Can you run 100% coolant in a street bike cooling system

5191 Views 30 Replies 13 Participants Last post by hogcowboy, Jan 18, 2021

Langelg7

Discussion Starter · Mar 12, 2019

I'm still in the process of swapping everything to my 92 frame of an FZR600 and put pure coolant in the cooling system. So my question is, is that okay for the system or do I have to dilute it with at least some distilled water or should I put distilled water in the overflow.? Last time I used 50/50 mix and was overheating so if so I'm thinking I should use like 70/30 mix of coolant to water? Coolant my bike uses is ethylene glycol and is formulated for an aluminum block.

1 - 20 of 31 Posts

WintrSol

· #2 · Mar 12, 2019 (Edited)

Actually, pure coolant is less efficient at cooling an engine. In fact, pure water, alone, is best for cooling. The coolant is added to raise the boiling point, not for heat transfer, and as a convenient way to add corrosion inhibitors and, in some cases, some lubrication for the water pump.

I think you need to find out why it was overheating.

Reactions: 2

ZXT10D

· #3 · Mar 12, 2019

Langelg7 said:
I'm still in the process of swapping everything to my 92 frame of an FZR600 and put pure coolant in the cooling system. So my question is, is that okay for the system or do I have to dilute it with at least some distilled water or should I put distilled water in the overflow.?

You can buy pre-mixed coolant which can be poured straight into your cooling
system.

Assuming you are using undiluted anti-freeze, it should be mixed with pure water following
the manufacturers instructions. In most cases, 50:50 is close to ideal.

Last time I used 50/50 mix and was overheating.....

Ethylene glycol is not a very effective coolant, only about half as good
as water. If you have a problem with overheating, adding more anti-freeze
will make it worse.

Find the cause of the overheating and fix it before you waste any
new coolant on it.

Failed fan or thermo-switch.
Stuck thermostat.
Blocked radiator.
Blown head gasket........

See less See more

Reactions: 1

hogcowboy

· #4 · Mar 13, 2019

WintrSol and ZXT10D are dead on. Good luck. Hope you can find the source of the overheating easy.

Langelg7

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 13, 2019

hogcowboy said:
WintrSol and ZXT10D are dead on. Good luck. Hope you can find the source of the overheating easy.

sorry forgot to mention that before I did the frame swap I drained the coolant to remove the radiator to swap some plugs and coils and it wasn't overheating... then I used some 50/50 car coolant my pops had lying around for his car for the bike then that's when the overheating began, not long after is when I took everything apart to frame swap you think using the car coolant could have had something to do with it?

hogcowboy

· #6 · Mar 13, 2019

I didn't have an overheating either on VTX one time that I got. It wasn't until the summer that things started happening. Turned out the previous owner had removed the radiator completely because he thought it was ugly I guess. I got it back from him but I'm mentioning this because one event might not relate to another. I'm sure a mix won't hurt to try. The question is what percentage and I have no idea there. I think the Honda was a 50/50 mix.

Langelg7

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 13, 2019

hogcowboy said:
I didn't have an overheating either on VTX one time that I got. It wasn't until the summer that things started happening. Turned out the previous owner had removed the radiator completely because he thought it was ugly I guess. I got it back from him but I'm mentioning this because one event might not relate to another. I'm sure a mix won't hurt to try. The question is what percentage and I have no idea there. I think the Honda was a 50/50 mix.

So you were running without radiator? And I would try a 70/30 mix of coolant to water my buddy had a similar problem to mine on his Honda 600f3 and said that mix helped out alot

hogcowboy

· #8 · Mar 13, 2019

Yep, no radiator. I got from a local dealer and they didn't catch it either. Ran fine. I put ~500 miles on it before summer it. Dealer split the labor to put it back on. Then I went a crashed the thing anyway.

Langelg7

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 13, 2019 (Edited by Moderator)

hogcowboy said:
Yep, no radiator. I got it from a local dealer and they didn't catch it either. Ran fine. I put ~500 miles on it before summer hit. Dealer split the labor to put it back on. Then I went a crashed the thing anyway.

Holy, hope your okay from crash and that sucks for the vmax was it totalled completely?

oldenslow

· #10 · Mar 13, 2019

Langelg7 said:
... you think using the car coolant could have had something to do with it?

No.

WintrSol

· #11 · Mar 13, 2019 (Edited)

Langelg7 said:
sorry forgot to mention that before I did the frame swap I drained the coolant to remove the radiator to swap some plugs and coils and it wasn't overheating... then I used some 50/50 car coolant my pops had lying around for his car for the bike then that's when the overheating began, not long after is when I took everything apart to frame swap you think using the car coolant could have had something to do with it?

Did you burp the system? IOW, run it until hot with the radiator cap off, so you can see the coolant flowing through the radiator, then after letting it cool, top off the radiator? In many engines, especially motorcycle engines, air can get trapped in pockets of the head; sometimes those pockets include the area around the thermostat and/or cooling fan switch. Revving it as it gets up to full temp can force those bubbles into the radiator, so you can eliminate them the next top-up.

It can make a big difference if the bike is leaning on its side stand, or propped straight up on a lift, too.

Reactions: 1

cmonSTART

· #12 · Mar 13, 2019

Ya, good chance it is air locked as Wintersol said. It's happened to me a few times when changing coolant.

oldenslow

· #13 · Mar 13, 2019

It also helps with some bikes to fill the system, then rock the bike back and forth to free up bubbles. Almost every engine has some nook or cranny that's hard to fill, and some have lots of 'em!

As far as the coolant, every bike manual I have read -- and that's maybe a dozen -- specifies 50/50 water/ethylene glycol antifreeze. Several are specific enough to state never use only water or only antifreeze, but I am sure in a contingency where you lacked one or the other you wouldn't hurt anything short-term. 100% of either is better than not enough!

WintrSol

· #14 · Mar 13, 2019

Because 50/50 is the best compromise between cooling and increased boiling point; if you stay in the range 40/60 to 60/40 those two features don't change much.

SemiFast

· #15 · Mar 14, 2019

Along with rocking the bike around you can squeeze various coolant hoses in an effort to move any trapped air to the top of the system.
Is it possible that something (debris/contaminants) got into the cooling system during the engine swap?
Is the thermostat you're using the same one that was working okay in the previous engine?

mike721

· #16 · Mar 14, 2019

I'd be careful with is using 100% water if your in a cold climate, it will freeze and break something, it will get you home in a pinch but if it's cold out you better stop on the way and buy some antifreeze and put it in before you let the bike cool down. Long term just water might cause some corrosion or lack of water pump lubrication issues too, so I'd go with a 50/50 mix.
Side note.. has anyone noticed that automotive antifreeze is now sold 50/50 pre diluted, but the price is the same as it was when it was the concentrate? That's some mighty expensive water in there....

oldenslow said:
It also helps with some bikes to fill the system, then rock the bike back and forth to free up bubbles. Almost every engine has some nook or cranny that's hard to fill, and some have lots of 'em!

As far as the coolant, every bike manual I have read -- and that's maybe a dozen -- specifies 50/50 water/ethylene glycol antifreeze. Several are specific enough to state never use only water or only antifreeze, but I am sure in a contingency where you lacked one or the other you wouldn't hurt anything short-term. 100% of either is better than not enough!

hogcowboy

· #17 · Mar 14, 2019

Yes I have but put it out of my mind for fear I'd get even more ticked off if I thought about it. Greed is everywhere these days.

ZXT10D

· #18 · Mar 14, 2019

mike721 said:
....has anyone noticed that automotive antifreeze is now sold 50/50 pre diluted, but the price is the same as it was when it was the concentrate? That's some mighty expensive water in there....

Bad value, but not quite as bad as ready-to-use windscreen washer fluid.

photomacman

· #19 · Mar 15, 2019

Overheating radiator

ZXT10D said:
You can buy pre-mixed coolant which can be poured straight into your cooling
system.

Find the cause of the overheating and fix it before you waste any
new coolant on it.

Failed fan or thermo-switch.
Stuck thermostat.
Blocked radiator.
Blown head gasket........

I had a problem with boil out, and after 2 years of carrying around coolant in a bottle to top up during summer it struck me that there was one thing that nobody mentioned... the radiator cap. Changed that 3 years ago and haven't needed to add coolant again!

Reactions: 1

hogcowboy

· #20 · Mar 15, 2019

photomacman said:
I had a problem with boil out, and after 2 years of carrying around coolant in a bottle to top up during summer it struck me that there was one thing that nobody mentioned... the radiator cap. Changed that 3 years ago and haven't needed to add coolant again!

Very good point.:thumbsup: That is an often overlooked item.:thumbsup:

1 - 20 of 31 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.