[Ediot]

Bike over heating?
When I got home I left the engine running for a few minutes because the engine was sounding abit noisy.

Then all of a sudden the fan started to roar, I can hear liquid boiling and once the fan stopped running, turned the engine off and some coolant leaked out from a tube at the bottom of the bike...

Anyone know what happen here?

 

[Zandit]

The over flow is there for just such an occassion! If the pressure had no where to go, you would be cleaning up more than just a couple of drops!!

Was you pushing the bike hard? or was it a really hot day?

 

[Ediot]

It was in fact a bit more than a few drops about a 10cm puddle.

I wasnt riding hard and today wasn't such a hot day. I was however riding in the lower gears for longer than usual on my way home. ie.. cruising in 4th, 5th gear for about 5mins each time without going straight to 6th. Not sure if there is anything wrong with doing this. But I usually change the gears all the way up to 6th gear even if I'm not going real fast. I don't usually stretch the lower gears.

Is it also true that you shouldn't warm/idle your engine whether it be before or after your ride for longer than 5mins? - I heard this could make your bike over heat??

btw, thanks Zandit for your quick response

ahhh, your a fellow aussie also...

 

[Zandit]

Umm, not sure about the warmup/idle, I'm sure you can get caught in stop/start traffic for long periods, so I'm sure it's built into the design.
BTW, ride how you feel comfortable, don't take all advice here or on other sites as gospel. There are ediots.....sorry idiots(!!!) everywhere who think they know everything(Spooph, Virt, Delta, Felix.....are just a few who spring to mind!!!) but you have to find your own groove that works to you!!

 

[virtualmatrix258]

Umm, not sure about the warmup/idle, I'm sure you can get caught in stop/start traffic for long periods, so I'm sure it's built into the design.
BTW, ride how you feel comfortable, don't take all advice here or on other sites as gospel. There are ediots.....sorry idiots(!!!) everywhere who think they know everything(Spooph, Virt, Delta, Felix.....are just a few who spring to mind!!!) but you have to find your own groove that works to you!!

YouTube - How to park a Ninja 250 'Zandit Style'

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[Felix]

Oh I think I just wet myself...

Felix

 

[spooph]

Perfect Virt!

Thanks for the vote of confidence Zandit!

Ediot, there are many factors to this issue. First things first, remove the fairings and bring the bike up to operating temperature. Check for any coolant leaks around the system. Zandit is right about the overflow. You could also check if the antifreeze/water mixture is correct by replacing it with the correct mixture, however, this isn't really necessary since the system is a pressurized system and if everything is working as it should even pure water should stay a liquid inside the system at around 230F - well above it's boiling point. Since you can hear the system boiling, this would be where I would check first and with the fairings off you'll be able to see it boiling inside the coolant reservoir. Report back with more info.

Having a shop take a look at this might not be a bad idea being that troubleshooting cooling issues is often very frustrating.

 

[Zandit]

Hahaha!!!! I knew that would pull some people out of the woodwork!!!

 

[Ediot]

I don't think it's a leak guys. Maybe just some overflow from the bike over heating...

When I heard the "liquid" boiling after the fan strted running furiously, the green liquid came out of the overflow tube from the bottom of the fairings.

Hopefully there is no major damage and his is normal "function" of the bike.

I took the fairings off the other day to check the coolant and it was about 2cm below the "L" low marking in the reserve. What should I do?

Drain all the coolant out and replace? or just top up? - Or can I leave it below "L" because this is just reserve??

 

[spooph]

You should top it up at the very least. If it keeps overheating, try replacing the coolant with distilled water and a product named "Water Wetter" - it reduces the surface tension of water, and distilled water is about the best cooling fluid you can get, aside maybe purple ice.... If the coolant is boiling, there is something wrong with the bike, and you try and figure out what that is by changing something, like replacing the type of coolant in the system, or having a pressure test on it by your local shop....