Ran out of patience fitting chinese rads.....

[gavins]

The result of the aforemention lack of patience:



Also, my rad cap doesn't seem to be sealing properly. Theres no 'lip' round the edge of the hole like there is on the standard radiator and when i rev the engine (before it's to op temp, i haven't been out on it yet), i can see little bubbles rushing off up the overflow hose.

I take it when i do go out for a ride, as soon as it gets up to temperature and some pressure gets into the system it's just going to vent into my small expansion bottle?

[Neosophist]

Oh dear.

Yes, if the cap isnt sealing its just all going to go into the expansion bottle, and then all over the back of the bike after the bottle has filled up.

[gavins]

Hmm, just refitted the standard top rad and it's doing exactly the same, bubbles through the overflow hose. I took it for a very quick spin, just a mile or two and it didn't seem to deposit any additional fluid in the reservoir despite still seeing bubbles move in the hose as the revs increased. Could it just be air bleeding from the system and escaping past the cap? I did follow the normal procedure for filling and bleeding.

[speedy231278]

Are you using different caps or the same one? if it's the same cap, I would suggest it's knackered. If not, dunno. Worst case scenario would be the very unlikely even of head gasket failure, and you're pushing some of the cylinder charge and the exhaust into the coolant, but that's pretty unlikely unless you've rebuilt the engine using aftermarket gaskets. It might possibly be the system settling down after being refilled. Keep a careful eye on the temperature and check the coolant level on the top rad when cold to see if anything is being lost.

On the panel that's been modified.... my experience with Honda plastic tells me that the panel is going to split all the way to the edge in a few months of riding unless you repair it. I've never known a crack in one of mine not get worse very quickly, sometimes even when attended to.

[gavins]

On the panel that's been modified.... my experience with Honda plastic tells me that the panel is going to split all the way to the edge in a few months of riding unless you repair it. I've never known a crack in one of mine not get worse very quickly, sometimes even when attended to.

What kind of Philestine do you take me for?!?! Doing that to Honda plastic would be sacrilege!

It's a Tyga Suzuka Style fiberglass fairing and to be honest the fit is shit anyway. The bike it's self has a halfords rattle can paintjob and the bike is mainly for the track this year (though it's still road legal atm) and it's going to be raced next year. I'm not one to be particularly bothered about cosmetics for this sort of thing and there was no way in hell it was fitting with the chinese rad which is both wider that the stock one and has the cap close inline with the radiator instead of in line with the bike. I've masked the edges with a bit of black duct tape now.

With regard to the rads, i can only assume it was air squeezing past the pressure cap. I ended up refitting the chinese rad and bleeding the system. It was still doing the same but i took it for 7/8 mile ride and got it up to 80C whielst keeping a close eye on the overflow bottle and the level of fluid didn't change. I didn't think air would get past the cap but i tried two caps on two different rads and both did the same but it doesn't seem to be an issue.

[Neosophist]

Air shouldnt do that.. this is why you bleed the system of air before you put the cap on, becuase if you get air stuck in there then it cant get out and the system over-heats.

If it "self bled" there would be no need to bleed it.

Keep an eye on it anyway, it might have sealed itself.

Plenty of the chinese radiators are shit quality so the cap seealing surface isnt level or dented or something similar to prevent a good seal

[gavins]

You can see in this image just how much wider the chinese rad and cap is, the edge of the rad is butted up hard against the fairing.

[speedy231278]

What kind of Philestine do you take me for?!?! Doing that to Honda plastic would be sacrilege!

Sorry, I just saw a familiar looking red underneath!