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Asking for a friend, honest!
A check's going to done on bike cooling system, so she'd like some coolant, but doesn't know what's in it.
Where is the most accessible point on a K1 to get a look at what's in it?
The overflow tank?
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Thanks, don't think I've seen any in it, but pointed a youtube vid at her.
There's a drain plug on the R/H side of the engine in the water pump if you want to replace the coolant. Plus you can look in the radiator via the cap.
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Yeah that's what the vid showed. Tissue into the radiator to see the coolant type, or a dribble out the drain.
just drain, flush with water and renew with halfords pink readymix.
check that there is a small screw on the rad cap so dont try and force it off, somebody might have already taken it out.
remember to flush out the header tank.
fill via the rad cap first then close rad cap and top up the header tank.
once filled run bike till stat opens then top up as need be. dont overfill the header and just under the fill line is good enough.
Asking for a friend, honest!
A check's going to done on bike cooling system, so she'd like some coolant, but doesn't know what's in it.
Where is the most accessible point on a K1 to get a look at what's in it?
Dont forget it should be 50% concentration as recommended in the manual and isnt always easy to confirm on the contents labels...
Thanks chaps, info passed-on.
R1ffR4ff
05-07-23, 01:53 PM
Don't forget to ,"Burp" the system. The procedure is in the WSM. Basically sit on the bike with the engine running and keep an eye on the coolant level in the rad. When the thermostat opens the coolant will flow around. Holding the bars and moving the bike left and right will allow air in the system to come to the top and escape. Failure to do so can cause engine over heating.
I recently changed over to this OAT coolant and have used other Mannol products,
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304176715512
Full gallon delivered to the door. It has lowered my running temps by between 5 to 8 Deg C from my old silicate free car Glycol coolant I used to use.
HTH :)
I like Mannol stuff but as far as I can see that coolant is 33% concentration and not the 50% recommended by Suzuki which as I say is quite difficult to find - what difference it makes I havent got a clue...
I guess the mix ratio affects the freezing point.
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And anti corrosion properties?
R1ffR4ff
05-07-23, 05:30 PM
I like Mannol stuff but as far as I can see that coolant is 33% concentration and not the 50% recommended by Suzuki which as I say is quite difficult to find - what difference it makes I havent got a clue...
Neither do I except that until putting this in this year I used to mix my own 50/50 with distilled water and it usually affects the freezing point and boiling point of the coolant.
As stated my engine is running cooler( have a temp gauge on me headstock). I tested the fan kicking in after putting the coolant in and I've been stuck in traffic a few times and no over-heating problems. I doubt we get the minus figures to worry about the coolant ever freezing :)
And anti corrosion properties?Maybe , there might be a lubrication element too.
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Found this in the manual...
Coolant really does 2 things, the anti-freeze bit and the corrosion protection.
The anti-freeze used in auto coolants is almost always ethylene glycol. There are snake oil merchants who try to sell propylene glycol as a wonder product, but no-one in the automotive sector to my knowledge (40yrs in the industry) uses it, prop glycol is used mainly in the food industry as coolant since it is not toxic, whereas ethylene glycol is very toxic. Use a regular auto coolant in an automotive application.
The best antifreeze effect for ethylene glycol is at around 50/50(ish) mix with water, use deionised or at least very soft water, clean rain water is fine usually, be careful with tap water, generally not recommended but OK if nothing else is available.
The inhibitor aspect is far more complex, different additives are used for different applications and specific purposes with mixes of materials or gas contamination and wet liner cavitation etc (big diesels etc).
Most Japanese bikes specify a silicate free coolant to avoid pump seal wear. The label or tech data sheet will tell you if it is silicate free.
Colour is not a significant aspect, it is a dye, but common practice is that longer life coolants tend to be pink/purple etc. Not guaranteed, but typical.
For most of my engines, bikes/cars, I have ended up using Comma G30, it is based on BASF Glysantin 30 which is a major industry product and silicate/borate free.
Halfords long life is often recommended by folk for typical bikes, and as far as I know is silicate free and a perfectly good product.
As said by others, fill at the radiator cap right to the top. When it heats up some will be pushed out into the "make-up" bottle, and drawn back into the system when it cools down again. Keep the make-up bottle between the max and min marks when cold. A couple of cycles should stabilise it.
Tap water is fine for flushing the system through unless you know it is very hard. If old coolant smells manky it means the additive pack has probably expired, flush and renew every few years as routine, it's cheap.
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