[Jim Makin]

Coolant Containment:

Is there a stainless steel cover made that fits over this plastic bottle? Any small stone could easily be kicked up making this bottle useless. Thanks

 

[cosmic_chariot]

V&P accessories has a LEXAN cover for the coolant bottle.. I made my own out of a piece of 12x12 lexan..
the coolant bottle is an OVERFLOW container.. you can puncture it and your bike will not run hot.. its just an OVERFLOW..

cosmic

 

[ray]

I took a piece of aluminum and bent it to fit and then used some automotive goop (glue) to stick it to the plastic.
Cheap and works fine.
Ray

 

[Wanderer]

the coolant bottle is an OVERFLOW container.. you can puncture it and your bike will not run hot.. its just an OVERFLOW..

cosmic

Not quite. It's a coolant recovery system. When the coolant heats up, it expands. The recovery bottle will fill slightly. When the coolant cools off, the system will draw back the coolant that went to the recover bottle. If the bottle leaks, you will lose some coolant from the system... maybe not enough to overheat, but I wouldn't bet on that assumption.

 

[lasher]

Belly Pan...problem salved. :wink:

 

[Red]

I just cover mine with thin sheetmetal. I glue them on with automotive Goop.

 

[Dive Master]

A guy in Evansville, IN makes this one he sales on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 140&rd=1,1

 

[cosmic_chariot]

the coolant bottle is an OVERFLOW container.. you can puncture it and your bike will not run hot.. its just an OVERFLOW..

cosmic

Not quite. It's a coolant recovery system. When the coolant heats up, it expands. The recovery bottle will fill slightly. When the coolant cools off, the system will draw back the coolant that went to the recover bottle. If the bottle leaks, you will lose some coolant from the system... maybe not enough to overheat, but I wouldn't bet on that assumption.

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..

cosmic

cosmic

 

[GL03]

Just a low point question, fully understand a simple principal of creating a shield under the bottle; but do not attach directly to the bottle like glueing. When an article would hit the bottom, the full impact of hit would be transmitted to cover and bottle. Having a cover not adhered to the bottle would allow a shock impact gap. Rather have the belly pan with bigger gap between them. Some people have had some hard hits on them, to need new pans!

 

[Stu_O]

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

 

[cosmic_chariot]

[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

 

[Pigeon Roost]

Cosmic;

Your experience with the bke not over heating is as expected, but if you run it like that very ling you will be going about your way with a good bit of atmosphere in the cooling system and that is less efficient and will add to your corrosion possibilities and also run the risk of hot spots. Get it fixed and keep the corect amount of coolent n the system if you want best service.

prs

 

[cosmic_chariot]

Pigeon Roost.. i don't run my bike as you stated.. i was only making a point about the cooling overflow tank... if on a trip it does get punctured
you do not have to park it or get it towed.. it is rideable ok... only point I was trying to convey.

P.S. thanks for you advise

cosmic

 

[Murgie]

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to do something to protect the recovery tank. With the tank empty from a leak, you will not have a way to check for coolant loss from the engine. These tanks to get punctured easily as evident from the one I removed from mine last summer: