748 Coolant

I use motul motocool. Cheap as chips and good enough.

 

I was waiting to see what others use, didn’t want to admit I bought 5ltrs of car coolant last Sept .

 

50/50 mix and whatever is cheapest as I tend to change it once a year

 

Haynes is a good guide here. Drain, Clean, Flush, Refill is the order of a proper job.

Check and clean the bottom of your reservoir before you refill- dirt & debris tend to sit there.

 

Don’t change coolant (corrosion inhibitor) type without a thorough water flush or gel residue can form where they mix and clog the pump and waterways.
3 types: IAt, OAt hOAt. Typically (but not always) colour coded- IAt bright green or blue, OAt pink or red, hOAt yellow.

 

What’s the difference between them please?

 

The short answer is that they all have different corrosion inhibitor packages, though the base coolant chemistry could be the same. They can all do a job on our bikes, but they do not mix well with each other.

There is a lot going on in the chemistry but a bit of background about the job they have to do might be interesting (to someone?!)
Engines have a lot of different metal types in the coolant circuits depending on manufacturer, type of engine, age of design etc, often including aluminium, magnesium, carbon steel, inox steel, cast iron, zinc, brass, copper, and occasionally others.
When you flow a source of oxidisation (e.g. hot water with impurities) through it, not only will each of the metals oxidise (rust) in line with their own nature, they will interact with each other electrolytically according to a sacrificial oxidisation hierarchy (one will react to protect another)
Add to this that different chemicals affect metals in different ways, so for example, though aluminium has a stable oxide layer which carbon steel doesn’t (it rusts), caustic soda doesn’t have a major effect on steel, but reacts strongly with aluminium and dissolves it.
So, the job of the inhibitors is to minimise all of this oxidisation and prevent scale build up whilst being long lasting, low as possible toxicity, and not stop the coolant doing the cooling job.
Older type is IAt which use inorganic acids (not carbon based) to passivate the possible reactions. These work ok, but typically are not as effective on alu and magnesium as they get consumed, and are dead within a couple of years, so your system furs up and the coolant starts to eat into the metals.
After these came OAt which use organic acids (carbon based) and tend to be more effective with a wide range of metals for longer (up to 5 years) and kinder to the rubber parts. I think they are not recommended for older cars, which might be an interaction with lead solder in brass radiators.
Later still hOAt (and NOAt) hybrid organic acid tech were introduced which use a cocktail of organic and inorganic acids. I’ve seen different expected life quoted, but all are longer than IAt.

 

Useful, thanks Jon, I didn’t know any of that.

 

So long as it meets a recognised spec they are probably all ok.
I use VW G13 as it is extended life, inexpensive and available pretty much anywhere.

 

I just use car antifreeze in mine never had a problem.

 

I use this:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/401446552751

If I'm swapping from green I'll flush the system 4 or 5 times with this until it drains clear:
https://www.halfords.com/workshop-t...ump-starters/halfords-battery-top-up-water-5l

 

Fortunately we have natural spring water on hand which is filtered and zapped with a UV light. Tis better than distilled. So I just plug the garden hose into the filler and let it run through, purging the system.

 

Im running Millers https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Millers-...m2588a430ed:g:ZFMAAOSwcBhWawAA&frcectupt=true

 

Motul Motocool Organic + is what is recommended by my local dealer, and what i use in the panigale.

 

I run Motul MOTOCOOL EXPERT Hybrid Tech Motorcycle Coolant / Anitfreeze

Did a flush before with one of the additives out of halfords