The Love-Jugs Madison, Wisconsin Police Story
Madison, Wisconsin Police Story
It was the spring of 2014. A regular customer who worked as a police officer came into my shop complaining bitterly about the excessive heat that his 2013 Police motorcycle was generating. Although all V-twin engines run hot, especially when riding at slow speeds, a police motorcycle is a serial offender because of all the slow riding officers must do.
I had heard this type of complaint many times before, but I had never heard of a good solution to the problem. I thought of several partial solutions such as an oil cooler or the costly option of rerouting the pipes. I knew these ideas would only provide a partial solution. The officer was a good customer, and I could feel how frustrated he was with my unsatisfactory answer. I decided to delve into the subject and see if there was any viable solution out there. I spoke to mechanics in other shops, searched the Internet, read several highly favorable magazine articles, and asked my customers if they knew anything. Before long, one name emerged and it was a memorable name at that – Love Jugs. Love Jugs, Love Jugs kept echoing as the only answer to my query.
With a healthy touch of cynicism, I googled Love Jugs and made my first visit to their web site. Wow, there was so much helpful information to plow through. Now, as a Harley mechanic, I know my stuff and I quickly saw and understood that if this product was anything like they claimed and demonstrated, the name that echoed in my ears made a lot of sense to the gray matter between them. Air cooling an engine that demands air to cool it does make sense. Even digging into their web presentation, it was apparent these people were on to something, at least in theory.
I advised my customer to order a unit for my installation on his police bike so we could see if it was as good as the company – and everyone else said they were. He had considered the matter as well and he was excited about the idea. It would take too long to make the purchase through the red tape of the Department so he decided to make the purchase directly from the manufacturer, Hammerhead Engineering, himself.
My customer is an avid rider. He not only works on his motorcycle, he puts on lots of miles for pleasure when he’s off duty. Much of his ride is shackled by city traffic, participation in parades, escorts, rodeos, ticketing, etc. Especially in slow riding conditions he felt the burn, big time. Every officer who reads this knows exactly what I’m talking about, as do you other Harley riders.
That summer of 2014 brought us sweltering record breaking heat. It was a long hot summer featuring temps more than 100 degrees for over a month. That extra heat created an unsuspected field laboratory to really test how the Love Jugs would perform. After installation, I kept in frequent touch with my customer to monitor his thoughts. He told me that the Love Jugs had literally transformed his ride. Even with the unprecedented heat wave he said he rode comfortably under all conditions, especially those conditions that would have had him burning up before he installed his Love Jugs.
But that is only half the story. Comfort is important, but what was happening inside those cylinders? Because I serviced his bike and the other motorcycles in his fleet, I can report first hand on how critically important Love Jugs were to him and his Department as well. His bike was a 2013 while the other bikes in the Department were 2014s. The first indication that the Love Jugs were working was in the oil changes. All the 2014 bikes had the usual heavy black gook look in the used oil. Only the motorcycle with Love Jugs yielded a liquid that had less than half the discoloration. This informed me that the Love Jugs was working. Elimination of the heat of the engine also significantly reduced the oil heat which showed up visually during the oil changes.
To me, the biggest part of the story was in the service. While the test motorcycle had zero repairs, each of the others needed some combination of new rings, cams, push valves, and even new cylinders. These repairs are heat related and it made sense the test bike’s Love Jugs had tamed the heat and forestalled the related problems. It was not unusual for many of the repairs to take several weeks, thus putting the bike and the rider down for extended times in those cases. The test motorcycle was out on the road through it all with nothing more than an oil change and checkup as necessary.
I asked the officer if he had any other observations to add. He informed me that the cooling system had no adverse effect on the battery. I checked this with Steve West, CEO of Hammerhead Engineering and he told me that the total draw was a mere 3.2 AMPs with both fans running.
The final chapter of this story happened recently. The test bike was recently retired and sold in good condition. The officer, who did own the Love Jugs, had them transferred to his new machine.
After this long-term test, I must endorse Love Jugs and recommend that every police motorcycle on the road be equipped with this product. They look great; they will save a load of money on repairs – including down time; and they will add to the officer’s comfort making their ride safer as well. In fact, I think that every Harley-Davidson be outfitted with the useful product. The look, good, they’re priced fairly, and they work like a miracle.
Nic “Special K” Shultz
Harley-Davidson of Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
