Look, out potential hose leak

[davedixon]

Whilst giving the TA a look over before a ride-out I spotted the throttle bracket digging into a coolant hose (see pick). It had worn quite a bit into the hose. Bodged it with a thick inner tube patch and duck tape. Waranty claim I think? Can I ask you, when your TA is cold can you see any colant at all in the expansion tank when on side stand ? Mine seems empty. Ride safe Dave.

[StumpyFingers]

My coolant tank does have coolant in it when cold and on the side stand.

[davedixon]

Hmmm...I'm going to let it cool and add some water mixed with anti-freeze so I can keep an eye in it. Just enough to see some in the bottom of exp tank. Cheers for that. Dave.

[japes1275]

Dave, the coolant should be checked when at normal running temp. I checked mine when sevicing it the other week and it looked empty when cold, when hot it went up to just on the min mark (still hard to see though). I topped it up to halfway with a little distilled water (not this dodgy Lincolnshire stuff!) and will top it up with neat antifreeze sometime soon.

Thanks for the info on the coolant pipe - will check it tomorrow!

[ADE THE BLADE]

Dave, the coolant should be checked when at normal running temp. I checked mine when sevicing it the other week and it looked empty when cold, when hot it went up to just on the min mark (still hard to see though). I topped it up to halfway with a little distilled water (not this dodgy Lincolnshire stuff!) and will top it up with neat antifreeze sometime soon.

Thanks for the info on the coolant pipe - will check it tomorrow!

surely water should always be checked when cold i thinks its only the oil you check when warmed up. ive always checked water levels when cold ( overnight ) and make sure its between min / max. dont think its ever dropped to min..........never mind `empty` dont forget when running the water / oil systems are pressurised ( hence the hiss when opening cap ) good luck with it..........and watch your hands !!!

[jarl]

surely water should always be checked when cold i thinks its only the oil you check when warmed up. ive always checked water levels when cold ( overnight ) and make sure its between min / max. dont think its ever dropped to min..........never mind `empty` dont forget when running the water / oil systems are pressurised ( hence the hiss when opening cap ) good luck with it..........and watch your hands !!!

Fill when empty, check when warm is what I heard.

[ADE THE BLADE]

Fill when empty, check when warm is what I heard.

confused now...........if thats the case, why does mr honda put max / min marks on bottles / dip sticks?............or any other bike / car manufacturer for that matter!!

[Bluff]

Thanks for the warning Dave. For what its worth buddy I find the coolant level realy hard to observe.

I would have thought cold would be correct........ But it may be worth consulting mr Hondas book of words.

[btbloke]

The coolant should be seen between the two lines or at the full line when cold,if it's below the minimum line when cold then fill it immediately to the full or above the minimum line. If you don't you risk overheating and a knackered engine,the oil will only cool so much and then bang!.

Does anyone read their owners hand book? It's part of the daily checks before riding the bike thats why the tank is visible.Mr Honda puts nice little windows and see-through plastic containers all over the bike to check fluid levels like coolant and brake fluid so you don't risk your engine or your life,My advice is take full advantage of his generosity.

[Bluff]

Well it ain't that see through nor obvious on a TA 700 IMHO but the sentiment of your words are entirely correct BT fella.

WRT daily checks... I certainly don't check coolant and engine oil levels daily before kicking their bike over.