Yeah have to agree with you there, I did the same thing on my 09 FLHT Standard.  Makes you wonder sometimes about the people who design these bikes and those who have input into the design team, probably some softcock yanks me thinks.

I was told my Fraser that it was for the colder countries to warn for black ice when the temp gets to low....

I replaced all by gauges with a set of digital & they came with a oil temp & also much better looking gauges as well...

Rick