cooling system fluid maintenance

[Mike G in SC]

I don't see much info on maintaining the cooling system (antifreeze).

a) fluid reservoir under the seat

b) changing out the fluid

 

Owners manual says replace at each 24 months, take to dealer.

And they don't say what formula to add.

 

 

So questions:

So, what's real on how to and how often to change fluid. Is there a tech article on replacing the fluid?

I saw one on Venturers but it looks like they strip it down to get every drop. I doubt that is necessary to swap out every drop.

 

And, my reserve is low. What formula is it and should I stick with OEM or can you mix it with a brand from auto parts store? Might be hard to find "blue".

 

Thanks

[M61A1MECH]

Mike

Here is a great thread by Goose on changing the coolant,

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=37353

I always use the pre mix Honda stuff from he dealer, not cheap but I know it is the correct stuff.

Avoid any auto coolant that has silica in it, they add silica to act asa scubbing agent to remove corison build up, but it can be harmfull to the water pumps on the bikes, I see this on both Yamaha forums and now Goldwing forums I frequent.

 

I have been known to let mine go well past the recommended time and interval, with no issues.

 

Funny I just did the coolan change on my Goldwing last week end , because it had hi the recommended miles, and not really having any history on the bike, I thought it best to know where i was with it.

[djh3]

I changed mine when I did the valve adjustment this winter. You have to disconnect half the rad system to get to the stinking valve covers so somewhere when I was reading up on the job it suggested the change. I just used Autozone pre-mix and read the label.