so my radiator has a leak. a hell of a leak. and I've been contemplating buying a shiny new generic aluminium one instead of a second hand one off of that there ebay.

the thermostat, what is it and can i live without one? just looks a funky spring to me

so, please start explaining to me why i'm either an imbecile or a genius

cheers muchly

Really? If you lived in a desert environment where a high average temp occured daily it wouldn't matter all that much, you could possibly go without one - but still I wouldn't. It opens slowly as the engine generates heat and gradually allows the flow to remove excess heat from the hot areas like the exhaust valve/port region of your 'motor'. Without it it's flooding coolish liquid at all times and the bike doesn't ever reach proper temp. This will certainly make a difference on the running of the bike since the fuel injection receives a water temp signal from a sensor at/near the radiator. So, if you wish your bike to be up to its optimally thermal operating level in Ol' Blighty you'd use a t-stat.

Either that or place a piece of old cardboard, cut to fit, in front of the radiator with a hole in the middle of it to do the job of the t-stat (sort of) for that special Beverly Hillbillies look.

There's a clean radiator from an '89 K100RS on eBay US for cheap. No one bid on it last go round. The guy's handle is onestopoutlet and he's a good trader.

ssj_Gill wrote:so my radiator has a leak. a hell of a leak. and I've been contemplating buying a shiny new generic aluminium one instead of a second hand one off of that there ebay.

the thermostat, what is it and can i live without one? just looks a funky spring to me

so, please start explaining to me why i'm either an imbecile or a genius

cheers muchly

No you cant live without it (well you can but not for very long). Without the stat the engine never reaches the correct operating temperature, which means the fuel injection brain gets a cold engine signal from the temperature sensor, and keeps dumping too much fuel into the engine. Also you will have condensation (water) in the engine, which ends up in the oil, thus accelerating wear.

ssj_Gill wrote:so my radiator has a leak. a hell of a leak. and I've been contemplating buying a shiny new generic aluminium one instead of a second hand one off of that there ebay.

the thermostat, what is it and can i live without one? just looks a funky spring to me

so, please start explaining to me why i'm either an imbecile or a genius

cheers muchly

just beware of some of those shiney new aluminium radiators

a mate bought one recently ....which lasted about a week

after examination , the build quality was very low  with poor structural support where needed

he was left with the option of buying a new one ....but chose a reputable manufacturer this time  ..
just a heads up