I want to share what happened to day while trying to remove my spark plugs to fog the engine for winter storage.

After removing the lower and middle plastics it was time to unfasten the radiator so I could lower it to gain access to the plugs. After removing all the fasteners I had to tilt the radiator down on the right side and pull it to the left side of the bike so it could be moved down and out of the way.

Well, after getting it loose from its mount I was able to move it down a bit but not near enough like pictured in the repair manual so I started to apply a bit force to make it go down. Long story short, after I moving myself back and forth to each side of the bike multiple times and inching the radiator down I noticed some green liquid substance on my lift. At this point I think to myself, "What the hell!”, since I didn't remove any hoses to allow the anti-freeze to leak out. After further inspection I noticed that the back, convex portion, of the radiator had a badly marred scar that the bottom radiator mount caused that was leaking anti-freeze. What happened was that I some how allowed the back side of the radiator to push into the bottom radiator mounting bracket causing the bracket to puncture it. I was really mad for about a split second but calmed down since I knew being angry would not get me anywhere. I cleaned up then went strait to my computer see what a new radiator will cost. Bike Bandit has them for close to $500. The only positive to this situation is that it is winter and I can wait to find one cheap on eBay.

A couple of things I learned tonight were,

1.) For anyone looking to work around the radiator my recommendation is to just remove it. It seems to be as fragile as tissue paper. I am surprised more people don't get leaks from rocks flying up and hitting the front while riding. I have seen front heavy duty radiator screens for sale that protect the radiator from rocks and I just might buy one.

2.) I can't see fogging the engine every winter by having to go through the entire tear down I did tonight so I will forgo that part of my winterization procedures from here on out especially when I have more then one bike in the garage. I will just keep the batteries trickle charged and go out every couple of weeks and start the bikes letting them run about five minutes each.

As I say, "Education is expensive".

 

Bring the radiator to a radiator repair shop. They can solder the puncture if it's aluminum or epoxy it if it's plastic. The repair should hold as it's under less than 20 psi or so.

 

dude... thanks for the warning, might save someone else from making the same mistake

 

I`ve removed my rad before and its the same procedure for me, there hella fiddly aren`t they!! Unlucky on the mishap, keep your chin up and eyes open for repair kits. +1 on the weld.

 

Thanks, I will check on repairing it.

 

I have a spare rad. for my 04 cbr1000rr. no leaks and good condition trade or ?

 

To sum up, I had the radiator fixed for $54 total. I installed it, and ran her up with out incident. The radiator put off a lot of steam when I let the engine warm to 219F to get the fan to kick on. It was steaming so much I thought there might have been a small leak but the steam subsided and dried up completely after about five minutes.

I appreciate the suggestion of getting it fixed. I have had many car radiators fixed over the years but for some reason it didn't immediately dawn on me that the small frail looking motorcycle rad could be fixed the same way.

I recommend to anyone who needs to work behind the radiator to take the time to drain and remove it, not just unfasten it and move it down out of the way as the manual suggests. The room it provides by moving it down is not much and the chances of damaging it are great.

Thanks again, now my world is right since my bike is working.

 

You're a gentleman & scholar... thanks for the forwarning!

Cheers