Nice work, adding to DIY sticky

 

Thanks, I figured this is one of the main things that keeps potential track riders away from the track, at least it was for me when I wanted to go.


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I've been thinking about adding more coolant, as when I look down the fairings it's hard to tell how much coolant is actually in the reserve canister. Definitely below the full line. I guess I just worry about things.

 

U will have 2 totally different levels between engine running and off mine off is slightly over full when stood straight and just under 3/4 while riding

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if you shine a torch on the reserve tank and give the bike a bit of a wiggle you will see the coolant level easier

 

lol a torch.... that could be mis-interpreted...

 

I don't have to drain the radiator when topping off do I ?

What's the rule on mixing coolants of different colors?

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Hmm.

Once you top the system back up you should idle the bike until the thermostat opens and releases a heap of air bubbles, generally the level will drop considerably as well.
You would do this prior to replacing the fairings.

 

Do you check the reserve coolant tank level with the bike on the stand or with the bike up straight?

 

bike up straight

 

for everyday, how frequently shoudl we change coolant?

 

The manual states to inspect the cooling system (fluid level, hoses, etc) at 600mi, 7.6k, and 15.2k, or once every year if you don't hit one of those mileage marks. Replace the coolant, hoses, and o rings at 22.5k miles or after 3 years.

Personally, I would just check everything over every couple thousand miles, or whenever I have the fairings off anyway. I would also replace the coolant once a year regardless of mileage... The anti-corrosion properties of coolant diminish over time and I'd prefer to just replace it for peace of mind since its cheap and easy.

This is assuming you aren't doing track days or totally wailing on your engine every day. In that case I'd change the coolant more often. I'll probably do my first coolant change at 3800mi (i want to switch to a better coolant to see if it runs cooler or if it's a gimmick).

 

So was it a gimmick or no

 

Old topic but very informative. I've got a question, alot of people say when you change the coolant that you should flush the coolant twice using just straight distilled water, then after the second flush put the 50/50 mix. Is this necessary or should I just flush what's in it now and refill with new coolant

 

The flushing is mainly if you're trying to get all of the glycol out of the system before taking the bike on a track (i.e. you need to run pure water).

If you're filling the system up with a glycol coolant again, there's no real need to flush with water. Not for a bike that is at most two years old.

 

hey do you know if the 300 ninja is pressure fed to the overflow tank or gravity. I'm looking at moving it around or making my own custom one since I'm during my bike into a cafe racer. any help would be wicked cheers.

 

Can you make a thread on how you are doing your cafe? Sounds interesting.....

 

Thank you for a very informative write up. I am about to replace my coolant with DI water and water wetter in preparation for my first track day. I know this is an old thread, but in the interest of keeping all of the relevant information to one thread, can someone confirm that running on non glycol based coolant for everyday is commuting is ok? I am definitely interested in visiting the track as much as I can, but the Ninja is still going to be my main commuter during the week, and I'd rather not do the whole flushing procedure every time I go to the track.

 

Well, I just replaced my coolant with water wetter and distilled water: mixed about a third of the water wetter with roughly a gallon of distilled water, was only able to fit a bit more then half a gallon into the bike. The process is relatively simple, one word of caution though: start by undoing the water pump bolt and keep the radiator cap closed at first. I did the opposite and the coolant sprayed like two feet away from my bike

 

one word of caution though: start by undoing the water pump bolt and keep the radiator cap closed at first. I did the opposite and the coolant sprayed like two feet away from my bike

Happened to me as well the first time. The next time I opened the radiator cap first and drained coolant from the engine drain bolt. It's located above the oil filter. Then I did the water pump drain bolt, holding the pan up close to it. Much more controlled and I think I got more fluid out.

This was over-kill, but I tried 50/50 distilled water and white vinegar to flush the system. Then plain distilled water to flush the flush. Do it once more if you're worried about leaving any vinegar in there.

A problem I had was, since the cooling fan never comes on--I tested it and it works--how can I tell that the engine got hot enough to open the thermostat?

BTW, I decided to switch from the stock green coolant to Valvoline/Zerex "Asian" red coolant. It's silicate-free, which is important for bikes, but it has phosphate unlike some universal coolants. (Phosphate was removed from European-compatible coolants, I guess.)

 

Nice write up OP, I'll be doing this during the winter.

 

Thanks for the write-up. I wouldn't put vinegar or even distilled water through this. the amount of coolant you need is so small you can buy the prestone at walmart (for all cars even with aluminum engines) and after you drain the coolant just keep both drain bolts out and pour some coolant in there to flush it out, you still have a ton of coolant left to fill the whole system. there's no need to buy separate water or vinegar, I'd recommend you don't use either especially vinegar

 

I wouldn't put vinegar or even distilled water through this. the amount of coolant you need is so small you can buy the prestone at walmart (for all cars even with aluminum engines) and after you drain the coolant just keep both drain bolts out and pour some coolant in there to flush it out, you still have a ton of coolant left to fill the whole system. there's no need to buy separate water or vinegar, I'd recommend you don't use either especially vinegar

For what it costs, and how rarely radiator flushes have to be done, I prefer to use specifically formulated radiator flushes. I'm not sure what's in them honestly, but it does do a good job and isn't just water and vinegar, obviously. The one I typically use is Prestone AS105 Radiator Flush and Cleaner. It's cheap and works fine.

I'll probably have to do a coolant change this month.

 

In the interest of adding to the database, I remember reading that water is, overall, much better than antifreeze at absorbing heat. When I drain my radiator this spring, I want to add as much water as possible. To that end, I found a site that lists the water/antifreeze ratio necessary to keep the engine block from freezing and thought I'd share - http://www.erareplicas.com/427man/engine/antifreeze.htm.

Given that the low temps rarely go into single digits in my area, much less below zero, I'm strongly considering going with a 2:1 ratio of water:antifreeze. It also has an interesting write-up on the different colors and what they do(n't) mean...

 

Do you guys replace all the hoses that it says for maintenance or just certain ones?

 

Unless a hose is leaking or is visibly worn (i.e. cracked, bulging, or brittle), I see no reason to change it.