1 Temporarily Draining the coolant to operate on system and use coolant later Sun Feb 05, 2012 2:30 am
FreebasserSF
Silver member
It seems like a lot of times in order to do something, even minor, you have to access the interior of the frame, and in order to get good access you must often take off the gas tank and sometimes the radiator. The fuel has already been covered thoroughly; you put a rag around the fuel lines loosen clamps and electrical, and remove tank from hoses and bike. But for the radiator, I've had to do it over and over in order to deductively determine problems and I've found that developing a system for emptying the bike of good coolant you will use later and then put back in is a useful quick thing to be able to do in order to perform routine maintenance on . I would hope anyone would give advice if a more common sense way is found, because I only want to be a better mechanic. I found that a 5 gallon jug of water with a nozzle and a spot cut in it for coolant to drain into is the perfect height for draining and catching all coolant, and then later putting back into the system. This allows to easy access to the electrical under the gas tank, the air filter and airbox, flushing the radiator or changing coolant, servicing the carbs, fuel system and/or spark plugs, replacing a temperature sensor, coolant hose, or water/ oil pump.
You can close the flap to prevent dust and debris from entering the coolant and easily fill the radiator back up with it and a funnel.
You can close the flap to prevent dust and debris from entering the coolant and easily fill the radiator back up with it and a funnel.