Stu_O said:
[quote="cosmic_chariot":3hj5ye83]When I picked up my bike in Sept 2005.. in Corinth, Ms. precheck list was done by the dealer.. i rode it home 500 miles .. next day I checked the coolant level.. it was BONE dry.. my bike NEVER ran hot on the way home.. i called the dealership talked to the service manager.. he explained that the coolant OVERFLOW bottle was just that.. a OVERFLOW
reservior..
Being polite, I'd have to say that your dealer's service manager is badly misinformed and is passing out incorrect info. As someone else here has already said, the bottle is part of the bike's coolant recovery system, and that system is designed to keep the entire cooling system 100% free of air - taking advantage of the pressure and vacuum cycles that occur as the coolant heats and cools. Because this type system has been used on all liquid cooled Hondas since 1975, I'm really surprised to see a service manager who's so misinformed. BTW, your car's cooling system works exactly the same way.
Here's how it works. When your coolant warms to operating temperarure, pressure in the system will open a valve in the radiator cap to relieve pressure in excess of the cap's rating. If there's some air in the system, it'll be expelled into the bottle, then to atmosphere. If there was no air in the system, some coolant will be purged into the bottle. After shutdown, as the coolant temperature drops, a vacuum will be created in the cooling system. That vacuum will open a different valve in the cap, allowing the system to draw purged coolant back into the radiators....provided there's sufficient coolant in the "overflow" bottle to cover the bottom of the hose. If your bottle is bone dry, the radiators will suck up air rather than coolant. The correct fluid level in the overflow bottle is anywhere between the upper and lower holes in the dipstick
with the bike on its centerstand, at full operating temperature, and with the engine running. Read your owner's manual - that's something your service manager should have done before "explaining."
Stu[/quote:3hj5ye83]
Stu... thank you for the informative explanation .. and kinda to reiterate
when I picked up my Wing.. i rode 500 miles back.. the temp gauge NEVER rose one bit.. and 2 years ago.. 5 of us came back from Utah
and a 2001 GL1800 received a punctured coolant bottle.. on the way
to Utah... his bike NEVER got hot on a 3700 mile trip.. I am sure you are correct on your explanation.. but obviously the coolant bottle is not a dire
necessary part of a GL1800..
cosmic