A cooling system is a motorcycle system responsible for cooling your motorcycle during every ride. Your cooling system needs to be serviced and maintained the same as any other motorcycle system, which means that you need to inspect it periodically to see if everything functions correctly or there are any problems that you need to take care of them.
With that being said, you will need to change your motorcycle coolant, and we will show you how it needs to be done in this article.
So how do you change motorcycle coolant? Remove the radiator cap and drain the old coolant out. After draining the coolant, you need to clean the coolant system using water and a flushing mixture. Once you have cleaned the system, pour fresh coolant, ignite the engine, check the coolant system and make sure it works properly.
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How to Change Motorcycle Coolant?
Every motorcycle needs to have a cooling system. There are air, oil, and antifreeze (water) cooling systems. Air cooling system is rarely used nowadays, while antifreeze or water cooling system is the one most used. Like its name says, it uses antifreeze liquid or water to operate.
CAUTION: Water will expand during the winter season because it turns to ice which will damage your cooling system or harm your engine. That is why you need to use antifreeze during the winter period, which doesn’t freeze, so you keep your cooling system and engine safe.
Modern coolants do one more important task, and that is increasing the boiling point of the liquid. By doing so, they protect the inside of the motor and stop corrosion from developing. It also warms the carburetors, which makes the machine work much better during the winter season.
The coolant system is pressurized, and this makes the boiling point rise. The radiator caps valve controls this pressure, so you mustn’t open the filler cap when your motorcycle is hot. Even when your motorcycle is cold, you should use a rag and cover the filler cap while opening it carefully.
What Tools Do I Need for Coolant Change?
Every motorcycle is unique, and based on the make and model you have, it may require some additional or special tool. Here is a list of tools that are used for every or most motorcycles:
- Wrench (for removing drain plugs)
- Tools for removing fairings
- Garden hose
- Engine flush
- Protection gloves
These were the tools needed for changing your coolant, and now we will show you a step-by-step guide on how to perform this process. Depending on what type of coolant you will use, your preferences, and what type is the best for your bike, you need to handle it carefully. Some coolants can harm your skin or even damage your paintwork, so wear your protective gloves to protect yourself at all costs. Since you will need to turn on your motorcycle while performing this process, the best place to perform coolant change would be outside.
Note: Drain your old coolant in an old disposable container, and please take it to a recycling center or some other appropriate disposable center. Just don’t throw it somewhere in nature because you will do a lot of harm to the environment, and I think you wouldn’t like to do that.
Step 1: Take off the Radiator Cap
Your engine needs to be cold and only, in that case, take off the radiator cap. Use a rag to open the radiator cap just as a matter of precaution. You may hear hissing while opening the radiator cap, which means there is still some pressure left inside. What you will do is open the cap a little bit, just enough for this pressure to be released. Once the hissing sound stops, it means that the pressure is gone, and you can remove the radiator cap.
Step 2: Drain the Old Coolant out
Take an old disposable container, place it under your motorcycle and drain the old coolant out. Separate the coolant drain screw and washer of the water pump’s bottom on your motorcycle’s left side. You will need around 2-2.5 liters of coolant liquid (sometimes more or less depending on your bike make and model), which means that you need to prepare a large enough container. If there are bleed bolts on your motorcycle, you need to keep them loose as long as you finish refilling the cooling system.
If your motorcycle has a coolant reservoir, you need to drain it, and you will do it by removing the cap and the hose placed on the bottom of the reservoir. That way, you will drain any remaining coolant into an old container.
Tip: You can also remove the bottom rad hose, which will get all the coolant out.
Step 3: Reconnect Hoses
Reconnect the reservoir hose and any other hose you may have taken off during the process. Just make sure to leave the drain bolt separated.
Step 4: Clean the Coolant System
Take a garden hose and use it to clean the coolant system. If you have a hose with some extensions with various pressure options, don’t use them, just use normal clean tap water with standard water pressure.
Note: Corrosion can form inside your motorcycle engine if you don’t change your coolant according to the required interval.
Step 5: Use a Flushing Mixture
After flushing the engine with a hose, return the drain bolt with a sealing washer. Fill the cooling system half with tap water, take the flush bottle, and pour it into the radiator. Top up the cooling system. Start your engine and let it idle for 15-20 minutes and then leave it cool and drain all the fluid again.
Here is a great article about How Does a Motorcycle Cooling System Work, so click on this link if you want to learn more.
Step 6: Refill the Fresh Water
After you have drained all the liquid out, you need to return the drain plug and the washer and refill the cooling system with plain water. Turn on the engine and leave it idle for another 15-20 minutes.
Note: You don’t need to worry about using tap water in completing these steps because if you use concentrated antifreeze that will stay in the cooling system, you would have to use distilled water. However, since we are just cleaning and flushing the system, tap water is good to perform this job.
Turn off the engine and leave it to cool down. After the engine has cooled, drain all the water out and use a hose to flush the system. Flush it as long as you don’t see that the system is clean. Remember to flush and clean the reservoir tank as well.
Step 7: Take Coolant and Refill the Radiator
Replace the old sealing washer with a new one and fit it to the drain plug before screwing it into its place. Check and inspect all the hoses and make sure that they are secured. If you don’t reconnect all the hoses to their places, you will have coolant leaking, and you will lose your precious coolant, and we don’t want that to happen. Take the coolant and pour it into the filler cap; avoid getting it glugging so that you don’t have to deal with air bubbles.
Step 8: Fill the Reservoir Tank
Fill the reservoir tank with the coolant and return the caps.
Step 9: Turn on the Engine
Ignite the engine and leave it idle for a few minutes. Once the engine is warm enough, rev it a couple of times to the range between 3500-5500 RPMs. After you have done that, turn off the engine and what should have happened is any trapped air left in the cooling system has had to go to the radiator filler neck.
Step 10: Pour the Coolant
Leave the engine to cool down and once it is cooled, take off the radiator cap and inspect the coolant level. If you notice that the coolant level has dropped, pour the coolant until the level is equal with the neck of the radiator and fill the reservoir tank as well if needed. After you have refilled the coolant, return the caps, and you are good to go.
This was our step-by-step guide on changing your motorcycle coolant.
How Long Does Motorcycle Coolant Last?
Every motorcycle has its characteristics, and you should look into your motorcycle manual to see when you need to change your coolant. It should be replaced every two to three years or 15 000-17 000 miles.
Should I Top up the Coolant If I Notice that Some Amount is Missing?
Yes, you need to top up the coolant if you notice it is missing, but be careful and top it up with the same coolant that you pour in first. It is not smart to mix coolants of different types.
Here is an excellent video about changing motorcycle coolant:
Final Thoughts
Motorcycle coolant is a vital component of any motorcycle with internal combustion that requires a cooling system to keep its engine from overheating. Changing your coolant is essential to keep your system functional and prevent any issues from happening. This article was written to help you explain how to change your motorcycle coolant in the easiest way possible, and we hope that it will help you in doing so.