Brand of coolant

[james250ninja]

I'm gonna flush my coolant.

Can I use coolant the people use for cars or does it have to be kawasaki or a specific motorcycle coolant.

[DirtyPelican]

For the most part coolant is coolant. Unless you are on the track where they require certain types (in case it leaks on the track, its easier to clean up) I normally go with whatever I have put in the car. If youre looking for performance then some are better than others, but for the most part regular coolant will work.

[Ghostt]

Just buy any premixed that's on sale, it's a lot easier that way no need to mix anything, or buy some distilled water, etc....

[DannoXYZ]

Be sure to completely flush cooling system with distilled water. The mixing that's toxic is old-coolant of unknown type coming into contact with the new stuff. A LOT has changed in the past decade with coolant chemistries and many of them don't get along; old ethylene-glycol based IAT, newer propylene-glycols, OAT, 2EHA, G05, HOAT, etc. The manufacturer's claim of universal compatibility are simply lies. Dex-cool is one of the main reasons GM went bankrupt; payments from class-action lawsuits over that stuff was getting over $150-mil.

You should be OK as long as you completely flush out system of old fluid.

1. Drain as much as you can,

2. fill with distilled water and completely warm up bike so that thermostat opens and allows old coolant trapped in engine to escape.

3. Warm up bike until radiator fan kicks on, then you'll know for sure thermostat has opened.

4. drain again and fill with distilled water.

5. Repeat warm-up & drain until drained fluid is completely clear distilled water (usually about 3-4 cycles).

6. THEN and ONLY then, fill up with new coolant, pre-mixed or DIY dilution.

7. warm up with cap off to allow bubbles to escape. Blip throttle couple times to run water-pump faster. Add more coolant until level stops dropping and bubbles stop rising to top. Then screw cap on and shut off bike.


EDIT: Brand isn't as important as type of coolant. Go with a propylene-glycol coolant that's silicate & borate free.
A note on water-pump failures due to using auto-based silicated coolants.
http://gl180***********m/forums/archi...p/t-29487.html

[Cra1g]

Originally Posted by JacRyann

1. Drain as much as you can,

2. fill with distilled water and completely warm up bike so that thermostat opens and allows old coolant trapped in engine to escape.

3. Warm up bike until radiator fan kicks on, then you'll know for sure thermostat has opened.

4. drain again and fill with distilled water.

5. Repeat warm-up & drain until drained fluid is completely clear distilled water (usually about 3-4 cycles).

6. THEN and ONLY then, fill up with new coolant, pre-mixed or DIY dilution.

7. warm up with cap off to allow bubbles to escape. Blip throttle couple times to run water-pump faster. Add more coolant until level stops dropping and bubbles stop rising to top. Then screw cap on and shut off bike.

Eh, for me the easiest way is to just fill the radiator up as much as possible (squeezing the hoses helps get rid of air pockets), fill up the reservoir, go for a ride to warm it up, come back, let it cool down, and then just fill the reservoir back up if the level dropped any. Good to go!

[adouglas]

Easy to overthink this.

To be honest, I filled the radiator on my street bike with distilled water (Pro tip: Walmart) and Water Wetter to meet spec for a track day a couple of years ago. Haven't changed it since. I suppose I'll flip back to regular coolant at end-of-season maintenance this year.

Bottom line: The manual tells you what you need to know. Follow it, and you're good.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Easy to overthink this.

To be honest, I filled the radiator on my street bike with distilled water (Pro tip: Walmart) and Water Wetter to meet spec for a track day a couple of years ago. Haven't changed it since. I suppose I'll flip back to regular coolant at end-of-season maintenance this year.

Bottom line: The manual tells you what you need to know. Follow it, and you're good.

That's fine, as long as the bike is not sitting in temps 32F and below.

The reviews on Water Wetter are mixed. Some like the diesel version better. The regular version apparently contains some amounts of a silicate derivative.

Can't find conclusively that it does or doesn't prevent freezing, but I believe it does not.

[greg737]

I just go with the simple and safe: stop by a Honda motorcycle dealership and buy a couple bottles of their Honda Pro HP motorcycle coolant. It's a no-worry way to go.

[DannoXYZ]

Water-wetter improves thermal conductivity, but does nothing for boiling-point or freezing protection. Those temps remain the same as the base liquid. If you put it in water, that mixture fill freeze and boil at same points as water.

The Honda HP coolant is one of best on market. I use it in all my cars. After 3-years, I take a look and radiator's clean and shiny on inside! Not any of that white crusty stuff you see with other coolants after 3-years!