Radiator leak

[nasosrr]

Last Saturday I completed the installation of the new radiator. Got tons of help from Art's instructions and advice and of course I wouldn't have made it without the manual and Haynes book.

Here is the process I followed (tried to make it short and removed all the boring parts):

(the video is unlisted, I am just posting it here)

And here is the lady, after the reparation was complete:

And some pics, before, during and after:
https://ibb.co/album/tMZ3fb

I still feel a bit nervous when I ride, because I am worried I didn't complete the air-bleeding process correctly, but on the other hand, I drove for like 50 km yesterday and everything felt normal. And the radiator gets warm, as it should, so it seems to me that the coolant circulates properly everywhere.

One thing I am not happy about, is that I didn't flush the system properly before I re-filled it. I should have done a better job there. The reason why I didn't, is that I don't have access to running water at my garage and I had to carry bottles from my apartment. So I only flushed it with about 2 liters of water, but yeah, I see that the coolant in the reserve tank isn't very clean already. :(

I get restless when I take down panels and get access to stuff and I behave like a child, "Ooooooh, can I remove this one too??? Cool!!!", so I took the opportunity and cleaned up a little bit down there too. It's far from mint, but it's better than it was before.
I also noticed that the cables for the heated grips had started wearing off a bit (thankfully only the self-vulcanizable tape that I had wrapped them in), so I found some plastic tube and wrapped it around. I couldn't find a larger diameter though, so it doesn't look pretty. But I am still looking for the right size and once I find it, I will replace the nasty parts down there.

One question?
As you can see, I covered the headlights' contacts in plastic bags, to protect them from dirt. Is there any reason why this is a bad idea? Risk for catching fire or anything?

That's it from me for today folks.

Once again, thanks a million!!! 

[Art]

Happy days.

Bleeding the coolant - After re-filling the system surround the filler neck with rag to catch any spillage, run engine up to normal operating temperature, blip the throttle two or three times, switch off and top up to filler neck, replace filler cap and allow to cool. Once cold top up expansion (reservoir) bottle to upper level, check level after 100 miles.

Completely draining the system is difficult if not impossible. What I do is drain as much as will drain from the coolant drain plug which will be about 2 to 2½ litres which leaves ½ to 1 litre in the system. To flush I then refill the system with de-ionised water, bleed the system without topping up, allow to cool and drain again. I repeat this process once or twice more until the drained fluid is all but clear. To achieve a 50:50 mix of coolant:de-ionised water on the final fill I first add 1½ litres of concentrated coolant and top up with de-ionised water. Which is why I prefer concentrated over ready mixed coolant.

Covering any electrical cable with plastic bags or PVC tape is a bad idea because it can cause the cables to sweat and over heat. There is also a risk of water or moisture  ingress and once water or moisture has found its way in it can't get out. The solution is simple use a propriety automotive cable sleeving, if its just to protect from chaffing spiral sleeving can be fitted without the need to disconnect the cables, if tubular sleeving is used do not seal the ends which will allow any water or moisture ingress to escape. If you need to tape cabling use a wiring harness tape.

[nasosrr]

Man, you really are a living library of invaluable information!
People like you, in all kinds of professions, are the reason why internet is SO amazing! Really REALLY thank you!!!

I'm going to the garage now to remove the plastic bags.

Next time I replace the coolant (which will be a bit sooner than I otherwise would, now that I know there's something bugging me) I will certainly follow your process. :)

And, like I said many times before: Thanks a lot!