Member Contributer VfrJedi7 Posted December 1, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted December 1, 2018 Hey all. I recently just flushed my coolant system for the first time and I noticed when I was filling back up the bike only took 3 quarts and a little from.a 4th quart for the reserve tank. From the service manual it says about a 4.16 quarts and some for the reserve 0.42. See photo for FD bike. I ran the bike till the fans kicked on and let coolant circulate through bike. Do i need to run the bike for a certain amount of times or minutes? I wanted to know if I'm missing something? The filler neck and reserve tank are topped off properly. Does some coolant stay behind when doing a flush? It says radiator and engine in picture so maybe some stays behind. I upgraded to the newer Honda blue pro coolant and want to make sure my bike is topped off with enough coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 Thanks for the reminder. I’ve got to do mine too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 what happens if you don't use distilled water and fail to change coolant often enough.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VfrJedi7 Posted December 2, 2018 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 2, 2018 Whoa crazy looking build up. From looking at the service records the last owner never flushed coolant since 2013 so I did a proper cleaning and flush. Was actually pretty clean just green coolant was a bit dark. Yeah I flushed about 3 times. One time with 50/50 mixture of distilled water and distilled white vinegar. Then 2 other times with distilled water. Filled up the radiator and reserve tank with about 3 quarts and 0.42 ounces for reserve tank from a 4th quart. I'm going to give the bike a good run let it cool and check one more time. If the coolant is topped off then should be good to go. Hey what is your little pet called again? Type of animal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Pet ?? Off topic, but he's a Cymonys ludovicianus, i.e. black-tail prairie dog ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VfrJedi7 Posted December 2, 2018 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 2, 2018 Oh yeah. A little prairie dog. Yeah pet or family member. My little mini dachshund is a son to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhINO Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I don't have the 1200 but for what it's worth it seems that air can be trapped even though you let it run until fan starts. I changed the thermostat on my 800 this spring and after riding it for a while the reserve was low, refilled and after that is been stable Skickat från min E5823 via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VfrJedi7 Posted December 5, 2018 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 5, 2018 Thanks RhINO. Down by my water pump there is a bleeder hole to bleed air out. I took the bike for a 45 minute ride today and when I came back let the bike cool down my filler neck and reserve were fine. I remember when I drained the old fluid out the level it showed on a gallon jug. I'm going to take a empty quart and fill it with 3 quarts and compare the levels and see if it matches up. Yeah good you changed your t- stat it's important. Ride safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 On 12/1/2018 at 11:13 PM, VfrJedi7 said: Oh yeah. A little prairie dog. Yeah pet or family member. My little mini dachshund is a son to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VfrJedi7 Posted December 6, 2018 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 6, 2018 IShark yeah dachshunds are quite the character. Personality and loving little family wolf pack members. Pic is not my little guy but it's a good laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 did you try the air bleed procedure on page 7-6 of the shop manual ??...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 i'm flushing my coolant now ....first time on this 1200....did it once on the first VFR and i felt the same way about it not taking the spec. capacity.......this time it took most of the gallon on the first flush.....that's where i'm at now........old coolant looked good.....3 years on the road and 3 years on the showroom floor......35,000 miles....back to the garage with my trusty weiner dogs to reinstall the clean K&N air filter and warm up bike for first flush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Stray Posted December 23, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted December 23, 2018 What coolant are the cool kids using these days? Any preferences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 Engine Ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 this was my old coolant....factory fill.....3 years on the showroom floor, 3 years on the road......35,000 miles....looks good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MaxSwell Posted December 24, 2018 Member Contributer Share Posted December 24, 2018 22 hours ago, Stray said: What coolant are the cool kids using these days? Any preferences? That may depend on where one lives. Here in The Land Of Interesting Weather, I use: https://www.motosport.com/pro-honda-hp-coolant-5050-premix?variant[PHO000E]=PHO000E-X001-Y001 We need protection against freezing which I suspect you peninsula dwellers probably do not have to worry about. But you can hardly do badly buying what your local mc shops recommend. I go with Honda products. Oil and coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 Engine ice is good to -26 F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Stray Posted January 4, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted January 4, 2019 Have been looking at Evans waterless coolant lately but can’t bring myself to pay the premium... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Mohawk Posted January 7, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted January 7, 2019 On 12/5/2018 at 10:12 AM, lshark said: I'll take the one in the middle, one of the best looking bikes ever made (IMO) pity that Honda cocked them up, but hey without that there would never have been a VFR nor geared cam drive 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Mohawk Posted January 7, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted January 7, 2019 On 12/23/2018 at 11:17 PM, Stray said: What coolant are the cool kids using these days? Any preferences? Distilled water is the best coolant, for maximum cooling from a fixed sized cooling system if it can be kept below 95c. Add anti-freeze in the required quantity based on your expected minimum temperatures. Remember the factory 50/50 distilled water to anti freeze is designed to cover the whole world, +50c to -35c ambient temperatures & it raises the boiling point of the coolant to around 106c. Round these parts its extremely rare to see -10c, so I usea 30% antifreeze to distlled water mix, which is good for -15c & my garage being built into the house means it never gets below zero in there & I don't ride the VFR in winter. So I get a better cooling ratio in the summer & don't have to worry when the bike is stored for winter. Choose your required minimum temp, minus another 5c just to be sure, so my expected minimum is -10c, so I choose -15c as an absolute safety margin. Alternately if you never ride in winter, use 5% antifreeze &/or water wetter in the riding season & just drain the system in the winter & refill with a high strength anti freeze solution for storage. Don't leave it empty as its likely to corrode ! ** Note - don't go above 60% antifreeze as the freezing point comes down again past this point. Pure antifreeze has a freezing point of -20c & is fairly poor as a heat transfer fluid, so you need the water ! FREEZING POINTS FOR SOLUTIONS OF ETHYLENE GLYCOL GLYCOL % BY VOLUME °F °C 12.5 25 -4 17 20 -7 25 10 -12 32.5 0 -18 38.5 -10 -23 44 -20 -29 49 -30 -34 52.5 -40 -40 For optimum cooling, it's best to use the smallest proportion of anti-freeze commensurate with your local temperatures and block materials. 10%-20% of anti-freeze will help prevent internal corrosion, especially when using an aluminum block or heads. For short term use, pure water has the best heat transfer rate of all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 14 hours ago, Mohawk said: I'll take the one in the middle, one of the best looking bikes ever made (IMO) pity that Honda cocked them up, but hey without that there would never have been a VFR nor geared cam drive 🙂 that Interceptor has chain cam drive....gear drive didn't come around until later VFR750s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lshark Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 13 hours ago, Mohawk said: Distilled water is the best coolant, for maximum cooling from a fixed sized cooling system if it can be kept below 95c. Add anti-freeze in the required quantity based on your expected minimum temperatures. Remember the factory 50/50 distilled water to anti freeze is designed to cover the whole world, +50c to -35c ambient temperatures & it raises the boiling point of the coolant to around 106c. Round these parts its extremely rare to see -10c, so I usea 30% antifreeze to distlled water mix, which is good for -15c & my garage being built into the house means it never gets below zero in there & I don't ride the VFR in winter. So I get a better cooling ratio in the summer & don't have to worry when the bike is stored for winter. Choose your required minimum temp, minus another 5c just to be sure, so my expected minimum is -10c, so I choose -15c as an absolute safety margin. Alternately if you never ride in winter, use 5% antifreeze &/or water wetter in the riding season & just drain the system in the winter & refill with a high strength anti freeze solution for storage. Don't leave it empty as its likely to corrode ! ** Note - don't go above 60% antifreeze as the freezing point comes down again past this point. Pure antifreeze has a freezing point of -20c & is fairly poor as a heat transfer fluid, so you need the water ! FREEZING POINTS FOR SOLUTIONS OF ETHYLENE GLYCOL GLYCOL % BY VOLUME °F °C 12.5 25 -4 17 20 -7 25 10 -12 32.5 0 -18 38.5 -10 -23 44 -20 -29 49 -30 -34 52.5 -40 -40 For optimum cooling, it's best to use the smallest proportion of anti-freeze commensurate with your local temperatures and block materials. 10%-20% of anti-freeze will help prevent internal corrosion, especially when using an aluminum block or heads. For short term use, pure water has the best heat transfer rate of all. too much math....two jugs of Engine Ice is a lot easier....no mistakes either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayfarer Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 I've recently got a new to me 2008 VFR800 interceptor, about to change the coolant for the first time DIY, hopefully, I'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BusyLittleShop Posted January 23, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted January 23, 2019 Pick your color... Pro Honda HP Coolant 50/50 Premix 49% Propylene Glycol 50% demineralized water Blue dye Engine Ice Hi-Performance Coolant is pre-mixed Propylene Glycol with de-ionized water with blue dye Belray MotoChill pre-mixed Propylene Glycol with de-ionized water with blue dye Prestone Xtreme Sport Prediluted Motorcycle Coolant Propylene Glycol 50% demineralized water with red dye Dexcool 50% Propylene Glycol and demineralized water with orange dye... I don't recommend Water Wetter for the street because in 6 months the steel impeller on the customer water pump begins to show rust... I only recommend it for track use and when you return to street drain the Wetter and go back to normal coolant with rust inhibitors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MooseMoose Posted January 23, 2019 Member Contributer Share Posted January 23, 2019 BLS is right. All of those motorcycle formula coolants will do the job. I recommend any good asian formula coolant. They're Silicate free (silicates are bad for aluminum) and have the proper corrosion inhibitors. Toyota or Honda factory coolant are exactly this. I've been using Zerex Asian Formula. It's identical to the Honda brand coolant. I'm perfectly happy with red or blue -- mix 'em if you want and make purple, they're identical except for color of dye -- and would be just as happy with Honda's brand. I can get it locally at a good price. No need to worry too much as long as you meet the minimum threshold for motorcycle (aluminum) safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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