was younger my father always said I had brass balls...maybe I still do... >:)....good luck
I went on a 900+ mile trip 2 weekends ago. I did have to put on rain gear, I lost a lot of weight (120+) so my rain gear is a little big on me. It made contact with the rear header shield, and melted on it. Hopefully this will keep any lose fitting clothes off of the header. Also, I did ride in shorts in traffic, this summer, it was manageable, hopefully this will make it more comfortable.


Ps...I say again...Geezus what happened to thumbnails...>:)
These are linked to imgur. Much easier for me than actually attaching the images to the forum. This forum will resize based on the browser window size (at least it does with chrome on a PC).

Maybe they can tweak the forum settings to resize bb code images to certain sizes.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the quick write-up and great pictures, JPT, very appreciated.
I have been thinking of solutions to this heat problem for a while now but haven't made anything for my bike yet. Now that we are in the middle of our cool summer (only 100F so far this year), the engine heat sure is noticeable.

I am now looking at Cpt Itch's designs and probably pulling the trigger today. Hoping to keep my ... um ... self ... running a little cooler. :smile2:

Thanks again! :thumbup:
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
Friend of mine has one of those on his Fat Boy. Says it is a life saver.
 
#16 ·
Your bike looks great JPT, and the cooler blends in so well it looks like part of the seat. I think it was my post you saw that recommended them to Mowoc as a possible solution to his heat issue. I'm glad it worked out for you!

If you open your images in Microsoft Paint and reduce them in size (to 40% on average) they'll go from being MBs in size to tens of KBs. The dimensions to file size is not proportional so reducing them to 30 or 40% results in a drastically smaller filesize but the pictures are still plenty large enough for a forum. Then upload them and they will not take as long to load for those of us on slower connections.
 
#22 ·
Your bike looks great JPT, and the cooler blends in so well it looks like part of the seat. I think it was my post you saw that recommended them to Mowoc as a possible solution to his heat issue. I'm glad it worked out for you!
It does work really well. And I do love the look. I do have to reach under to gain access to my ignition (it also hides it, a security bonus), and my battery tender lead.

If you open your images in Microsoft Paint and reduce them in size (to 40% on average) they'll go from being MBs in size to tens of KBs. The dimensions to file size is not proportional so reducing them to 30 or 40% results in a drastically smaller filesize but the pictures are still plenty large enough for a forum. Then upload them and they will not take as long to load for those of us on slower connections.
Thanks. I typically do not post tons of pictures in a single thread, unless it is a review. To me, the full size and resolution of the images adds a much needed verbal description of what I am showing. This is very helpful to those who aren’t around other VTX’s, and really want to be able to see how it would look. I promise not to drop a ton of pictures in threads I didn’t start, but I think the added benefit to full size outweighs the added minute or so of load time.

It would be awesome if this forum had auto thumbnails for linked images.
 
#17 ·
Saw a Harley 1200 Sportster while out riding this morning, noticed the "Crotch cooler" on it since now i know what they are.
The owner, a chick, or should i say young lady around 30.... had the "cooler" hanging over what would be our "side covers". She said it was covering the OIL tank which she said gets super-hot and burns like hell on the leg/thigh. She said "she loved" the cover and talked about expensive it was.

The name "Crotch cooler" never came up :grin2:
 
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#19 ·
Got my crotch cooler on Saturday (they made it in 1 day and shipped it fast, very pleasantly surprised).
Installed it but haven't ridden yet (busy weekend and hot weather).

Question for those who installed theirs under the stock seats:
did you have to modify the crotch cooler in any way to make the thick leather fit between the seat and the frame?
 
#21 ·
Aftermarket seats have more wiggle room under the tank, so mine fit perfectly with my Ultimate Big Boy seat. I’d imagine that it would be a hard fit with the stock seat. Sorry, I can’t help you. I have 2 aftermarket seats (solo Ultimate, and a dual Corbin for 2 up rides), both have the wiggle room up front.

The stock seat isn’t going back on, until the day I need to take pictures to sell the bike...
 
#25 ·
#29 ·
x2.

I rode home from work yesterday. It was 90* out, although I was in the HOV lane, I did have to get to the highway and there were a few stops on my 40 miles home. It makes a HUGE difference in inner right leg temps.

Aside from the occasional high speed wind causing it to flap up and touch my leg, the only tell it is there is the reduced temps on my leg.
 
#31 ·
Update:

Wife asked last night if I would mind picking up some medicine for her. Excuse to ride! :) (the temps dropped to cool & balmy 95F so why not?)

The flap helps a lot, as I noticed on the short ride. Whether at 50mph or sitting at lights, the heat coming off the engine is not rising to my thighs anymore and instead blowing backward.
I am really happy to have seen this post because this is exactly what I needed here in TX.

The only drawback is that the port flap hangs over the ignition switch so one needs to learn to reach for it differently now. But then again, that might be a benefit cuz now the switch is not easily visible to others.
 
#33 ·
The key thing will take some getting used to for me. I tend to forget it as it is. I always leave it in the ignition at home in the garage so I often forget it elsewhere.
How do you walk away without the key in your hand/pocket? Especially with the headlight on?
Also, I usually transport things in my saddlebags/boxes so I need to remove the key from the ignition to get to the boxes anyway. It's a habit now.
 
#46 ·
I have a ride with a local club and had to switch over to my dual corbin seat. I was unable to get the crotch cooler to fit. I didn't spend much time trying to get it to work since I will be going back solo as soon as the ride is over.

Not sure if it will or wont work for those with crobin seats, just be aware that I had a hard enough time, that I put it to the side.

I use my corbin dual rider seat when I ride 2 up, the rest of the time I use my ultimate bigboy seat. The crotch cooler fit the ultimate with no effort at all.
 
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