coolant change

[cjmitch]

When changing coolant is it better to do a "rinse" with clean distilled water
(IE put in water run bike drain) before draining and putting in the NEW Coolant.

Or don't bother

[ben721364]

When changing coolant is it better to do a "rinse" with clean distilled water

(IE put in water run bike drain) before draining and putting in the NEW Coolant.

Or don't bother

It is a good idea and takes little time to flush the system completely. Be sure to use a compatible coolant in the proper ratio.

[Trikerjim]

cj, like Ben said it takes very little time. If you have a little time,you may want to run some of the commercial radiator flushing solutions, especially if your old coolant looks dirty or very dark. As Ben said about the coolant, make sure the flush is compatible with you system. You may not believe the junk that comes out...

[Jimsjinx]

Hello! When I did my 1500 last weekend, I drained it,filled with tapwater and ran it a min., then drained it again,and filled with distilled, ran a min., then drained her again. Finally I filled her up with a 50/50 mix of "ZEREX" and distilled water. I figure tap water is good enough to flush with (been doin it to toilets all my life), and as long as I flushed it with a final rinse of distilled, it should be good to go. One important thing that's easy to overlook, is remove and clean out the resevoir cannister. It gets pretty funky, as all the crud gets pushed up into it and stays there. Good tinkering! Jim

[Ozarkryder]

When I did the coolant change lat year, I rinsed with regular water, then distilled, then with a commercial flush designed for aluminium systems. The commercial flush was mixed about 1/2 strength with distilled water. I was (probably too cautiously) concerned that a full strength mix would be too strong and mess up the seals and such and if it cleaned out too well, any gunk that was washed away might have been stopping a leak.

I rinsed again twice with distilled and filled with Honda's own coolant, picked it up at the auto dealership. It was almost half the price than the stuff at the motorsports dealer, and a mechanic (Honda trained) told me that it is the same stuff, just colored differently so they can jack up the price at the motorcycle shop. (And I thought HD stood for High Dollar - now I think it also stands for Honda Dollars) Pretty much any coolant will do that is silicate free and marked good for all engines or good for all aluminum engines, and if it isn't pre mixed, mix with distilled water. I used about 4 gallons - around $4 worth - mostly for the piece of mind value.