there is a compartment on my 06 500 foreman, one screw and a cover. Open it and it looks like a radiator. Is that what I am seeing? isnt it air cooled?

 

Is there an electric fan on this "radiator" you speak of? The 500 foreman is air-cooled but it also has an auxiliary oil cooler. The engine oil is pumped through that radiator in the same way coolant is on a liquid cooled engine. This removes heat from the oil so when the cool oil comes back to the engine it cools the engine down. Since the air-cooled engine requires airflow across the cooling fins of the cylinder to cool properly, it would overheat if you were just idling or moving very slow (no airflow) therefore they use this oil cooler method, and the electric fan is controlled by a thermosensor on the engine, when the engine is getting too warm the fan comes on, and pulls air across the cooler and cools the oil. Eventually enough heat will be removed and the engine will cool down. If it's warm enough out, the fan may stay on all the time, if the engine still heats up too far, the high-oil-temp light will come on. If it comes on, just pull over and let it cool for a half hour or so. Check the oil level, and if it's ok, ride again once it's cool.

This compartment you talk of, where exactly is it? My rancher has a compartment to the left of the gas tank, but there's a black plastic shell inside of it and you can't see the oil cooler from it. You might be talking about one of those gray plastic shields along the side of the engine maybe? I think that's supposed to be there for proper cooling, I wouldnt ride too much without it.

If you could take a picture of it and post a link that would be cool. I dont know how to do that so dont ask me

 

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this compartment is on the front of the machine, under the cargo rack in the center of the quad. One phillips head screw holds it in place and you lift the cover and there is the fins to what appears to be a radiator of some sort.

 

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