Last week I notcied a small river of what looked like a white deposit running from the right cover on the motor, just behind the impellar housing. Looking lose at a small recessed area I saw what looked to be a pool of liquid, and that was a reddish tint. Feeling this liquid and smelling it confirmed it was anti-freeze or coolant from the cooling system.

I pulled the reservoir cover on the right side, and noticed the coolant level is about an inch below the cool line of the reservoir.

I have put about 300 miles on the bike since I noticed this, and there has been no further coolant found. I checked both the reservoir cap, and radiator cap, both tight, checked the overflow line for leaks and cracks in the plastic connector and nothing.

Does anyone know if it is something that might occur, where a minor amount of coolant would purge from the system for what ever reason?

Its a 02, and the bike has been problem free except for 1 screw vibrating loose from a heat shield cover. I have 16,000 miles on this to date.

I've had to tighten the hose clamps twice they seem to work loose and leak. Hope thats all it is.

Check the torque on the fasteners that hold the water pump cover in place. There is a gasket behind it, and if the cap screws are unevenly tightened it may be possible for a little coolant to leak out.

I think there is also a "weep hole" in the water pump itself, designed so that if the pump goes bad coolant will leak out, rather than getting mixed in with the engine oil and really causing problems.

Rich as okie stated the problem with using a worm gear hose clamp is that the hose compresses below the clamp and then tension is lost unlike the new spring clamps that hold proper tension for years. So first I would check those hose clamps. As vroddrew pointed out you can also check the weep hole in the bottom of the water pump, the weep hole is designed so that if the coolant gets past the impeller seal that it can exit the pump without finding it's way into the pump brg. Better to show the pump is leaking then to have a bearing failure in the pump and have the impeller come apart.

Max

Right on MAX :plause: I had that problem a few weeks ago and that was the fix. Tighten those clamps clean the motor and recheck for leaks. :2cents:

Done, clamps were loose, but no indication of any fluid squueze out. Allen head screws are tight holding the impellar housing onto the cases.

I'll run it, add some coolant to the resorvoir and see what happens next.

Ya know, I feel like this bike is more like an car, I have nothing to do on it, except ride it, put fuel in it and enjoy it. What a departure from the traditionalist thing of having to really work on the bike. Like scheduling a day to tighten everything down over a 3 hour period.

Its almost spooky the way this bike works out so well.

Had the same issue at about 450 miles on the bike. Check the torque on teh impeller cover and tightend the clamps on the hose. No more leaks since. I plan to bring it up during the 1K check up though.

At 700 miles, mine was leaking in a "weeping" or pinstream sizes run down the side of the right frame rail, starting from under the water botle cover. I checked the hoses and they were fine. I took it to my dealer who says it's a bad waterbottle assembly resivor and they are replacing it. Seems that when the liquide splashes around, an abnormality in the shape of the bottle neck or cap is allowing some spillage. Hope that fixes it! Stuff is MESSY!!! LOL

Gary

Had a leak that was nothing more that a drop under the overfill hose when cool but after running up to operating temp coolant sprayed all over the gas tank and rear parts of the bike. Tightening the hoses didn't solve the problem, so I took it in. The dealer replaced the filler pipe after discovering a small crack somewhere around the radiator cap.

Yes the worm clamps have been loose from the fact. I am in the process of getting this problem cured. Also check that the coolat overflow line is not pinched under the lower air box cover. Later SKI.

My bike leaked at about 5k out the weep hole behind the water pump. Took HD dealer three weeks to fix under warranty. When I was at daytona bike week I saw alot of vrods with the same signs. So far mine hasnt started leaking again. Its been a couple thousand miles or so.

I noticed a leak for about the last 3 weeks on mine. After running 50 or more miles and then parking it I would get a small puddle under the radiator.
I took it to the dealer today and they replaced a shrink clamp 26770-01 and they seem to have gotten it stopped...at least I hope so.
0992

I posted this on a different cooling leak thread. Be sure to wash the areas where the coolant leaked. I have some scarring of the powdercoating on the frame. H/D was kind enough to sell me a can of spray paint to touch it up. I only paid list price. That was nice of them.....

I posted this on a different cooling leak thread. Be sure to wash the areas where the coolant leaked. I have some scarring of the powdercoating on the frame. H/D was kind enough to sell me a can of spray paint to touch it up. I only paid list price. That was nice of them.....

Please post the part number for the paint.

Thanks in advance.

The part # is 98606BED Silver frame vrsc. This is a small spray bomb that will work for 02-03 only. List price was 12.75 + tax. I would recommend buying 2 cans.I was told H/d would only sell them for 5 years then discontinue them. Then again he probably just wanted me to spend more. :whack: