[runit1971]

Anyone drain there radiator. I had the hose leak and didn't have antifreeze so I put water in the bottle now it's getting hot out so I want to drain the system and refill I put water in it 2 times maybe enough to fill the bottle 1 time do you guy's think it will run hot. Anyone else had this problem.
Suggestions Thanks :sinister:

 

[Vinny]

Was that de ionized water?

 

[JF4246]

Coolant

Drain the whole system and replace with Harley Extended Life Antifreeze & Coolant. Puting water into the system is a NO-NO. I will quote the service Manual regarding the cooling system. :helpme:

"GENUINE HARLEY-DAVIDSON EXTENDED LIFE ATIFREEZE & COOLANT is a pre-diluted and ready to use full-strength. DO NOT add water. A mixture of de-ionized water and ethylene glycol-based antifreeze may be used if GENUINE HARLEY-DAVIDSON EXTENDED LIFE ANTIFREEZE & COOLANT is unavailable."


Another section states:

CAUTION:

"De-ionized water must be used with the antifreeze in the cooling system. Hard water can cause scale accumulation in water passages which reduces cooling system eficiency, leading to overheating and engine damage."

If your water is anything like what comes out of my faucet, I would drain the system asap. I get mineral deposits on everything. I plan on putting a filter on the whole house in the next few months...

 

[Dyno Dave]

I have drained mine twice! I was told buy the only guy I trust , TO ONLY USE HD ANTIFREEZE!

 

[runit1971]

I don't have hard water but still worries me. Do you just pull the plug on the side of the radiator and let it gravity drain.

 

[VrodRick74]

I have drained mine twice! I was told buy the only guy I trust , TO ONLY USE HD ANTIFREEZE!

Is this just like your only supposed to use HD OIL and HD shock oil and HD spark plugs and HD tires and HD brakes. F*** that, if I did everything like the book said I'd have to sell my house to pay for all that. Since Porsche built the engine how the heck does Harley know whats good for it. Think about next time the dealer feeds you some line of bullsh*t. :stupid:

 

[VrodRick74]

I have drained mine twice! I was told buy the only guy I trust , TO ONLY USE HD ANTIFREEZE!

Hey Dyno Dave introduce yourself

 

[Crash]

My HD tech told me (very quietly when the manager was away) to go buy the GM anti-freeze...it's the same stuff but cheaper. Max, any particulars on the GM anti-freeze??

 

[vroddrew]

Are you people that darn cheap?

The gallon jug of the H-D coolant has a list price of $8.95 (the bike has a capacity of 2.5 quarts). Maybe you can buy the GM stuff for a couple of dollars less - but why?

At most you need to replace the coolant every two years.

Stick a crowbar in your wallets and buy the H-D stuff. If you can't afford $5 a year for coolant you shouldn't be riding a $20,000 motorcycle.

 

[VrodRick74]

Are you people that darn cheap?

The gallon jug of the H-D coolant has a list price of $8.95 (the bike has a capacity of 2.5 quarts). Maybe you can buy the GM stuff for a couple of dollars less - but why?

At most you need to replace the coolant every two years.

Stick a crowbar in your wallets and buy the H-D stuff. If you can't afford $5 a year for coolant you shouldn't be riding a $20,000 motorcycle.

The point to all this is that there is nothing special about Harley Davidson coolant and if you think there is than I have a bridge to sell you. If you thought that it was about the money I'm sorry. The point is, you don't go to the dealer you bought your car from to get oil and coolant, you go to the auto parts store. There are more than enough aftermarket shops around to service these bikes. The V-Rod is no mystery, it is as easy to maintain as a passenger car. It's funny though when I make comments like you did everyone jumps all over me. It's cool though, I do have a $20,000 bike thats worth a lot more than that thanks to all the crazy paint schemes. :soapbox:

 

[Dyno Dave]

HEY EVERYBODY! I"M DYNO DAVE !
Is that good enough V Rod Rick? Yes only use HD parts, that way when your no mystery V Rod comes down with a mystery leak your dealer will waranty it and not feed you a line of bullshit!

 

[Rich Moran]

8.95 HD anti freeze in Hawaii is more like 18.95. Then they give you a 15% discount to make you feel GOOD when they squeezeya by the nadders.

Lets see, the formula for HD markup in Hawaii is MSRP divided by .65, which means they add 35% to the MSRP of the parts. the next time you buy that 50.00 thingamawopper from your dealer, its price here is almost 70.00 in Hawaii.

it aint the fact of the stuff being a little more, its a LOT more here. SPecially on lower price stuff.

I just bought the syn-blend screamin chiken oil, it was 10.00 a quart. It is for a friends bike who has extended warranty. He is Afghanissatan (not misspelled either, its hell there), and asked me to change the oil for him. When they told me the filter and lube was 63.00 plus tax I said WHAAAT?

 

[vroddrew]

if I did everything like the book said I'd have to sell my house to pay for all that.

Maybe one could be forgiven for thinking that it was all about the money.. :cheers:

Seriously, though - I agree with you in that most minor maintenance on the bike can be done by the reasonably mechanically-minded owner. And absolutely you don't have to put Harley-branded fluids into every part of the bike.

But at some point, folks start edging over the line from Yankee knowhow and thriftiness towards foolhardy cheapness. Sure - in a pinch you can add a cup of distilled water to "make up" for a little spilled coolant. But start running the bike on tap water and you are liable to end up with problems. And as for adding GM Dexcool - well, I suppose if you know what you are doing. But once people start thinking car antifreeze is "OK" - the next thing you know we'll have people dumping Prestone in there, and then complaining about how their engine is all overheated.

I'll bet a very sizable percentage of the service work most H-D dealerships do is to correct problems caused by unskilled owners doing things to their own bikes. I've read about some practices here on this board that I guarantee will end up causing their owners grief.

Remember the words of Tom and Ray Magliozzi - "The Stingy Man pays the Most."

 

[OKIE]

"the next thing you know we'll have people dumping Prestone in there."
I'm running Prestone extended life. I'll post an update in ten years.

 

[BobT]

I put half a bottle of Red Line - Water Wetter in mine to top it off.
Put the rest in my new(leftover) 03 S-10 step side. My Ducati loved the stuff and since I have put at least some in every liquid cooled vehicle since(an old bud of mine used to be sponsored by Red Line).

BobT

 

[V-Man]

I just bought the syn-blend screamin chiken oil, it was 10.00 a quart.

:rofl2: :rofl2:

 

[V-Man]

I've read about some practices here on this board that I guarantee will end up causing their owners grief.

Can you be more specific?

 

[vroddrew]

OK - the deal on antifreeze is this:

First, you need to consider that there are (currently) two types of automotive coolants available. Type 1, which contain silicates; and Type 2, which don't. There have been many, many documented cases of Type 1 coolants causing water pump seal failures in motorcycles. So, if nothing else - make sure that you are using a Silicate-free type. Regular Prestone contains silicates - Prestone Extended Life does not.

Secondly, even if you pick a silicate free type, you need to consider that each manufacturer creates their own blend of corrosion resistant additives. Some use additives that may not be compatible with other brands - so if you make a switch, you have to be sure to completely flush the cooling system to ensure none of the old stuff remains. This involves putting all sorts of acids and neutralizers into the cooling system, running the engine, and then draining and properly disposing of them - which sounds like something of a hassle, just to save a couple of dollars.

Lastly, there is the question of concentration. Automotive coolants are typically sold full-strength, and are then diluted by the consumer. Motorcycle coolants are typically sold pre-mixed, and can be added straight to the system. I'm not saying that doing the dilution yourself is necessarily difficult - but its another step to go through. Also a full gallon of automotive type coolant would theoretically yield 8 quarts of premixed bike coolant - enough for at least three complete fills of the V-Rod. Assuming you change the coolant every two years - thats enough to last for six years. I'm not sure I want to keep hazardous chemicals sitting around that long in my garage.

Sure - at an MSRP of $9 a gallon, the pre-mixed H-D stuff is more expensive than many other automotive coolants. But considering a) you really don't need to buy that much of it and b) all of the things that could go wrong if you don't do the changeover correctly - it seems that most owners would be far better off sticking with the factory recommendations.

 

[JF4246]

OK - the deal on antifreeze is this:

First, you need to consider that there are (currently) two types of automotive coolants available. Type 1, which contain silicates; and Type 2, which don't. There have been many, many documented cases of Type 1 coolants causing water pump seal failures in motorcycles. So, if nothing else - make sure that you are using a Silicate-free type. Regular Prestone contains silicates - Prestone Extended Life does not.

Secondly, even if you pick a silicate free type, you need to consider that each manufacturer creates their own blend of corrosion resistant additives. Some use additives that may not be compatible with other brands - so if you make a switch, you have to be sure to completely flush the cooling system to ensure none of the old stuff remains. This involves putting all sorts of acids and neutralizers into the cooling system, running the engine, and then draining and properly disposing of them - which sounds like something of a hassle, just to save a couple of dollars.

Lastly, there is the question of concentration. Automotive coolants are typically sold full-strength, and are then diluted by the consumer. Motorcycle coolants are typically sold pre-mixed, and can be added straight to the system. I'm not saying that doing the dilution yourself is necessarily difficult - but its another step to go through. Also a full gallon of automotive type coolant would theoretically yield 8 quarts of premixed bike coolant - enough for at least three complete fills of the V-Rod. Assuming you change the coolant every two years - thats enough to last for six years. I'm not sure I want to keep hazardous chemicals sitting around that long in my garage.

Sure - at an MSRP of $9 a gallon, the pre-mixed H-D stuff is more expensive than many other automotive coolants. But considering a) you really don't need to buy that much of it and b) all of the things that could go wrong if you don't do the changeover correctly - it seems that most owners would be far better off sticking with the factory recommendations.

I agree on this one. just buy th HD coolant. I usually am not an advocate of just buying the HD products. (I'm going with amsoil and filter have many kuryakyn access. and none of my riding gear says HD on it.). but in this case it is not worth the hassel mentioned above. I really like many of Harleys clothing line but, just can't swallow the extreme mark-up for the name.

 

[VrodRick74]

OK - the deal on antifreeze is this:

First, you need to consider that there are (currently) two types of automotive coolants available. Type 1, which contain silicates; and Type 2, which don't. There have been many, many documented cases of Type 1 coolants causing water pump seal failures in motorcycles. So, if nothing else - make sure that you are using a Silicate-free type. Regular Prestone contains silicates - Prestone Extended Life does not.

Secondly, even if you pick a silicate free type, you need to consider that each manufacturer creates their own blend of corrosion resistant additives. Some use additives that may not be compatible with other brands - so if you make a switch, you have to be sure to completely flush the cooling system to ensure none of the old stuff remains. This involves putting all sorts of acids and neutralizers into the cooling system, running the engine, and then draining and properly disposing of them - which sounds like something of a hassle, just to save a couple of dollars.

Lastly, there is the question of concentration. Automotive coolants are typically sold full-strength, and are then diluted by the consumer. Motorcycle coolants are typically sold pre-mixed, and can be added straight to the system. I'm not saying that doing the dilution yourself is necessarily difficult - but its another step to go through. Also a full gallon of automotive type coolant would theoretically yield 8 quarts of premixed bike coolant - enough for at least three complete fills of the V-Rod. Assuming you change the coolant every two years - thats enough to last for six years. I'm not sure I want to keep hazardous chemicals sitting around that long in my garage.

Sure - at an MSRP of $9 a gallon, the pre-mixed H-D stuff is more expensive than many other automotive coolants. But considering a) you really don't need to buy that much of it and b) all of the things that could go wrong if you don't do the changeover correctly - it seems that most owners would be far better off sticking with the factory recommendations.

That is the best post I have ever read, clear, concise and full of information. You should be a salesman, cause you sold me on buying the Harley stuff. I just like to play devils advocate, I don't always practice what I preach I just like to see what people have to say. Thank you for your insight, you made me a believer. lause: