[JoeJitsu]

My V-Rod seems to eat alot of coolant, I have 7500 miles on it and have added fluid to the overflow 3 times now, does this sound right??

I can't find any sign of fluid leak anywhere on or around the bike, I can only assume it's eating what it needs.


Anyone else here have a different fluid cycle than mine?

 

[vrod2727]

Adding coolant

I have 6000 miles and haven't added any yet.

 

[VRodDrew]

water, water, everywhere..but not a drop to drink

Unlike the other fluids coursing through your powerplant (gasoline and motoroil) coolant is NOT consumed in normal operation.

Coolant fluid is essentially moving in a closed loop, from the reservoir, through the radiator, waterjackets, waterpump, hoses, etc. The only openings in this system are the overflow and filler pipes on the reservoir. Fluid can therefore only be "lost" if there is a leak in the system, such as a damaged head gasket, waterpump gasket, or leaking hose. If you have to repeatedly add coolant to your system it is indicative of a potentially serious problem - get it checked out ASAP.

A couple of other coolant notes here - first, make sure you are checking the coolant level when the fluid is cool, and with the bike level. Secondly, absolutely DO NOT use automotive type anti-freeze in the cooling system. Auto anti-freeze contains silica (basically sand) that is supposed to scour out the insides of auto cooling systems - it also does nasty things to the guts of motorcycle engines. Use only motorcycle-specific coolant.

 

[JoeJitsu]

Yeah I 've been adding the V-Rod coolant from Harley, I think the next step will be to take her in.

I understand how the coolant system works and all that, and I remember the dealer specifically saying that I shouldn't have to add coolant for a very long time, now I am worried.

Thank gawd for the warranty!

 

[Fugly]

If your constantly adding coolant it sounds like a Head Gasket dude. What's your oil look like ?

 

[Jeff]

No Coolant added here. I put a little mark on the tank so I can see the level without taking the side cover off.

BTW the coolant is Dexacool, already watered down by HD.

 

[Fugly]

Oh hey dude !! I almost forgot. Check the return line going back into the coolant reservoir. Mine broke off in the first couple days I had the bike, so when the bike would get hot the overflow wasnt going back in the reservoir it was ending up running down the front jug. You could be pullin out of the reservoir without any overflow goin back in. Dealer told me he has seen a couple of them break like this.

 

[vette family]

My overflow line rubbed the frame at the filler neck and was leaking. Then they found that the metal tube itself was cracked