I did it not too long ago. Bike is 98 with the original fluid or maybe it was prestone who knows. Got the prestone wash and drained the old one filled with water ran for 5 min, drained , filled with prestone wash + water, ran 5 min, drained, filled with water, 5m drain, and repeat. Drain. After that it is up to you to pick the product you like. My choice was the blue Honda Acura antifreeze only because Acuras have very delicate cooling system and whatever is in the coolant should be safe for the bike. It also has no Silicate which some argue is just bad news for the system.
Fill the radiator and the expansion tank. Run the bike and bleed the air out through the bleed screw. Fit a 2 ft hose on the bleed screw and use 10mm to bleed all the air you can. (Or just ride for 10 min stop let cool fill the radiator ,repeat 2 times) I think that is all.
Personally, I didnt feel comfortable attempting a task like that myself so I had my local
bike shop mechanic change it for me. Had the front brake & clutch fluids done @ the same time. I did do the final drive oil myself. I figured it wouldnt hurt to help support the local small buisness & the piece of mind I had was priceless. LOL
I have a 2004 classic...took about 30 minutes. I DID NOT take the tank off. Unless you have mammoth hands it is super easy to do this job by taking the speedo cover off and reach into take off the radiator cap. Lots of folks remove the tank. TON of extra work for nothing if you ask me. Flush...replace...ride. Even a girl can do it.
I change mine every other winter, just did last feb. Also replaced all the hose this time as well. I usually remove the tank so I dont spill any on the tank when refilling. I use the pre mixed. I take the lower radiator hose loose by the starter and remove the fill cap. Also replased the thermostat this year. I refill the system, then take for short ride and check for leaks, and top off again, if needed. Have never flushed mine, but probably should. I have over 96,000 on my bike, all my miles.
WOW!! That is a lot of miles. FANTASTIC. I would think if you have no issues with that many miles and never flushed the system that there is no need. Mostly I think it's important to do the change of fluid. I also used the premix. Makes it super easy.
Like I said "never flushed mine, but probably should". Have noticed something among most bikes, not just the Vulcan or even Kawasakis, that the more you ride them, the less trouble they give you.
I change rad fluid every year, no need to flush and rinse, I buy my rad fluid at Wal-Mart STP Universal 50/50 premix green, I leave the gas tank on, remove speedo and remove cap, just drain rad then use a tube to withdraw rad fluid from right side reserve tank, I leave tank on, just suck out the fluid and fill back up with new, fill rad up to neck with new, start engine and run for 2 minutes until bubbles out, fill back up to top of neck, replace cap and speedo, job done. If you do this once a year there's no need to drain fluid from around cylinders or do a flush and rinse.
Yup if you do this every 1-2 years no need, I was flushing like crazy as the bike had original fluid since 1998. And got it from person that just has no clue about bikes or cars.
Every other year (approx. every 20,000 miles), I do a 50% vinegar/50% distilled water flush, a distilled water rinse, then fill with Coolanol (a 50/50 pre-mix specifically formulated for motorcycles).
Perhaps slight overkill, but it's not much work and I feel better having done this gentle flush proceedure (vinegar/distilled water because the chemicals in an auto flush may be a little too harsh).
10 cents of effort for a dollar's worth of peace of mind.
I went to Honda car dealership, bought a jug of Honda Type 2 50/50 pre-mix blue coolant
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