What side of cbf1000 do I check my coolant levels?

[atticusfbf]

Hey All,

Been doing basic bike maintenance: Clean, new oil (Halfords 4 stroke 10w-40), change of oil filter and topping up coolant.

When I got to the coolant part I could see on the left hand side of the bike that the level was at min. So I went out and bought Halfords OAT Ready Mixed Antifreeze. As best as I could tell from the manual this would work fine. Bit of a waste to buy a full bottle but heho.

So I put a small amount in and seen the coolant container on the left does not move. At this stage I stop have a look round the bike and see another bottle on the right hand side next to the brake fluid container. Now I am confused. Which one should I be looking at?  The one on the right is at max so if it is this one then I didn't need to fill it up at all.

The manual does not help since one diagram is pointing to the left but the picture is with the brake fluid container which is on the right.

What is going on? Thanks in advance.

[jm2]

Use the (hard to see) marks on the expansion bottle.

Lower for cold (what I use) and upper for hot.

But the correct way is to fill from the main cap (ahead of the thermostat) i.e. fill the rad & system first and let flow into the expansion, so you know the system is full (as full as possible - air may bleed out through cold/hot cycling).

Anyway, top up isn't quite right, the coolant system ought to be changed every few years.

[atticusfbf]

Thanks for the reply. Seems like it is full on one side but empty in the other. Maybe it is twisted?

Also, do you know if the coolant I used was ok in the bike? Everywhere I look this seems fine but worried now since I did not know mixing coolants was such a bad idea.

[FLIZ]

Are you checking the coolant level in the expansion tank with the bike on it’s side stand?

If so you it will look like the level is higher on the right side than it is on the left. Try holding the bike more upright when checking the level, or put something under the side stand to give a more upright stance.

If in doubt about mixing different coolants, carry out a full coolant change to be on the safe side.

[jm2]

Well ALL fluid levels should be checked with the bike (or any vehicle) level.

I just use the centre stand (on a level garage floor) as nothing is far out on that but if you've no centre stand (nor paddock stand) then you will need to enlist the help of another.

Then check against the side of the marks themselves (I forget exactly where they are).
It needn't be exact, just consider the minimum to be the lowest cold (coolant) level.

[FLIZ]

  

[atticusfbf]

Thanks guys. Yeah I used the centre stand to check the fluid levels so not sure why I see a difference from one side to the other. The view from the right hand side looks ok so will go with this. It is possible I just can't see it on the left since it is darker.

I only topped up a small amount before noticing I could see the level better on the right hand side so I guess this can't do too much damage. Specially since I used: Halfords OAT Ready Mixed Antifreeze. Which does not have silicates and I have seen other people recommending this for Honda bikes.

[Art]

I agree checking the expansion tank coolant level from the left hand side is difficult due to a lack of light. The easiest way to check the coolant level is by shining an inspection lamp or torch into the coolant from the left hand side and eyeball the coolant level from the right hand side.

How long as the coolant been in there? If you don't know you may as well replace it, it doesn't last forever.

I don't like the ready mixed antifreeze coolant and prefer to mix my own, re-filling and flushing the system with de-ionised water two or three times before adding the correct coolant mix because you never get anywhere near to completely draining the system via the drain plug. My antifreeze/coolant of choice is TRIPLE QX Red Antifreeze/Coolant around £2.50 per litre after applying the online click and collect discount at Euro Car Parts and its good for 5 years before you need to replace it again. You'll need 2 off 1L bottles of antifreeze and 5 or 10  litres of de-ionised water depending how thorough you want to be in flushing the system. For the final refill pour in 1½ litres of antifreeze/coolant and top up with de-ionised water to get a more or less perfect 50:50 mix.

Replacing the coolant is a fairly straight forward job but don't follow Section 7 of the Honda Workshop Manual because it misses the step to fill the system through the filler opening (thermostat housing radiator cap) up to filler neck. There's a good hands on DIY on how to replace the coolant on a 2007 CBF1000A Honda motorcycle which is also applicable to all 2006 to 2010 SC58 models. Pay particular attention to attaching a cord or some string to the siphon tube or you'll struggle to get it back where it needs to be without it getting pinched and possibly restricted by the battery tray.

Check the coolant level after the first ride (when cold) and you may find you need to top up the expansion tank with 50 to 100 ml of coolant to get the level bang on the upper line, this is normal re-check the level again on the next ride to be sure there are no leaks.

clickity click here for the DIY.