coolant

ok when I first got the bike I noticed that the previous owner just put plain water in the radiator so now in the next week or so I want to refill with coolant, so what is the best make to use and how much will I need thanks

I used putoline and iirc 3 litres will do it with some to spare, if I also remember correctly there is some debate about how much it takes compared to what the book says.

Dan

I used this. I can't remember exactly how much - 4 litres rings a vague bell.

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=1641&g=549500&p=549495&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Coolant&gclid=CLybgv6zr8sCFYMK0wodRDULqw

.....just checked the manual 2.7litres including the expansion bottle.

As Dan says, lots have people have reported not getting the right amount back in.

£26 but a lot better than my motor freezing up thanks guys

I will probably go for the 4L that will leave  some for topping up now and again

skyrider wrote:£26 but a lot better than my motor freezing up thanks guys

according to the service schedule it'll stay in there 36months / 24,000miles so not allot in the grand scheme of it.

.......or you could be the first CB (that I know of) on waterless coolant!

which is the best method to fill from empty the filler under the petrol tank or the bottle at the right hand side

You have to fill it from the filler under the petrol tank, once you've properly drained it.

Do you have a Haynes book? It's all in there.

the highest point so under the tank, there is a drain by the water pump which'll have a copper washer which should be replaced.

while your at it you can put a hose in the filler to flush out all the crud before refilling.

when it comes a bit warmer im going to spray all the bike with paraffin and then go round over it with a paint brush to give it a good clean while the tank and plastics are off, and I do have a Haynes manual I found the drain bolt in there and as jerry said  i was thinking that after I drained the rad and swilled the bike off with water I will put the hose in the top filler for a good clean out its probably never been done

When you take the drain bolt off, get ready with a bucket - it shoots out fast and sprayed all over my mate!

I just looked back. I brought 4 litres, but still have one unopened, so like Dan, 3 was enough.

when I drain mine I will do it outside neat a drain so should be ok, right if 3L is plenty that's what I will get

skyrider wrote:when I drain mine I will do it outside neat a drain

...not entirely sure you're meant to put it down the drain it can't be completely full of water?

can it?

yes you could be right I will put it in a bucket and throw it in the field that is at the back of our house with no animals in it (that's the field not the house )

but as said before it just seems to be water with no coolant but anyway I will err on the side of caution

Only thing about that is that there will be lots of animals in the field, just not grazing animals. Birds, rodents, insects...none of them likes to have ethylene glycol poured over their habitat ; ) 

I read somewhere that it's OK to pour antifreeze down the loo but not down the drain, since that goes to sewage works rather than just into rivers. That's assuming you don't have a septic tank or something.

But if it's really just water in there then just pour it down the drain.

If you're going to pour coolant away (and you're not supposed to put it down the drain or in the sewer!) somewhere into the environment then dilute it lots (ie. either add a lot of water or wash it away with a lot of water), this will reduce the harm it might be able to do.

I suspect that a lot of it ends up going down the drain or as (quite sensibly) suggested down the toilet (where it will, at least, be further diluted before entering a water course).

If you are in the UK then easiest/cheapest way to get rid of it is to mix it with your old engine oil and take it to your local tip ('household waste disposal site') and pour it in the used engine oil container. This is free and no one will notice...

Probably better would be to use one of the non-ethyene glycol based coolants which last longer (forever, essentially) and cause less environmental problems (can't remember the brand name now...).

saw this site when looking around....

https://www.gov.uk/hazardous-waste-disposal

I guess in reality we all know how we dispose of such things and also a fair idea on how we are meant to, the only underlying point I guess I was making was not to say it on a public forum

jerryfudd wrote:saw this site when looking around....

https://www.gov.uk/hazardous-waste-disposal

I guess in reality we all know how we dispose of such things and also a fair idea on how we are meant to, the only underlying point I guess I was making was not to say it on a public forum :)

I wasn't saying what *I* do with it :)  If the government really cared about what we did with it then they would provide an easier way to get rid of it!

Had a similar thing with some corrugated asbestos sheets, the advise from the council was that its highly dangerous so I should bag it up and pop it in the back of the car next to where my kids sit and take it to their disposal center...... I'm not putting it anywhere near my kids go let alone in the back of my car so in the end had to pay for a company to come and collect it.

But anyway... back onto the topic of coolant

While you're flushing out the system it would be worth taking off the small pipe at the top of the filler neck and blowing through it.
This is the overflow to the expansion bottle and if you only had tap water in the system it may be silted up (or god forbid it has had rad weld in it...)
Take cap off expansion bottle first obviously

jchesshyre wrote:Only thing about that is that there will be lots of animals in the field, just not grazing animals. Birds, rodents, insects...none of them likes to have ethylene glycol poured over their habitat ; ) 

I read somewhere that it's OK to pour antifreeze down the loo but not down the drain, since that goes to sewage works rather than just into rivers. That's assuming you don't have a septic tank or something.

But if it's really just water in there then just pour it down the drain.

im dead certain its just tap water in the rad but I don't fancy drinking it to find out

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/performance/coolant-additives/demon-tweeks-4-life-advanced-engine-coolant

I have used this stuff for years now and it has never let me down.
Even after a stone managed to hole the radiator, it kept the engine cool for a further 80 miles.
Whether or not it was because I was on the motorway or not I don't know. I can't help thinking that had it been just water I would have been surrounded by a cloud of steam waiting for the AA man.

thanks ANDY thats another one worth thinking about