Antifreeze Question

I know we are not supposed to use regular antifreeze in our bikes but do you think it would be dangerous to add just a little to top off the radiator?

 

I don't know if its dangerous or not. Sure someone will answer. If its that low, why not just add distilled water until you can get the correct antifreeze?

 

This is new to me. Can't use regular 50/50 antifreeze? What should I be using? Thanks!

 

There is nothing special about the antifreeze. Standard antifreeze cars use for aluminum engines. Here's what the owners manual says. Just ethylene glycol.

Use Pro Honda HP coolant or an
equivalent high quality ethylene glycol
antifreeze containing corrosion protection
inhibitors specifically recommended for
use in aluminum engines. Check the
antifreeze container label
Use only distilled water as a part of the

 

+1.

Plasma

 

I've read on various forums that a lot of antifreezes have silicate and supposedly that is bad for our engine. Evidently the Honda HP coolant does not. That is why I was asking. But I put so little in (about a cup) that I doubt it would do much harm.

 

A few years after I got my 99 (new) I changed the coolant to the popular brand in the yellow jug. On my next long ride, I was over 100 miles from home taking a break and noticed that the rear tire was coated with . . . some sort of fluid - and I mean coated. Thinking it was sling off from the chain (I didn't put THAT much on it did I?), I took a closer look to find that it wasn't oily - it was . . . wet. Coolant. So after gingerly easing my way home, (I was puckered) going very slowly around left hand corners, I got home and cursed Mr. Honda for giving me a faulty water pump. It was obviously leaking. I replaced it and re-filled with the same brand from the yellow jug thinking I had everything under control. Case closed. The OEM pump was defective. A few weeks later I noticed . . . WTF?*?*? Another defective water pump?? How the hell could THAT be?? Then it dawned on me. It wasn't the water pumps that were defective. It was my research that was defective - and my stupid urge to save a few bucks. I was lucky that coolant on the rear tire hadn't landed me on my lid blasting through some left hand corner before I had realized what was happening. After mounting the bike's 3rd WP, thoroughly flushing the system and re-filling with Honda coolant, the WP has been trouble free ever since. So my saving a few bucks on coolant ended up costing me a couple Franklins in new water pumps (and worse maybe a crash). When I came back for the second one (in about a month) the parts guy looked at me like "you again?" I don't know what it is about Honda's design, but in my experience it does not seem to like what's in automotive coolant. Maybe it's the silicates acting like an abrasive on the Honda seal design - I have no idea. But ever since, I use nothing but Honda brand coolant and have had no problems. Maybe others have had different experiences with it - and maybe I did get 2 consecutive defective pumps . . . but then again it did seem too coincidental. Maybe there's an engineer type or a Honda tech on the board that can speak to this better than I.

 

Crappy experience there, Cogswell. Sorry about your luck. I can't see a water pump dying that quickly just from a certain brand of fluid though. I'm assuming that you flushed the radiator completely when you replaced the pump? If not, then maybe the fin fragments inside were chewing up and got caught in the new pump too?

As far as brands are concerned, to each their own. There some that will kill a man before allowing them to put anything but Harley Davidson brand oil in their Sportster rather than spend $30 less for the same amount of oil.

When you're looking at fluids for your bike you need to take into consideration what it is you are putting it into. If your radiatior is aluminum and plastic, then you get a gallon of 50/50 that is designed for that type of system. The bottles say what they are intended for right on the back.

Personally, the cheapest bottle of 50/50 mix at the time is what I'll get. My water pump and thermostat SEEM to be original, and if that's the case then I'm very lucky and probably looking at a replacement in the near future myself due to age. BUT, I flush and fill every year and keep a close eye on it as most of you do.

 

I first read about the problem occurring on Honda Goldwings, and the article's conclusion was that the silicate in automotive coolant (as VFRobert has stated) was abrasive enough to prematurely wear the water pump seal. I used some premixed generic stuff on the SV a few years back and haven't had any problems. Maybe Suzuki uses a different material on their seals.

 

Many "safe for aluminum engines" coolant sold in auto stores contain silicates Those are abrasive and can cause premature failure of your water pump in particular the soft metal if the impeller and othee bits. There are some silicate free availabe in stores so just make sure you check for silicates on the label. Topping off is probably not an issue but like another poster said' use water. Distilled water. Just top off with water to get you through until winter then change before a freeze. Water cools best anyway.

It isnt a matter of buy only Honda but it is a matter of buying the right stuff. Ther are more and more silicate free products on the market because many care manufacturers spec against it.
Gm dexacool, peak gold world i think, bmw wants no silicate. Honda cars are also silicate free.
Silicates are basically sand it is an abrasive ment to keep rust ans scale down in radiators.

 

I dont get these threads, why chance it at all? for the sake of $10-15 you can get real antifreeze and do the job right and sleep well. I assume you either dont have the money to top off, live too far from a MC shop, cant order online for some reason, or are too lazy to do one of the above.


Sorry to be a dick, but I feel the same way about folks that use ATF as fork oil, WD40 as chain lube, slick50 as oil.

In the end its your bike and your money, but come on, this cant be a cost savings argument

/rant off/

 

Don't be sorry...you shouldn't need to apologize.....ever hear one of those diehard "this is is the way" guys who don't know thier @ss from a hole in the ground apologize! I think not.

I think you are on the money. Good on you!!!

 

Silicates deteriorate O-rings and the result is leakage.

 

Hear hear! Why run the risk?

 

I stand corrected. It is not a silicate type glycol. It is organic like what GM uses. Here's the description of it.



* Exclusive formula developed by Honda R&D.
* Specifically designed for use in aluminum engines.
* Uses high-tech organic corrosion inhibitors instead of more commonly used silicate corrosion inhibitors.
* Unlike silicates, HP Coolant's organic corrosion inhibitors won't gel and cause radiator plugging, they are more stable for a longer shelf life, and don't act as abrasives to mechanical water-pump seals to cause leaks.
* Ready to use 50/50 blend.

 

and here is the cheapest price on the web - $4.28 a quart!
Honda Oils & Chemicals Part Number: HO-3922614 - Direct Line Parts

but by all means, run down to walmart and buy the stuff that wasn't designed for bikes. Sleep well sweet prince.

 

Look for silicate free. I used Prestone dexcool recently because I couldn't get to the Honda dealer on time.

 

BTW, I change every fall before a possible freeze and use the Honda stuff. The initial savings of $5-10 isnt worth the potential $200+ repair down the road. Maintenence adds to longevity but like Betarace said it is your bike and money you choose what you want.

 

Dexcool in asian?

Dexcool is fine for GM products, but not for asian stuff.
Zerex now makes an organic acid technology antifreeze called Asian blend that is specifically for Asian nameplate stuff.
Obviously, the Honda stuff is good.
Is the old standard green stuff ok? Only sorta, not very and the like.

 

For a while the VW buses that had water cooled cylinder heads used Polyproplene glycol
With their engines instead of ethylene glycol.