Which Coolant Should I use?

[thunderbolt]

I plan to change the coolant in my '03 model as I don't k now when it was last done?

Is there any special coolant I should use?

Any particular strength, ratio, etc?
Do I need to buy the factory type coolant from my Honda dealer or will a coolant for automotive use be OK?

Any recommendations?

Thanks

[Wicky]

Page 48 of the searchable Honda Service Manual (downloadable from the Workshop knowledgebase) > Maintenance > Radiator Coolant

50/50 mixture of distilled water and antifreeze.

Some places sell ready mixed.

[VTRDark]

I usually buy a pre-mixed coolant as it keeps things simple and the ratio the same throughout topping up.
http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/honda/vtr_1 ... ive_litre/

You can mix your own if you like. Any anti freeze (Ethylene glycol) will do mixed with water preferably distilled. You can use regular tap water if you like but this is hard water mixed with who knows and encourages scaling. I used a water purifier jug last time! yeh I know that's not distilled but I didn't fancy catching steam out a boiling kettle

As for mix it depends on the extremes of temperature but anything from 70 water/30 anti freeze to 50/50. I would not go more than 50/50 though as this could cause issues with efficiency.

FYI Anti freeze (Ethylene glycol) also acts as a Summer coolant. If anyone wants to check their coolant system for any traces then dip your finger in and have a taste. If it's nice and sweet then there is some Ethylene glycol in there. Note this is bad for your health so maybe a gravity tester would be preferred.

(:-})

[thunderbolt]

Thanks Wicky

[thunderbolt]

So an automotive anti freeze would be ok to use?

I am in Australia, so no problem with low temps, but air temp will often get above 35deg in summer.

I read somewhere that anti freeze does not help with keeping the motor cool, the water does that, the anti freeze stops the corrosion that can happen in alloy motors.

[sirch345]

It also needs to be silicate free and designed for alloy engines,

Chris.

[VTRDark]

It helps with heat transfer and gives more stability to temps, so along with corrosion resistance helps keep things cool

So an automotive anti freeze would be ok to use?

Ethylene glycol is Ethylene glycol so whether packaged for cars or motorcycles, any automotove Anti freeze will be OK Just check it's allright for alloy engines as Sirch has said. I forgot about that

(:-})

[thunderbolt]

Thanks Guys for all of the replies. VERY helpful.

Might try and do it this weekend.

BTW. Is it very difficult to remove the front fairing to do this job?

Any tips?

Thanks

[VTRDark]

Front fairing removal.

1. Remove 10mm nuts from mirrors and take them off. Then unclip your indicator wires which may be held back by bendy metal tabs on the back of the front fairing stay/headlight bracket.
2. Undo hex head (allen) bolts from fairing. Two each side
3. If you have them, remove the plastic trim clips from the bottom of the fairing that attach to the bottom rad brackets.
4. Slide fairing slightly forward and allow to hang but keeping the rounded part of the fairing hanging on the front side fairing brackets. (watch your paintwork on these with removal and putting it back on.
5. Unclip the 2 pin block for the main headlight and unclip the sidelight connectors
6. Pull the side of the fairing outwards and off/over the front side fairing brackets and slide forward and completely off the bike.

Note there are two grub screws mounted at the front under the headlight on the bottom of the fairing. You may or or may not need to loosen or remove these to spread/pull the side of the fairing outwards to slide forward and completely off.

When putting the fairing back on it's the reverse. Make sure the little rubber nodules slide into the front fairing stay/headlight bracket grommets and dont forget to re-connect your headlight and sidelight wires.

Also don't forget to bleed your cooling system of any airlocks first before putting the fairing back on. You can do this by leaving the rad cap off and warming the bike up. No...not a heated blanket, start the engine As it warms up give the bike a bit of a rev and you should see the coolant flowing around the system inside the rad cap hole. It also helps to give the hoses a bit of a squeeze too, especially the lower ones. Dont burn your hands!!! Once your happy, top up fluids, refit rad cap, then bring back up to temp, make sure the fan kicks in just after the halfway mark on the temp gauge or there abouts. Top up coolant overflow bottle and fairing back on. When putting the fairing back on, watch the electrical connector plug on the front side of the right rad. The fairing slides over this.

(:-})

[thunderbolt]

Thanks Carl,

Excellent tutorial. Good tips.

Cheers

[carmanbikes]

When I changed mine I was told to use the Honda one or one specific for motorcycles because the car stuff will knacker the mechanical seal on the water pump

[VTRDark]

Mmmm I suppose it depends on what additives are put in if any. Like I said earlier Ethylene glycol is Ethylene glycol a chemical compound. Used over time it can corrode things, another reason not to use too strong a mix. That's just part of the process of using products, there is always a negative side a yin and yang or sacrifice to be made, but what comes first the chicken or the egg, things wear from being used or sometimes not being used. We can prevent but can't cure the inevitable. There's also all kinds of new products on the market now like engine ice as an option. Am I talking in riddles Better to use some anti freeze than not otherwise one could have bigger issues to worry about. I bet using neat water especially non distilled (purified) over time also wears out the mechanical seal but how long does that take.

(:-})

[bigtwinthing]

its a small amount, Use Honda recommended, it aint worth the worry or hassle to save a tenner. imho of course.

[8541Hawk]

The whole "only use motorbike coolant" thing is old advice that hasn't kept up with the times.

If you were to get in your way back machine and pick up some old coolant you would find that they used to have silicate "scrubbers" in it to keep the cast iron bits clean.
This works well but plays havoc with alloy bits.

Fast forward to today and you will find that coolant has been reformulated. It no longer contains the silicates as many autos now use alloy bits in their engines.

What this means is that any modern coolant will work fine in this bike.

For a field test, you can look at my bike. It has always run standard "auto" coolant, except for the time I was given some of that fancy "Engine Ice" to try.... total wast and glad I didn't pay for it as it made no difference what so ever.... But back to the point. In the time I have owned this bike (which will be 17 yrs next month ) and with close enough to be called 100K miles on the bike and I am still running the original water pupm and seal with no issues.

For a stock engine the stock cooling system works very well as long as you change out the coolant and replace the cap ( a bad cap is the most common issue that comes up when there are cooling issues with this bike) at the regular service intervals with whatever coolant lets you sleep the best at night.

[VTRDark]

Fast forward to today and you will find that coolant has been reformulated. It no longer contains the silicates as many autos now use alloy bits in their engines.

Now that makes logical sense. Thanks for the confirmation I must admit I am a bit old school and some areas are a bit grey for me, like keeping up with the times

I'm sure Honda would love us to purchase Honda, I feel a sense of scare tactics to use it. It's only coolant not your big ends, there's not much to go devastatingly wrong unless one allows the engine to overheat and burn itself out or coolant freeze and pop something of course!
When I think back to the amount of times I have run vehicles on nothing but tap water throughout the Warmer months, above 0ºC without any issues that a good flush wont sort out.

(:-})