Coolant Question: How to keep the motor from freezing?

I'm looking for some tips on how best to trailer your bike around in this horrible weather. Assuming you've flushed out the coolant and replaced it with water/water wetter, what's the best strategy to keep the motor from freezing and causing major damage? If you need to drain the water completely, how thorough do you have to be? Do you then use that water again? I have an open trailer.

 

What Mongo said, although some riders drain the water wetter and add coolant during the winter.

 

^^^ coolant in the winter!

 

Empty it. Coolant in the winter provides corrosion resistance. But in order to be 100% sure, drain it.

 

I would not leave it empty in the winter. Coolant for sure.

 

My GF giggles and posted on her FB pics of my racebike in the garage, I have a goosedown comforter that got dirty and not worth cleaning so my baby is covered. On an open trailer I would not chance anything, put coolant in it. So easy to flush that out later on.

 

A comforter over a bike will not do anything but (possibly) slow the cooling process. It will still reach 32F if left in an environment that cold.. guaranteed.

If that is your sole protection for the bike, you'll want to rethink it pretty quick.

 

hey do3cobra, sorry about the idiots on this board (like the one above), everyone knows that the bikes body heat, when kept contained by a nice blanket, will keep it warm through winter........... just let us know how it works out. i've been using sythetic but thinking about switching to down........

 

Just to be clear: He was kidding and I was not. Don't want your cases to crack because of a joke.

 

Well according to my Air Temp guage it is 39 in the garage, and my IR Thermometer says the headers on the bike are at 42 and the engine is 45. I think to be on the safe side I am going to rework my garage to be better insulated. I do not want to lose my bikes and with my new room mate coming in we will have a total of 8 in there. Thanks for the heads up.

 

agreed 100%!!!!!!!!! especially if in an open trailer as you stated.

 

Would this product be legal to run in WERA? It says it is AMA legal but I want to be sure it is good for WERA as well.

Link: http://www.7thgear.net/7thGear/Default.aspx?tabid=45

 

If you have an insulated garage, this really is not an issue, because you can run a tiny oil radiator all winter for pennies, and keep the garage above 35F, so the bikes never freeze. The issue that the OP raised is valid, though. Lots of guys who trailer their bikes to VIR or Jennings from up North in March may run into this problem. They're ready to go racing with water or water wetter in the bike, and they are traveling in sub-freezing conditions for many hours. There is a risk.

One year we put little chemical hand warmers on the oil pans of our GSXRs to prevent freezing. In the morning, the motors felt slightly warm to the touch, so they worked.

Now I just stay home when it is that cold. the problem I have is keeping me from freezing...

 

I drain and don't re-fill with anti-freeze, and have never had an issue. Of course, my garage is insulated and heated (on demand, not all the time) and it never really gets below 30f in there unless it's reaaally cold outside and I haven't been out there with the heater running for a while.

That said, I've also had bikes in my old garage that had more holes in it than swiss cheese and no heater and never had a problem either. If you drain it well, in my mind there's enough empty space to accomodate the expansion of water freezing. I do imagine though that there may be some sopts around the water pump impeller that would cause a problem with even a small amount of water left in the system. But cracked cases on a motor that was drained? No way.

If I was trailering on an open trailer through freezing temps I would refill with 50/50 anitfreeze water mix and run the bike up to temp to circulate it and fill the system before leaving, though.

Your choice. Either process is a 10 minute job at most.

 

I've disassembled engines that were stored "drained and dry" for a winter. The amount of corrosion buildup in the cooling passages has convinced me to never do that.

I use conventional anti-freeze during the winter, and drain/flush it as part of my pre-season prep. I save the anti-freeze in a jug and reuse it the next season, since is isn't contaminated.

 

Engine Ice FTW!

 

I have a small space heater in the garage for the few nights a year when it drops below freezing.

 

Engine Ice does not protect against freezing.