View Full Version : Replacing the radiator - big job or little job?
Hi, gave my K3 SVS a good ole scrubbing a couple of days back and whilst i was underneath getting the grime off i noticed radiator damage i'd missed before. When i bought the thing it had scuffs on the side of the rad and front fairing as if the bike had been dropped over on its side but it looks like the radiator itself has crumpled in the middle by the impact and is now banana shaped. No sign of coolant leakage or any temperature problems so looks like its still doing its job ok but i'd like to replace the rad anyway for aesthetic reasons (you cant even see the damage but you know what its like if you know its there anyway!)
My question is: replacing the radiator - big job or little job? I'm no mechanic at all so is this the sort of thing i could do myself using my Haynes or is it best left to a garage? Anyone done it in the past?
Got a big bike salvage place nearby so reckon sourcing a replacement would be easy enough.
Ta,
Paul
Replacing it is not difficult at all. Drain the system, ondo the hose connections, undo a couple of bolts and remove. Install the reverse procedure.
Mine is twisted quite badly from a spill. It also has never leaked.
They aint cheap either.
I was quoted about 300 quid for a new one. Got my old one fixed for 15. Really easy to change out though.
I was quoted about 300 quid for a new one. Got my old one fixed for 15. Really easy to change out though.
Was that fixed as in leak repaired. Or was that straightened :?:
Just a leak repaired. A recore in aluminium was about the price of a new radiator. A recore in brass was 180 quid.
I was quoted about 300 quid for a new one. Got my old one fixed for 15. Really easy to change out though.
300 squids :( , ferkin 'ell.
I was imagining more like £20 from the breakers, will have to nip up this afternoon to see how much they are wanting.
Glad its easy to change out though, will have a crack at it then if i can source one.
Ta
Just had a look on http://www.cheshiremotorcyclesalvage.com which is just up the road from work and they got one at £79 which is more than i expected to pay but not ridiculously so.
Mr Toad
02-01-08, 01:58 PM
Make sure it is watertight, or that you get some guarantee - I bought one off eBay for £10, but it had a small leak, so it's now decorating a shelf in my shed.
Make sure it is watertight, or that you get some guarantee - I bought one off eBay for £10, but it had a small leak, so it's now decorating a shelf in my shed.
You couldn't send it round to decorate my front room when it's finished your shelf could you?
You couldn't send it round to decorate my front room when it's finished your shelf could you?
:smt003 Can it do ironing too? If so, i'm in as well.
300 squids :( , ferkin 'ell.
I was imagining more like £20 from the breakers, will have to nip up this afternoon to see how much they are wanting.
Haha, you are having a laugh!
It's the first thing to get crunched on a pointy. I looked for 3 months for one and couldn't find a straight one anywhere, so I fitted an SV1000S one instead. That was cheap as chips at 30 quid, but it was only cheap because the guy hadn't a clue what bike it was for, and nor did I when I bought it, but it looked like it would fit. The only pointy 650 ones I saw were going for well over 100 quid if they were straight, even slightly bent ones were going for 70 quid upwards if they didn't leak
northwind
02-01-08, 06:11 PM
Yeah, especially the first pointies with the wider radiator, they were like anti-crash bungs, designed to touch down first and destroy an expensive part :mrgreen: So they're not common. Your bent one will be worth something of course...
You couldn't send it round to decorate my front room when it's finished your shelf could you?
:p
Yeah, especially the first pointies with the wider radiator, they were like anti-crash bungs, designed to touch down first and destroy an expensive part :mrgreen: So they're not common. Your bent one will be worth something of course...
My bent rad is worth buttons - both tanks are crushed as is the filler neck and the core is twisted, plus a mounting bracket is broken. All I salvaged was the fan (which needed the surround straightening) and the temp sender, plus some fixings. The rest is sitting behind the beer-fridge in the garage waiting until I have need of some lightweight alloy tube.
As you can see, my bike is a K3, first of the pointies, and the rad took a right battering.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/222/498783643_e2eb12ef9b.jpg?v=0
northwind
02-01-08, 09:06 PM
You could probably sell it as modern art :smt103
Durbs, if the radiator isn't leaking and you just don't like the dink in it, have you thought about a stainless radiator cover?
Durbs, if the radiator isn't leaking and you just don't like the dink in it, have you thought about a stainless radiator cover?
Yeah, i'd been looking at them anyway on eBay (and the oil cooler covers) before i saw the damage the other day as i think they look nice so will probably get one anyway. Cant actually see the damage unless you crawl beneath the bike but i know its there!!!! aaaargh. Its going to do my head in every time i get on the bike now.
Yeah, i'd been looking at them anyway on eBay (and the oil cooler covers) before i saw the damage the other day as i think they look nice so will probably get one anyway. Cant actually see the damage unless you crawl beneath the bike but i know its there!!!! aaaargh. Its going to do my head in every time i get on the bike now.
So get yourself a cover, and a session with a hypnotist to make you forget about it:)
Then refrain from running anyone down in case they spot it and mention it;)
Seriously though, it's not very likely that you'll get one in any better condition than yours from a breaker.
phil24_7
05-01-08, 01:38 PM
They aint cheap either.
No they're not. I've been looking for one to replace mine as one of the fairing mount holes is a bit mangled! They're upwards of £40 for a second hand one!
phil24_7
05-01-08, 01:45 PM
You couldn't send it round to decorate my front room when it's finished your shelf could you?
I have a shed or a garage in need of building too!
Yeah, especially the first pointies with the wider radiator, they were like anti-crash bungs, designed to touch down first and destroy an expensive part :mrgreen: So they're not common. Your bent one will be worth something of course...
Is this the same with the faired or is it just the naked's? I want a new one for my fully faired but one of the mounting points for the fairing is on the rad so I wouldn't have thought they'd be different to the later models. If they are, perhaps this is why my fairing had to be "adjusted" to work with the gixer front end?
northwind
05-01-08, 02:42 PM
I'm not totally sure on that one to be honest.
No they're not. I've been looking for one to replace mine as one of the fairing mount holes is a bit mangled! They're upwards of £40 for a second hand one!
No chance of retapping the hole then?
phil24_7
06-01-08, 01:50 AM
It's still got a thread in it however the hole has been pushed in a little and the rad has a slight bend along it's length.
It works perfectly and if I hadn't fitted the gixer front end I would never have noticed it, it's only because I was fettling the fairing plastics that I noticed!
phil24_7
06-01-08, 01:51 AM
I'm not totally sure on that one to be honest.
Does any one know if the rads on the S model changed like the naked model?
I think but am not totally sure, the naked wont fit on a fared but a fared will fit on a naked. Something to do with mounting points for the plastics :?:
Pedrosa
06-01-08, 09:54 AM
Durbs, if the radiator isn't leaking and you just don't like the dink in it, have you thought about a stainless radiator cover?
Total sense from the lady there! Well done Lissa.;)
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