changing coolant...

Discussion in '7th Generation 2010-Present' started by schneeman, Jan 15, 2018.

  1. schneeman

    schneeman New Member

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    Changed the coolant today, but didn't remove the reservoir tank, somehow it wasn't obvious from the manual it has to be done, i thought it just mentions that if you want to remove it then see page whatever (and remove the @#$@% swingarm !).
    So i proceeded as they instruct, remove the cap, remove the drain bolt and drain it. Only 2liters came out, instead of 3.6 which is the full capacity. As the reservoir tank seemed to get drained as well, i thought this is what counts as coolant replacement. Is this what you guys do, or do you actually try to get all the 3.6 liters out somehow. And how ? (please don' tell me you actually remove the swingarm!) Found a post here that some suck it out with a sucking device of their choice, can you get all of it that way ? Seems to me as i only removed about half of the coolant today, perhaps i will just do this more often, like every year, and in this way keep the prescribed 2-3 year interval. Any comments appreciated, cheers !
     
  2. Ridem32

    Ridem32 New Member

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    I will have to check my manual.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  3. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    best to suck dry he overflow bottle. don't assume that you're fully filled until you recheck (cold) under rad cap after the first ride.
     
  4. schneeman

    schneeman New Member

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    btw, the same "long life" coolants are used in cars for a lot longer between changes. the coolant that came out after 3 years looked exactly like the one i put in, there was no sediments to be seen anywhere. i think that unless you really regularly push the engine to its limits and get it all boiling on the track or similar, 3 years is a very conservative change interval. in my bmw k1200rs the previous owner had it sitting for 5 years in a shed. various seals were dried etc, but the coolant didn't precipitate any sediments and water pump was ok after i rode it a few hours to get it home. naturally then i changed all fluids and other components right away.

    today i bled the clutch and brakes, the rear brake i found requires a bit of gymnastics, operate the pedal with the right foot while bending down over the bike to the front left caliper. and then operate the pedal with the left foot while bending down over the bike to the rear brake :) man that nipple there is hidden. i do not use vacuum systems so old-school brake pumping required. in the end, success. bike ready to be put back together, just need to order one of the screws for the airbox inlet tubes or whatever those are called. stripped it while removing, hate phillips heads. it was also a lot of fun getting to the front spark plugs. i had to go home to check the manual to make sure this is at all possible. common sense suggests spark plugs should be removable without removing the engine from the frame :) then again, removing the swingarm to replace coolant....
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2018
  5. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    Regarding Phillips head screws, you will probably find that the screws used on the VFR are actually JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) not Phillips. Phillips are more likely to round out on a JIS screw head. A small collection of JIS screwdrivers is a good investment. I have these ones:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hozan-JIS-...498418&hash=item3d54037d8b:g:wXQAAOSwDEtaP2Og

    If you have the time/enthusiasm, removing and cleaning the coolant reservoir is a good idea, as this where you often get an accumulation of scummy crud that gets pushed out of the hot radiator system. A toothbrush (preferably someone else's) is very helpful.
     
  6. schneeman

    schneeman New Member

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    thanks for the info terry. interesting, had no idea those are different screws from phillips. look and feel pretty much the same. i stripped one of them as i attempted to unscrew it with the tank just lifted and not completely removed, so couldn't apply enough downward pressure. other than that i have bits that fit those screws pretty well. reservoir tank removal is just not in the cards this time around. how often do you do this ? i had to remove the swingarm on my bmws a few times and have no fond memories of that, best bit was red-loctited bolts in aluminium threads, good luck not stripping those out. is honda more user friendly ? do you have to phase the shaft at reassembly etc?
    cheers
     
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