Ok guys. Go a question for you. I will be traveling to Gateway this weekend with the bike on a open trailer. I will be traveling in the early A.M. with the weather temp to be about 15-20 degrees at that time.The bike is always in a warmed garage. Obviously I drain my water for the trip. Do I leave it empty? Or put antifreeze in it and then swap out at the track? Thanks for the help. Qanik 99R6
i am thinking leave it empty, mine has been empty now for 3 weeks, it is just starting to saty warm enough now that i will fill it again, today i guess. the little bit of water that may be in there (i would run the bike with the hose off for a minute to empty out the pump) would not be enough to expand and crack anything. i don't have a lot of experience wit this so i may be wrong , kent.
If I was to leave it empty, I'd probably put a masking tape "NOTE TO SELF: add water" on the tank just to be sure. But that's just me. I have to write myself a reminder note just before I go get something out of the next room... so I don't forget what the trip was for.
If you put antifreeze in it that would make you 100% positive that you would have no worries of freezing, but the downside of it would be having to flush it numerous times once you get to the track. I think there is a 50-50 split of opinion on this topic...some leave it empty, some antifreeze and flush it. Personally I would drain it, leave the plug out of the water pump and disconnect the lower radiator hose..don't forget the overflow tank....and leave the fill cap off. Refilling is much easier (save your old water wetter and re-use), and just make sure to get all the air back out by running it with the cap off for a few minutes. MY .02 ------------------ Dan ~ NC #180 NESBA Soon to be WERA member 96 CBR F3 Track 00 ZX9R Street [email protected]
Leave it empty for now and fill it at the track. Keep the water in the cab of your tow vehicle so it doesn't freeze ot the way there. Do you really want to be flushing out a cooling system when it's 20 degrees outside?
I would recommend putting in fresh water and water wetter as it's not a good idea to re-use fluids. It's better for the radiator to have fresh fluids anyway, and distilled water is like $.60 for a gallon jug.
Drain it! you don't want it freezing. It does not take me 10 minutes to re-fill my bike. I took a neat little funnel & attached a rubber hose to it. I do not even have to pull the upper bodywork to get at the radiator cap. I pull out the upper side about 1/2" slide the hose down to the radiator cap opening & pour. I just pull the lower. I carry at least 2 gallons of distilled water pre-mixed with water wetter. Once I fill it to the top I crank the bike, check for leaks & then I install the radiator cap after it has ran a few minutes. I fill to the top line on the catch bottle & I am off to Tech.
Why don't you just fill it with Evans Coolant? It's legal to use and you don't have to worry about draining or swapping anything.
