Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => The Bike - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: zhangjx0545 on October 07, 2020, 04:58:22 AM
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Hi there
I am planning to change all the fluid for the new to me 09 concours,
But I am still confused about coolant type. The service manual said “permanent type antifreeze, color green”. What kind of coolant exactly is needed? IAT, OAT or HOAT? I would like to use lower cost stuff because I want to flush the system a couple of times in case cannot drain all the fluid out.
BTW, do I need to replace coolant hoses per service interval? The bike only has 10.7k miles, but manual asks for hose replacement every 3years.
Again, appreciate all the help from the forum members!
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I've always used the pre-mixed Honda coolant, but if Kawasaki has pre-mix then I'd look at that as well.
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I've always used the pre-mixed Honda coolant, but if Kawasaki has pre-mix then I'd look at that as well.
I've been using Honda coolant since my bikes first coolant change. This stuff started out green but has migrated to blue.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039OTLRW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Cheaper over here, https://wingstuff.com/products/3712-hp-coolant
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By the "green" type they mean Ethylene Glycol type with corrosion inhibitors. This covers most of what you'll find at any auto parts store that is NOT labeled "Dex-Cool". It does not have to be green but some of the major brands are green. Dex-cool is almost always red and should NEVER be used in a Concours!
I like EngineICE or similar which is Propylene Glycol based and meets all the requirements that Kawasaki has for coolant (EngineICE guarantees this) and it has the benefit of being far less toxic than Ethylene Glycol coolant. I have not noticed that it performs any differently in my bike. Its color, is blue, which is OK with me but be sure to thoroughly flush your system before adding any as it doesn't mix well with the "green" stuff.
I don't like to buy the premixed stuff because it's nearly 2X the price of the concentrate. But always use distilled water to mix, not tap water. Around here distilled water is about $0.50/gal. so that's a lot cheaper than what you pay for the 1/2 gal of water in a gallon of premixed coolant.
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I've always used the pre-mixed Honda coolant
That is what I ended up using also. It is "blue"
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I like the Honda stuff. Cheap and readily available at the LBS.
And yes, I replaced the hoses after a few years and a bunch of miles.
Like eight years old and 120,000 miles or so.
It is the time, not the miles.
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And yes, I replaced the hoses [] Like eight years [] It is the time, not the miles.
Yeah, I am thinking I made a mistake to not go ahead and replace the hoses when I did the major service last year (at 8.5 years old) and everything was open and drained. Probably would have only taken 30 min or something. Now I have no idea when/if it would ever be done. Oh well.
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My C14 hoses are 13 years old and look like new. They still feel flexible and no sign of any damage or decay.
I know the hoses on my C10 went hard with age, but even those didn't get replaced until they were 25 years old.
I've always used the Blue type coolant in my Kawasaki's as recommended in the manuals. Just mix it 50-50 with deionised water.
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Fred Harmon, in his DVDs on maintenance, recommends using the so-called "Extended Life" antifreeze. He mentions to use the unmixed type (not the premix), using only distilled water to dilute the antifreeze to 50/50. He was not picky about brand, but he clearly showed a bottle of Peak antifreeze.
The color of that Peak antifreeze was green.
When I last changed and flushed coolant in 2017, I used Prestone (approved for Dex-Cool, but labeled for all engines) which is red/orange. The label indicated it contained ethylene glycol (required in the owner's manual) and diethylene glycol, and various rust inhibitors.
I drained the coolant last night and it did not show any evidence of problems. The coolant reservoir was clean, but I pulled, drained, and rinsed it. Will be flushing the system in the next day or two using the SuperTech "Extended Life" Walmart store brand, which is green. It also contains ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and various inhibitors. Will be mixing that with distilled water 50/50.
Not sure what the difference of color in the a/f makes, but the owner's manual says that the bike was shipped with green a/f containing ethylene glycol and that it's mixed 50/50.
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I would stick with a Japanese brand motorcycle antifreeze. Lots of folks just grab whatever is handy. That is what they put into my Tacoma pickup and a couple of years later a plastic bypass tube started leaking and was an expensive fix. You must avoid nitrites, borates, silicates and phosphates. They can damage the water pump. Absolutely no 2-eha, which is 2-ethylhexanoic acid, which eats up silicone and plastic gaskets. And looking at the jug won't tell you half of this stuff. They won’t say contains 2- Ethyl Hexanoic acid, but that is exactly what is included in the “NJTSRN QT-1” corrosion inhibitor formulation used in Polar and Peak. The bottles that say, compatible with all other antifreeze, are actually the worst for motorcycles. Best to go with Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, or Kawasaki brand antifreeze. And don’t fall for the old legend of using Safety Data Sheets to tell you about borates and silicates, if it’s a proprietary formula they don’t have to list them.
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I've always used the pre-mixed Honda coolant, but if Kawasaki has pre-mix then I'd look at that as well.
I've always used the Honda coolant in my Honda's, Suzuki's and Kawasaki's with no issues.
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+1
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I think the best value is Valvoline Asian Coolant, I use the blue dye. Fully Honda H2 complaint. Been using it for the last 6 years no issues, but I do flush my system with new coolant every two years.