OzSTOC
Honda ST1100 Section => Honda ST1100 General Questions => Topic started by: jt8277 on December 10, 2017, 05:14:18 PM
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Hi,
I have been doing some work on the bike today, to remove the old heated grips, that not longer work and change them out for new non-heated ones... its going to be fun when winter rolls around again in Woodend. Anyways, to get the old heated grips off the bike, I had to take the whole bike apart to get at the cables, and noticed a couple of things...
One - I noticed my Rear Brake Fluid Reservoir was a bit low, so I topped it up - which you're going to tell me was the wrong thing to do... aren't you...
Two - The bottle for the coolant appears to be completely empty and dry, but have never noticed the bike ever getting too hot, it certainly does when it is in summer and in traffic, but once I get going the air seems to cool the bike down to low enough levels that are acceptable... What do you think I should do? I don't know if I should flush the system and replace the coolant with the proper stuff, or as the bike seems to be fine, is leave it alone.
I have no idea what coolant was in the bike to start with... how would I know if the bike has this waterless stuff I keep reading about... I am not a very good motorcycle mechanic, so unless it is easy to drain out what is in there, and flush it through with de-ionized water and add coolant, I don't want to touch it.
We haven't had a local (Victoria) maintenance day in such a long time, if we were to have one, then it would be helpful for people like me to know what to do.
Yours
J
:wht11 :wht11
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If you have a waterless coolant it will look clear like oil and wont have a bitter taste like glycol will.
I would be draining and flushing the whole system and refilling with fresh coolant/water mix so that you then know how long it will be to the next change. Also fill the overflow bottle to the correct line with the same mixture.
Refilling the brake reservoir is the right thing to do. Bad things happen with empty reservoirs.
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The resevoir will lower as the pad wears, watch out for ver flow when replacing the pads..
I would be removing the right side grey cover and looking in the radiator cap to check the coolant level. Check the condition of the overflow hose, and top up the overflow bottle. Top up the radiator if needed.
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If you have a waterless coolant it will look clear like oil and wont have a bitter taste like glycol will.
I would be draining and flushing the whole system and refilling with fresh coolant/water mix so that you then know how long it will be to the next change. Also fill the overflow bottle to the correct line with the same mixture.
Refilling the brake reservoir is the right thing to do. Bad things happen with empty reservoirs.
I'd dread to think how you know the bitter taste of it the Coolant... :p
What would you guy recommend for the coolant... I hope it is not too much dismantling of the bike required to get to the Radiator because I am sick of taking that thing apart and putting it back together... I don't know who installed the heated grips on this bike, but what a mess.
I am still waiting for my grips to properly dry before I take it for a spin.
Also if my Brake Fluid on the back being on it's lowest point, could that mean I am due to replace my pads on the rear?
I am voting a maintenance day...
J
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I use the red Nulon coolant but you can use any silicon free coolant you want.
There are two water levels on the coolant reserve tank - aim to fill between the marks when motor is cold. As the motor heats up the coolant will expand and fill to the top mark or more. There is an overflow on the tank so any excess coolant will be lost.
Access to the 1100s radiator cap is done by removing the RH filler panel
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Hi JT this another worthwhile site to bookmark. Has all info on your bike . Nigel :wht11
http://www.datateck.com.au/Lube/PenriteAus/ (http://www.datateck.com.au/Lube/PenriteAus/)
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Thanks for all the information guys... I will be going out testing my new grips at the weekend and grab some coolant.
J