i would have done a full fluid exchange. oil, brakes, coolant, etc, etc... i use the pre-diluted stuff from your local auto parts store or walmart. peak appears to be the most cost effective from what i've found.

 

Coolant and brake fluid are supposed to be replaced every two years, regardless of mileage. You can avoid a ton of problems by doing that and other scheduled maintenance.

 

I did the oil before I started riding, but it seems the coolant and brake fluid are well past due. Thanks for the advice!!

 

If this is my bike, I would drain the coolant and flush it a couple times with distill water and just use normal coolant.

 

Different bike, but the method works really well. Make sure you have a free day at home for all the heat cycles though. The whole process takes a while, but its really easy. Have fun.

http://www.fjrtech.net/getdbitem.cfm?item=43

 

Just did my coolant for the first time since I've owned it (04 model, I bought 5 years back). Not a hard job, but takes patience. The drain screw is SHORT, ~6mm thread. Loosen a bit, let it drip into a pan/bucket and wait awhile before unscrewing. Or you can learn the hard way like me and send fluid squirting a few feet out

One question for the more experienced guys - I overfilled the coolant reserve a bit. I figure if it doesn't level out to the "full" bar after riding for a few days, I will drain the excess. Is this a big concern? Any danger in riding with a few extra ounces in the reserve?

 

The proper way to do a coolant replacement is to add coolant to the radiator till it's full, put cap on, lean the bike side to side. Add coolant, put the cap on, lean bike side to side. Do this till the radiator won't take any more. This procedure gets most of the air bubbles out. If you don't do this, overheating commonly occurs.

Be sure to empty the overflow tank and refill. Check the overflow tank in a few days and fill it to the F mark.

 

So I guess it doesn't hurt to be slightly overfilled? I worry about it since the system is under pressure and all.

 

Anytime I get a new bike I replace ALL fluids - brake fluid, engine oil, and coolant. They're relatively easy to do, even without much experience - jrust buy a service manual. Unless your bike is bought less than two years old (and even then, that doesn't apply to engine oil), it's prudent to assume that they're all overdue for changing. I over-maintain to try and avoid costly and time-consuming repairs in the future.



Your coolant reservoir isn't pressurized (other than maybe some vapor pressure). There's no real reason to overfill it, unless yours is eating coolant. After a coolant change, fill it to the full mark and then after riding it for a bit, re-check the coolant level in the reservoir and fill it back up to full if needed.

 

I actually enjoy doing the coolant on the SV.

Some basic tips...

- Use a deep pan (# 4) to drain, because the water/coolant will flow heavy, and splatter like crazy on a shallow pan.

- Using tinfoil, create a flat rectangular sheet, tape the top part just under the drain bolt, and have the end towards the drain pan. This will help minimize the mess when draining the fluid and flushing the coolant.

- Take off the radiator cap, and loosen the drain bolt, get ready, it will come out quickly. When it starts draining, use the palm of your hand to shield the liquid spray away from you and towards the tinfoil shield you made.

- Buy a gallon of distilled water (# 2) for flushing the coolant. After you remove the drain bolt and drain the coolant. Plug the hole with your finger, and add water to the radiator, remove your finger, drain until it stops, and tip the bike to the right to drain further until it stops. Repeat this step of filling, draining, and leaning until the water comes out clear, usually about 3 to 4 times.

- Drain the expansion tank. You will need to lift the tank, pull the rubber stopper off the expansion tank. Then on the right side of the bike, find the thin hose that connects the expansion tank to the radiator, it's held on by a spring type clip. Guide the hose around the frame and into your drain pan. Gravity should drain the expansion tank. Flush the expansion tank with some distilled water. When done, reconnect hose to radiator.

- Buy Honda HPD premixed 50/50 coolant (#1). It's $5 a liter, ready to go, you will need two bottles.

- Torque the drain bolt to 10-11 ft-lbs (don't forget the crush washer), add new coolant slowly until it reaches the fill neck. Tip the bike to the right for a moment, the coolant will "burp". Fill more coolant again until it reaches the neck, tip bike again to the right until it burps. This will take 3-4 burps until it won't burp anymore.

- Start engine without the cap on the radiator. It will burp further on it's own, keep adding coolant. Idle until about 150 degrees. Top off coolant, tighten cap, and fill expansion tank to the full mark.

- Ride the bike, make sure the thermostat is working, go at least 10 miles. Park and let cool, the coolant level will settle down in the expansion tank, top off one more time to the top mark, that should be it.

- To make adding fluid and flushing easier, use a long funnel and cup (#3), especially if you have a S model.

 

- Drain the expansion tank. You will need to lift the tank, pull the rubber stopper off the expansion tank. Then on the right side of the bike, find the thin hose that connects the expansion tank to the radiator, it's held on by a spring type clip. Guide the hose around the frame and into your drain pan. Gravity should drain the expansion tank. Flush the expansion tank with some distilled water. When done, reconnect hose to radiator.

This what I did, cause I am lazy. :lmao:

I cut one of the fingers off a dish glove, put it over the reserve opening and blow it from the other end like a balloon. Eventually, it will build up enough pressure and force all the fluid out back into the radiator.