overheating issues

[ottatom]

Hi Guys,

My VTR has a small problem. I was going to work this morning and I noticed the temperature going 3/4 to redline. I stopped the bike when got to work and I noticed that only one of the radiators was working. Are they supposed to kick in separately or they should be working at the same time? I'm wondering how much is it going to cost me to fix this...
Cheers

[popkat]

What do you mean only one of the radiators was working ? they're linked.. there is only one fan on the righthand rad..

Check your coolant level in the rad not the expansion tank.


.

[ottatom]

Well I put my hand next to both radiators, the right one was expelling a lot of hot air but the left one was not... How do I check the coolant level on the radiator?

[popkat]

That was the fan working then.

The radiator cap is under the right hand side of the fairing, I think you can access the cap if you un bolt the right side of fairing and pull it out a bit, if it needs topping up do it with the bike upright.

Does the bike not normally get that hot ?, they can run hot in heavy traffic.

.

[ottatom]

it runs a bit hot in traffic yes, but today I got a bit worried is it was close to red line and the fact that the left side wasn't venting air (neither hot or cold) at all didnt seem normal. I dont know what coolant they used at the last service. Is it ok if I fill it up with distilled water?

[popkat]

If you only need a little top then use water, if it's really low you should use either a coolant mix or a pre mix, if you need a fair bit of water use it to get you out of trouble and do a coolant change asap.

Was the coolant changed recently ? it could have had an air lock, if that's now cleared up then a top up should sort it, if it hasn't been changed recently then make sure you check it regular as there might be another problem.


.

[ottatom]

The service was done about a year ago now.. so the coolant hasnt been changed since then. I topped it up a few times with a bit of distilled water. So I should open the left handside fairing, open the radiator and fill it up. correct?

One thing I dont understand is why air was blowing from the right handside radiator and not from the left hand side... is it supposed to be that way when there isnt enough coolant in the radiator?

[popkat]

Right hand side is the cap, the coolant circulates around the system, it doesn't stay put in the radiator.

The air was blowing from the right radiator because that's the one with the fan on.


.

[fabiostar]

mine done the same and it was just an airlock. i let it sit running and topped it up. end of problem.