Missing coolant

Is this the normal coolant level cold?
I keep winding up within a half inch of what you see pictured - even though I keep topping it off.



To me it looks like it should be right up to where the inner radiator cap seal seats. (The smaller inner ring). Not below it so much.

Help! The sooner I resolve this the sooner I can put my fairings back on, get the handling back and stop burning my right leg! Lol

 

Ever since I replaced the coolant about 6 weeks ago my coolant reservoir is losing coolant somewhere. There are no visible signs on the garage floor. I replaced the original coolant with a 50/50 mixture (DEX Prestone). I don't know how the reservoir tank works. I know there is a drain hose there.
Question, when the coolant gets hot, does it evaporate through the drain hose ? I mean, what is preventing the 50% of water from steaming out completely through the drain hose. Yes I am that ignorant.

Also, am I using the wrong coolant ? TIA.

 

How much coolant did you put in? Measurement wise, not by how high you filled it. Did you follow the service manual procedure? And did you properly "burp" the air out of the system? As far as wrong coolant, only those that use a certain type of "silicate" (can't recall the official name off hand), would be the wrong type. I went with Engine Ice on my last fluid change.

Regarding the reservoir, it is there to capture the coolant when it expands due to heat and to "replace" fluid when it cools down and retracts. If you don't see any fluid on the floor and don't seem to suffer any engine issues, I doubt that you have a leak and that you just didn't fill the system properly. If you do not have the factory service manual you may want to download it and follow the filling procedure.

 

Yes, I did the draining as per service manual. I did not remove the cylinder drain bolt since people here said it was a waste of time since you only get a spoon full of coolant. The amount of coolant it took was pretty much what the service manual said (3 quarts). I lost maybe a 1/2 inch (middle finger) of coolant twice, which is not that much. I did a quick pour and it hit the full line right away. I don't know HOW to "burp" the system, could you explain ?
I am still not sure how coolant does not evaporate through the reservoir hose. I would think that as coolant heats up some of the water of the 50/50 mixture would evaporate, no ???

 

The shop manual explains the "burping" procedure as follows:


There are different ways in which others do it as well, i.e. leaning the bike over so that the filler cap is the highest point in the system vs. on the center stand, but the results are the same, removing the air from the cooling system. As far as evaporation, I'm there could be some, but not at a monumental rate that would show up immediately.

 

Thanks. The burping is not he issue. I rode 200 miles after replacing the coolant and the next morning it was still full. I am going to start checking after every ride, maybe it is leaking through the washer. If I find something I'll post. Thanks for the feedback.