Coolant Leak ??

[mirider]

Sadly, with impending cold weather and not too far down the road here in Michigan, cleaned, winterized, changed oil, and covered bike for winter storage last week. Yesterday I noticed a small puddle of coolant on the floor of the garage directly under the radiator. First time I have seen any indication of a leak in over a year of ownership and mystified as to why the puddle was there. Wiped it up and did not see any further indication of a leak this morning. Anybody venture a guess on why I had this puddle. Have not run the bike since I covered it a week or so ago.

[Flyinfool]

I have not heard of it on 2nd gens YET. But on the 1st gens when the O-Rings on the drain valve and thermostat get old they will get hard from age and leak only when the bike and air temp are cold. As soon as the bike warms a bit the O-ring gets soft and seals just fine. Mine would only leak when the temp got down under 40.

It is only on cold days of the bike sitting and being ignored it will pee on the floor to try to get some attention.

[cowpuc]

I happen to know that Fool aint really no fool and gotta hunch he probably hit the nail on the head Dave.. Take a little gander at this video and see if you can detect a similar leak on yours. No idea if a 2nd Gen is plumbed like a 1st but this little vid may also help you find out whether it is or not? Know what cha mean about tucking them away, you might try lifting the cover up and whispering things like "its gonna be ok sweetheart - next year we are gonna do 10x more Hot Dog chasing so build up your energy while ya hibernate :big-grin-emoticon:"

 

[mirider]

Thanks guys, I'm gonna assume at this point my second gen just suffered from a first gen malady and she got a little cold the other night. [emoji848]As I said, didn't notice any additional leakage today. Just never saw it happen before even with colder nights last winter, will keep an [emoji872] on it.

[Flyinfool]

With the O-Rings it is an age thing, some of the 2nd gens are getting old enough now to start exhibiting age related issues.

[Zzyzx]

My buddies 06 RSV did something just like this, would leak a little then stop then leak a little again in a few days.

We found the rear freeze plug on the left side was leaking.

When he parked it with the front slightly heading downward it ran toward the front and looked like a radiator or plug leak.

You might check that just in case.

 

My guess, it was probably just marking its territory for the winter

[stickhandle2]

The rubber plugs behind the fake engine fins can tend to dry out and contract a little especially when the temp drops, I think some members have placed a dime or penny (I may be wrong with the denomination) and held it in place with some 2 sided tape then put the fins back on.

 

My 02 has this same malady, I like to think like Zzyzx pointed out, it is only marking its territory for the winter.

[mirider]

Did a little poking around under the bike this am and wasn't too happy with what I found. As shown in attached pic, it appears I have a small leak in two adjacent fins of the radiator. Not pouring out, just a drip so can I assume I have a crack in the fins and if so, what the heck would cause that. Doesn't appear to be any impact damage and as I stated before, haven't ridden it in a while and no leak noticed until the other day. :confused07: Any thoughts ?

 

[Flyinfool]

That is an odd place for a leak with sign of impact damage.

 

Time to snag a radiator pressure pump to track it down.

 

Maybe that spot just got splashed somehow.

[cowpuc]

,, that is kinda strange, I haven't heard any kind of scuttlebutt on bad radiators associated with our scoots.. Lord only knows what caused it, maybe a bad seam or a weak spot in the aluminum on a vein.. No idea how expensive a new rad would be but I would not be surprised that a rad shop could fix that fairly easily - hardest part would be getting it in and out.. Well brother,,, at least that gorgeous scoot of yours was kind enough to hold off till the very end of the season to decide it wanted some extra attention

[vzuden]

Make sure it is not leaking above that spot on the radiator. The fins can catch and retain every little droplet

[Sylvester]

With the O-Rings it is an age thing, some of the 2nd gens are getting old enough now to start exhibiting age related issues.

 

He11 my o rings are drying up too.

 

[mirider]

Could be Big Mac(Puc's name for my scoot) is just po'd cause I put her away for the winter.....:crying:Guess I will wait til spring to do a more thorough investigation to determine the source. Kinda cold to lay on my back on the garage floor with a flashlight and I placed a catch container under her to monitor the loss.

[cowpuc]

Could be Big Mac(Puc's name for my scoot) is just po'd cause I put her away for the winter.....:crying:Guess I will wait til spring to do a more thorough investigation to determine the source. Kinda cold to lay on my back on the garage floor with a flashlight and I placed a catch container under her to monitor the loss.

 

:lightbulb:I think you are onto something,, may even be a marketable idea Dave.. Stick a pan under Big Mac, put a little drain oil in the pan so it hides the green anti-freeze and tell everybody you bought a new Harley

:lightbulb:maybe even threatening to do so will be enough encourage the Mac to straighten up and accepting hibernation in a little more dignified fashion

[mirider]

:lightbulb:I think you are onto something,, may even be a marketable idea Dave.. Stick a pan under Big Mac, put a little drain oil in the pan so it hides the green anti-freeze and tell everybody you bought a new Harley

 

ROTFL !!

[mirider]

Big Mac looked out the garage window today at the 3-4" of white stuff we got and must have decided she was thankful for being covered and warm cause she stopped leaking on the floor. [emoji106]🏻

[Geobob]

That is an odd place for a leak with sign of impact damage.

 

Time to snag a radiator pressure pump to track it down.

 

Maybe that spot just got splashed somehow.

 

This is exactly what I was thinking about today as I looked for that cold weather leak. I have replace all of the o rings that I thought were the cause of leaks that I had in the past so I assume they are good. This winter sure enough every time the temp would drop below freezing or something the bike would take a piss. I was going to forget about it but since I have the front end apart I thought about taking the radiator off and taking to a shop to have them pressure test it. Is there a simple way to do this myself with some nifty air fitting installed in a cap or something?

[slowrollwv]

Unless you can regulate the pressure to 15-18# I would not try it. The temp. gauge is behind the rad at the thermostat housing. I would look at that closely. That is where I found my leak.