coolant mist!!

[drstimpy]

I have a bit of a strange issue. When I was top speed testing on a local rural road I ducked down behind the fairing and was greeted with a light mist of coolant to my face shield. I took the bike home and there was coolant all over the inside of the right side of the fairing around the cap. I took off the fairing and let her get good and hot idling and under part throttle and I could not reproduce the leak...absolutely dry! It was clear that coolant had been leaking in that area for some time but all the hose junctions and the cap were leak free

Is there a condition where the bike would only leak coolant at max speed? Or perhaps leaking very slowly and I only notice when the high wind blasts it onto my shield.

Thanks

[mrlmd]

Did you notice if the temp gauge went way up when that happened?

[CC Cowboy]

Did you check hose?

Do you know Allen Veracka or Bobby Bognano? Both are from Wareham. One is a biker, the other a chef.

[Snake]

Check the cap to be sure it is on tight.

[drstimpy]

Temp stays in normal range. Cap definitely tight although I am suspicious because I can't find leak anywhere else. All hose clamps are good and tight.

[CC Cowboy]

Pin hole in hose that only sprays out when hot and super pressured?

[kkim]

change the radiator cap.

...or go for another top speed run (honestly officer, I'm troubleshooting my bike ), make the leak appear again, then immediately stop the bike on the side of the road and investigate the leak.

you can run w/o fairings to make it easier to identify the leak.

[drstimpy]

will try a new cap...seems to be very easy to turn
thanks

[CZroe]

I've been try to track down a similar condition. I took my fairings off and found the coolant level low (I can't ever see the level with them on). I added coolant and started trying to see where it was coming from. That's when I noticed dried coolant in the left fairing cut. There's a fixture right there but it was bone-dry at the end of that same ride. Coolant was still full a month later but the white remains of it had shown back up at the same spot several times that month, though sometimes it would remain clean even after a few hard and light rides (occurrence seems unrelated to engine load). Once, I was riding without my usual gloves (they were falling apart and I needed new ones) and felt a spray on my hands. I immediately pulled over and saw the tiniest of drops at that same fixture. There doesn't seem to be any looseness or cracking affecting the seal, so it probably just needs some kind of sealant around the fixture. That said, I don't see how I could have been sprayed by that and there weren't white spots everywhere else, so the spray is probably coincidental (external source). I just never felt it before because I always wear gloves.

[drstimpy]

Went on a top speed run without fairing to look at cap area and absolutly no leaking. But when I was removing fairing I found some antifreeze puddled in the nooks and crannies. Maybe it was leftover from prior work on the bike and would only spray up when I went really fast (for a ninja 250). that's my theory for now. will update if problem resurfaces.
thanks all

[kkim]

if you still have the fairings off, wash it clean under there so you can tell if more leaks occur in the future.

good to hear the problem has abated for now. keep a close eye on your temp gauge.

[drstimpy]

cleaned them up before re installing. Can a little cooant come out under extreme conditions? about a month ago I was in stop and go traffic for more than an hour. The temp gauge never went out of the normal range but the fan ran a lot. certainly didn't detect any antifreeze smell at that time but the amount in the fairing was small...a tablespoon of two.

[kkim]

any coolant that boils over past the cap is supposed to be routed to the reservoir, so in reality, you shouldn't be seeing any coolant overflowing at all in that area. What coolant does overflow the reservoir is supposed to be routed through a hose that exits right in front of the rear tire area.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_...ling_system%3F

fan running in stop and go traffic is normal and if your temp gauge is functioning correctly, the system sounds like it's operating as designed.

how are the coolant levels in the radiator and reservoir?

[drstimpy]

reservoir was about where I left it so if some coolant escaped, it wasn't a huge amount.

When a little coolant gets into the bodywork, it sits there forever. So I cant tell when it got there.

[drstimpy]

just got back from 1600 mile trip on the bike and didn't have any problems until I blew a downshift and banged off the limiter. Then got some coolant leaking through cap...need new cap I think.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by drstimpy

...need new cap I think.

yeah... replace it. OEM is about $20, maybe cheaper if you can find something at the auto parts store that matches.

[drstimpy]

Replaced cap and it still does it. Doing hoses next. Will update when done. Btw did 1500 mile trip through Maine vt nh and NY and it was the perfect travel companion!