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.
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?
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
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.
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.
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
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 🙂
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.
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
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
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...
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.
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...
I need help.
I used water wetter not knowing it did not have rust inhibitors. I drained last week, after 2 years and had pretty signifigcant rusty water coating everything. What should I do now? What things do I need to address, thermostat water pump etc...?
The bike is in pieces for winter maintenance so can not run flush run flush. I filled with straight antifreeze so as not to leave dry. What next?
that Interceptor has chain cam drive....gear drive didn't come around until later VFR750s
Correct that was what I meant by cocked up. It was that that lead to the cam drive in the VFR. Still that that VF is better looking than the first VFR ! Flame suit on !
Start with draining and wire wheel (Dremel) the steel impeller on the water pump back to new condition... fill with 50% 50% and monitor any new rust... then go into the thermostat...
If you have a Honda car dealer nearby the Honda Blue Type 2 coolant is the exact same formula as the Pro Honda HP Coolant, only the color is different (Blue vs. Green).
In the event you do not here is the Amazon link. $22.00 a gallon including shipping.
Start with draining and wire wheel (Dremel) the steel impeller on the water pump back to new condition... fill with 50% 50% and monitor any new rust... then go into the thermostat...
Impeller looked fine, but found lingering microscopic leak
Impeller looked fine, but found lingering microscopic leak
Good find, man.
I missed ONE o ring when changing them out. Guess which one leaked after the next flush? And it wasn't a leak you could see. You'd just smell it as it must have been so small it aerosolized. Anyway, I replaced the O-ring, and when I pulled the knuckle the one in there was just crusty and awful. As were a couple of others I'd pulled before.
I can't emphasize to folks enough, if you're tearing a bike apart for any reason, just change the o rings. They're cheap insurance. Especially for those of us with older generation VFRs that might have sat for a few years.
I missed ONE o ring when changing them out. Guess which one leaked after the next flush? And it wasn't a leak you could see. You'd just smell it as it must have been so small it aerosolized. Anyway, I replaced the O-ring, and when I pulled the knuckle the one in there was just crusty and awful. As were a couple of others I'd pulled before.
I can't emphasize to folks enough, if you're tearing a bike apart for any reason, just change the o rings. They're cheap insurance. Especially for those of us with older generation VFRs that might have sat for a few years.
Do you know of others that should be addressed while apart?
All the knuckles and the thermostat housing for a 5th gen. The ones under the throttlebody are a pain to get to, so worth doing if you're ever working under there.
I don't know where everything is on a 7th gen offhand, though. I haven't worked on that engine. Only the 800s and 750s.
Have been looking at Evans waterless coolant lately but can’t bring myself to pay the premium...
Don't even think of it. I'll try to find my post/review of this on another forum but remember that water is the most efficient at removing heat. I can't remember which glycol Evans is made from but it's something like 40% less efficient at removing heat. Bikes do NOT have that much extra cooling capacity. When I ran it for a weekend my ZX-9R got up to 250 degrees almost immediately after getting off the highway. When I switched it back over to water wetter and an 80/20 mix of water to coolant, it's back to normal.
End of thread · 36 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 20 Sep 2019