Coolant Substitute

[gpd211]

Coming soon: The Brake Fluid Thread.

Getting my popcorn ready

 

[VE258]

As been pointed out having the fluid on low level when bike is cold is totally normal. As all fluids it expand and contracts when it's warm or cold. Like isaid above-just add some distilled water and have it checked after vacation

 

[Bug Dr.]

Coming soon: The Brake Fluid Thread.

We haven't had a wire smoke thread yet have we?
Mike

 

[Chris]

You're probably overfilling the reservoir if you are checking with bike on the centre stand. In that case it will vent out the excess as you ride. The coolant should be checked as described in the manual.

1. Place your motorcycle on a firm, level
surface.
2. Hold your motorcycle in an upright
position.
3. Check that the coolant level is between
the UPPER and LOWER level marks in the
reserve tank.


Nothing more complicated than that - if you are constantly adding whilst the bike is leaned over on the centre stand then the excess will be thrown out as you ride and the next time you check the level will have dropped. Just set the level right and then check it after a while to see if you are still losing coolant. Check as advised already that there are no loose connections just to be safe but I think that if you stop overfilling it that will solve the issue.

 

[JDE]

You're probably overfilling the reservoir if you are checking with bike on the centre stand. In that case it will vent out the excess as you ride. The coolant should be checked as described in the manual.

1. Place your motorcycle on a firm, level
surface.
2. Hold your motorcycle in an upright
position.
3. Check that the coolant level is between
the UPPER and LOWER level marks in the
reserve tank.


Nothing more complicated than that - if you are constantly adding whilst the bike is leaned over on the centre stand then the excess will be thrown out as you ride and the next time you check the level will have dropped. Just set the level right and then check it after a while to see if you are still losing coolant. Check as advised already that there are no loose connections just to be safe but I think that if you stop overfilling it that will solve the issue.

That's what I was thinking too.

 

[StratTuner]

You're probably overfilling the reservoir if you are checking with bike on the centre stand. In that case it will vent out the excess as you ride. The coolant should be checked as described in the manual.

1. Place your motorcycle on a firm, level
surface.
2. Hold your motorcycle in an upright
position.
3. Check that the coolant level is between
the UPPER and LOWER level marks in the
reserve tank.


Nothing more complicated than that - if you are constantly adding whilst the bike is leaned over on the centre stand then the excess will be thrown out as you ride and the next time you check the level will have dropped. Just set the level right and then check it after a while to see if you are still losing coolant. Check as advised already that there are no loose connections just to be safe but I think that if you stop overfilling it that will solve the issue.

OK... I'll check it at temperature and fill it to "between the lines" (not OVERFILL) and then just check it now and then.
I didn't think I was OVERFILLING it, but that would explain why the level goes down. If it self-levels below what I put in, that would account for it going down all the time.

I regret the dead battery post and hope never to repeat.
thank you for taking the time to answer thoughtfully.

I am riding... and will concentrate on that!

 

[Chris]

OK... I'll check it at temperature and fill it to "between the lines" (not OVERFILL) and then just check it now and then.
I didn't think I was OVERFILLING it, but that would explain why the level goes down. If it self-levels below what I put in, that would account for it going down all the time.

I regret the dead battery post and hope never to repeat.
thank you for taking the time to answer thoughtfully.

I am riding... and will concentrate on that!
View attachment 6497

The dead battery post wasn't your fault - the surprise was the number of people determined that they were right and any other advice (including that from the manufacturer) was wrong. The difference between a 99% solution and a 99.99% solution is not immediately obvious to a single person, no matter how expert. To a manufacturer making 3,000,000 units a year the difference is 29,700 failures. That's why so many people can say "I've done it hundreds of times and never had a problem" whilst giving out of date or bad advice.

It must be hard for somebody coming to these problems for the first time to know who to trust. One good rule of thumb - anybody saying they know better than the manufacturer is most likely to be wrong.

 

[Mike Cash]

The biggest problem with the battery thread was that everybody was so busy wagging their electrical genius wienies at each other that they totally overlooked the two most central points;

1. Strat's comfort and confidence level for DIY maintenance has relatively low limits compared to some others. There is no point repeatedly beating him over the head trying to get him to make steps larger than he is comfortable with.

2. There was a time element that seemingly nobody paid the slightest attention to. He wanted to use the bike the next day.

Obvious solution? Replace the battery. Enjoy your trip. Use the old battery to experiment charging up later, after you get back home and it doesn't matter if it works or not.