On Coolant and Antifreeze

Sharing some info I’ve learned today...

I’m fixing my bent radiator on my dirt bike, a 2010 Husqvarna TE250, and decided I should get some new coolant. And I noticed the stuff in the radiator now is blue. Hmm, that’s different from he green I’m used too!

Apparently my manual recommends Castrol Motorcycle Coolant, and I read the earlier Husqvarnas used to call for AGIP Cool Antifreeze. I found little info about these and was unable to tell what color they are, and they aren’t easy to find where I live. I suspect these are Ethylene Glycol based but I couldn’t find a spec for the AGIP stuff.

And I saw some mention that the original blue fluid might be G11, apparently a European spec antifreeze, and that is apparently blue. It is also not easily available near me (even the local German car dealer has apparently moved to something pink in color, maybe G12).

Now importantly, some of the sources I read said not to mix the blue G11 coolant with an Ethylene Glycol based coolant. Maybe bogus, but it sounds to me like the safest thing to do is to just flush the old blue stuff and put in something that I know what it is.

I also found this interesting article by Dave Kimmey, the President of Engine Ice. Obviously a biased source, but much of the info still seemed good and informative. After reading it I decided to go with Engine Ice, especially as I ride in the desert. I don’t care so much about antifreeze, but I do want better cooling performance if it’s possible.

Here is Dave Kimmey's article, for what it’s worth:

Since it's starting to warm up and you folks will be getting your bikes out of moth balls, I thought I'd take a minute to give you some information and education about antifreeze/coolant products as well as some insight as to what coolants actually are and what their true purpose is.


Now, being from Engine Ice, I am a bit biased and I admit it. However, most all of the products on the market are excellent products, but each has various uses and applications for them. We produce Engine Ice for specific high intensity and high heat applications. It really is not designed as an “everyday” coolant; it is for racing or high temperature applications. However, it can be used as an everyday coolant with no problem


There are two basic types of coolant/antifreeze, Ethylene Glycol (EG) and Propylene Glycol (PG) and then there are surfactant products such as Water Wetter from Red Line for example. All of the products mentioned are good products, just offering different things.


Ethylene Glycol (EG) – This is basically your “Prestone” type of products. Maxima’s Coolinol, Pro Honda Coolant and Spectro Coolant are examples of this type of product. It is basically the same as the coolant/antifreeze product you can buy at the auto parts store, but “silicate-free.” This is important, don’t get the stuff from the auto parts store unless it’s silicate free. Most are pre-diluted for easy use; they are diluted with a more pure distilled water or deionized water (deionized water is explained below). This is better water than what you can buy at the grocery store.


You really shouldn’t call an EG-based product a “coolant,” an “anti-boil” product would be more accurate. EG is made very cheaply and its primary purpose is to eliminate boil-over and to keep your system from freezing up. That’s basically it. It is not designed to actually reduce temperatures. If you are driving a car or a cruiser-type bike that does not have a temperature issue, these are fine products.


Water Wetter - It is an additive product. Water Wetter is what is called a “surfactant.” What this means is that it reduces the surface tension of the water or in other words, it allows the water/fluid to “rub” closer to the metal allowing it to better draw off heat. Water Wetter works and it is good stuff. However, if you add it to an EG antifreeze product your results are minimal. It will reduce temperatures, but by only a small amount. Added to water, you will see a significant difference in temperature reduction. But it will not raise the boil point of the water nor does it offer any antifreeze protection. So your engine may run a bit cooler, but when it gets hot it will “spit out” the coolant before other products do. That is not good, because now you’ll have less coolant in the engine. Using more than the recommended amount (4 capfuls to a quart) is a waste and it will not make any difference, only use their recommended amount.


Water alone is not recommended. You do need to add some type of water additive to it. Water alone is corrosive and it does not keep your seals, gaskets, water pump and water pump impeller shaft lubricated enough. Make sure something is added to water, do not run it all by itself.


I would not recommend Dex-Cool (the orange stuff). All reports and tests that I have heard of have not been good. It can "gel." It also has a tendency to clog up a motorcycle system. The radiator core and the system itself of a motorcycle is smaller when compared to an auto. I would avoid Dex-Cool and choose any other product before I'd recommend anyone using it.


Propylene Glycol (PG) – This is what Engine Ice Hi-Performance Coolant and Evans Coolant is made of. Evans is 100% PG and has an extremely high boil point of well over 350oF. They recommend you make some mechanical changes to your system, such as a zero psi cap or a different radiator in order to use it. Their goal is to eliminate boil-over, not to reduce temperatures. At their recommended 100% PG use, you’d have a boil point in excess of 350oF. At 100% PG, it would not be as effective at dissipating heat from your engine as well as it has a higher viscosity. Water is the ultimate coolant. All coolant products are measured against water for its heat dissipation capabilities. The lack of water in the use of Evans greatly reduces its ability to cool your engine. If you’re running heavy equipment or an 18-wheel truck, Evans is probably a good product.


Engine Ice is a diluted ratio of PG and Deionized water. The process of de-ionizing water eliminates all of the impurities that can do harm to your cooling system. Regardless if you are using tap, bottled, distilled, spring or R/O (reverse osmosis) waters, it can still contain minute particles of iron, magnesium, rust, lime and calcium. Many of these waters also contain chemicals, such as chlorine, fluorides and acids. Want proof? Take two different brands of distilled waters and perform your own taste test. They each taste different don’t they? If water were water, why would they be different? It’s because of the varying amounts of chemicals and minerals in these waters. These minerals and chemicals are what is the cause of scarring, scaling and mineral build-ups in your cooling system. Many also attribute these minerals and chemicals to water pump seal and gasket failures.


Engine Ice was developed and tested in the heat and humidity of Southern Florida. Tests have proven to reduce operating race temperatures by as much as 50oF in some situations. PG is a lubricant and is a surfactant in itself, meaning it has more capability to draw away more heat than EG-based products and even Water Wetter. It is biodegradable and non-toxic. It will not kill your dog, nor will it kill the plant life at your favorite track or trail. It is also legal in AMA, CCS and FUSA road racing.


Engine Ice has won over 275 National Championship Titles over the last two and a half years including the 2001 AMA 125cc West Supercross Championship with Ernesto Fonseca on the Yamaha of Troy YZ250F and in 2002 Chad Reed in the 125cc West Supercross Championship. You can bet that Yamaha Motor Corporation did extensive testing on Engine Ice prior to putting in into their premier bike in its debut year. It is also used an endorsed by the American Suzuki Amateur Motocross Program. Engine Ice sponsored racer, Darren Luck, won nine (9) CCS class championships in 2002 as well as earned the CCS Florida Expert #1 plate by the largest margin ever. Racers using Engine Ice won seven CCS Race of Champions National Championships at Daytona in 2001 and won an additional eight (8) in 2002.


As for flushing the system, we recommend a very simple and cheap radiator flush.
Go to your local grocery store and buy "White Distilled Vinegar" and mix that 50/50 with some distilled water.
Fill the system with the 50/50 mix, run the bike until warm, let cool, drain and then run clear water through to wash out the vinegar. It's the same idea as cleaning your coffee maker. The vinegar is acidic enough to remove any scale or impurities, but not so harsh that it will harm your delicate seals and gaskets.


WE DO NOT RECOMMEND AUTOMOTIVE RADIATOR FLUSHES...they're too harsh.

Lightweight Shorai Battery

Not a vintage project but a cool one. I wanted a new battery for my 2010 Husqvarna TE250, and had recently read about these cool lightweight LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) batteries made by Shorai. I'm a novice in the dirt and I'm short so the idea of lightening the bike a couple pounds sounded like a good idea.

Shorai's "Standard Recommendation" for my bike is the LFX09L2-BS12. There website claims: "This LFX battery is 4.07 Lbs. lighter than the lead-acid YTZ7S." That sounded pretty awesome, and my local dealer had it in stock.
Here is my original battery and the new Shorai.

The new Shorai is significantly shorter and less deep. They provide foam that you can cut to wedge the battery in the battery tray and you can see that in front of the Shorai battery in the picture. They also have these nice bolts with foam underneath that helps raise the nut for fitting the bolt. If you have fit a motorcycle battery before you know this seems like a handy and nice idea.

But what about the weight? First I weighed the original battery.

 

This is the original battery that came with the bike and including the bolts it weights 4 pounds 8.5 ounces (4.53 pounds).

Now the new Shorai battery.

Wow! 1 pound 4.9 ounces (1.31 pounds), including the bolts and foam shim.

So that is a savings of: 3 pounds 3.6 ounces, or 3.2 pounds. Not really close to Shorai's claim of 4.07 pounds, but still a pretty good weight savings.

Here's a picture of the battery fitted to the bike.

I was careful to zip tie the battery in place, as it definitely cold come loose otherwise, due to it's smaller size. But it does fit really well. (You might notice, I have some extra wiring under my bike for the Power Commander.)

I checked the voltage of the battery when I bought it, and it was at 13.40V. Which Shorai claims means the battery as delivered was at more than 90% charge. I also checked the drain with the ignition off and got 0.17mA on my meter. Thats pretty small, but I think I'll leave the battery disconnected between riding trips.

Cost? The Shorai at $106.62, tax included, was about the same price as a replacement Yuasa MF YTZ-7S battery ($110 online from various sites). But you can get an off-brand sealed AGM YTZ-7S for less than $50. So it's a great deal if you compare to a high end OEM replacement battery, kind of expensive if you compare it to the cheapest batteries out there.

So thats it, probably the easiest 3 pounds I've ever saved on a bike.

How I bent the foot peg mount back

The right foot peg on my 1977 Kawasaki KH400 has been a little crooked. Ideally this would have been bent back while the bike was disassembled (during restoration) but the restorer didn't notice it at that time.
The threaded lug that receives the foot peg is mounted to a gusset on the frame and I could see that gusset was slightly tweaked. So it wasn't a matter of bending the frame, just tweaking the sheet gusset back straight.
I tried bending it by removing the foot peg and inserting a long bolt, but the bolt just bent. So I ended up buying an extra foot peg on ebay, and then cutting it so I could fit a long steel pipe over the end.

I wrapped the end of the pipe in tape to protect surrounding components if something slipped or broke during the procedure. I also heated the the gusset with a heat gun. Not too much as I didn't want to harm the paint. Just slightly warm to the touch. Then I had my wife support the bike so I didn't pull it over and carefully tugged on the pipe. It's delicate procedure, as I didn't want to break anything and there are big, potentially dangerous forces involved. Obviously we both wore gloves and safety goggles. If you try something like this, be very careful and really, get professional help.

Mondial Repairs

I arrived home from the giro and quickly made a list of things that need to be repaired, fixed or upgraded on the Mondial. These old bikes always need something. Sometimes the problems just arrive and sometimes they are chronic things you just can't seem to get rid of.  Eventually I might decide to move to a new old bike and a new set of problems!

The problem at hand:

- the ignition switch is intermittent and the ignition can cut out while riding or sometimes just to prevent the bike from starting.

A little investigation showed that the flat contact spring for the contact on the switch is made of two pieces, and one of the pieces has broken. (You can see the broken flat contact spring on the switch on the right in the picture below.) Unbelievably, I was able to find a replacement switch easily on sale for a mere $36. Its slightly different, but no big issues.

The new switch is on the left in the pic, with the bulb and fuse already fitted. I also put a jumper on it to connect two of the terminals. 

So now the switch is fixed!

Giro d' Califoria 2011 Wrap-up

I'm back home after another great Giro d'California.
It seemed like this was the best organized event yet, my complements to Harley and Deb and all those who helped them!
I've been asked for a bit more of a competitive update. Here is the story.

A Bit On Scoring and Strategy

The end section of a agility test right before the timing lights

The giro has 4 "agility tests" a day, where you strive to hit your time exactly over a short course, typically a slalom through some cones of less than 60 seconds. These are at the start, before and after lunch and at the finish. Additionally, there are typically 2 "emergency checks" along the course where you are marked to the middle of your minute (the 30 second point) in seconds. The agility tests are measured to the thousandth of a second with timing lights and emergency checks are measured to the second. Additionally there are 2 secret checks out on the course, where you are measure to the minute.
So here's how the strategy works out for me. Most importantly, I must leave on time at the start. It would be silly to blow that. Secondly, I want to arrive at the finish on time (you can be up to 15 minutes early for that with no penalty as it's a "known control". Then, I want to hit the secret checks and emergency controls on my designated minute. If a I can do all that, for 2 days, I will be "on my minute". Previous Giro's show that you will likely win the event if you can do that, or come close. The next priority after that is to try and hit the emergency check as close to the middle of my minute as possible, to avoid adding extra seconds to my score. And then the agility tests are important as they can also add seconds. Actually, the agility tests could add alot of seconds if you are very sloppy... between those and the emergency checks you could add enough seconds to more than a whole minute to your score.

The Competition

Barry Porter in the foreground  at the start with his "race face" on.

There are a bunch of guys doing the Giro well now but one stands out. I've found Barry Porter to be a fantastic competitor. I haven't been able to beat him in the last events as he runs just like a metronome. I succumb to the urge to just ride ahead of my time when the roads are good and that is a real detriment competitively. I tend to do the rabbit thing, run fast and then stop to let the clock catch up. At any rate, this typically means something has to go wrong for Barry for me to be close to him time wise. I mean, a TSD (time-speed-distance) event like this is about riding perfectly, and I make more "mistakes" than Barry and that makes it hard to beat him!

Day 1
Day 1 in the morning went fine. I lost 2 minutes when I arrived to a checkpoint early on a long twisty downhill. I knew I was ahead of schedule but didn't want to go slower as it was a nice road. I was just thinking of looking for a place to stop and whoops, here is a checkpoint! So that was that... I was going to be behind Barry in the overall.

The afternoon of Day 1 started pretty hot. Two riders are released from the start every minute and then have to wait for the agility test. As it was a long agility test the riders started to line up to wait for it. Soon it was a 10 minute wait. This means the guys in front had a real advantage, as they just got to run the test and leave. In the back, I had a long wait in my hot leathers... I was roasting. Eventually, I pulled my helmet and gloves and got some cold water. But by the time my shot at the test came up I just drove through it carefully to get rolling and away. I also needed to hit a gas stop and was just annoyed at the heat and delay. But eventually I was off and after an hour had cooled off and was enjoying the ride. It was a great road and we started to bend our way up a mountain.
But heading up the mountain, there was an error in the mileage on our roll chart for one of the turns! I was running right up a narrow single lane road in the Sequoia National Forest when I met Barry coming back down the mountain... he flagged me down and said the turn wasn't where it was supposed to be. I looked at my mileage and he appeared correct, but I suggested we keep going just to be sure, it's a long way to turn back. So we went another 2 miles forward and there was no turn. The previous turn has some road name markings which led us to believe maybe we should have turned differently back there... so we agreed to go back down the hill. For a moment, after he decided to go down the hill I was tempted to proceed ahead alone, as that would give me a time advantage if it worked! But Barry was right; we were way past where the turn was supposed to be and the previous intersection had been confusing on the roll chart.  So I followed him back down and we were zooming as we knew we were now late. And Barry was supposed to be several minutes ahead of me so he took off... and I was hoping that if I kept the gap low I would gain time on him in the overall. This error could be to my advantage! I was laughing in my helmet as the whole thing gets particularly funny when you are lost.
Barry and I went back down the hill passing people coming up with confused looks. And then we turned the other way at the last intersection. And we kept zooming. Barry was out of sight ahead but then he appeared coming at me again!  He pulls up and is frantic. He says he just came up on a checkpoint, from the wrong direction! We must have been going the right way the first time! He zooms off to go back up the hill. Now I stop and think. I don't immediately follow Barry. In moments there are half a dozen other riders pulled up and we they are all gabbing and discussing what to do. And then... Harley rides by.... and this surely indicates the proper direction, as he is the organizer! So I take off after Barry again. But now my mileage is way off, who knows where I'm going. And I know the turn on the hill isn't where it was supposed to be. I ride as fast as I can, still occasionally laughing in my helmet. This will really toss the standings like a salad! I'm competitive, but route finding is the game and certainly some people will have done it right. Hey, I almost went ahead without Barry the first time up the hill! At any rate I keep going as fast as I can. It gets lonely and I suspect no one is following me now. I was near the back in the start order and with this confusion I must be last or nearly so. It's getting dark and I finally come to an intersection... and it's no clearly marked so it doesn't match my chart and of course who knows the mileage! The sign seems to indicate I should go left. But if this is the lost intersection from my roll chart I should go right. I gamble and go right. And since the mileage was wrong I clearly can't reset my odometer here so I'm really concerned I might be getting lost. Its forest here and getting dark. I ride as quickly as I can. I haven't seen anyone in a long time. No cell reception up here I'm sure, it could be a long night if I'm lost. Luckily the bike is running well! And then... an intersection appears, and it matches the next turn on the map! I reset my odometer, noting I'm 40 miles off. And lots of time! I zoom along and a checkpoint appears! Yay! Humans! I'm on course! But WAY behind schedule. And the way the rules work, I have to stay behind schedule that same amount for the rest of the checkpoints. In fact, if I arrive more than 15 minutes early at the end I will be disqualified. Eventually I catch Barry and we discuss that fact and take our time during a free zone to avoid the possibility of DQ. And so the ride continues for the rest of the evening. I arrive at the hotel to find the special test already closed.
That night is full of interesting discussions. Obviously, those who managed to stay on route want the day's times to stand as they are! Rightly so, I think. It's the riders job to find the route regardless of errors on the route chart. And there are those who were lost who think the afternoons times should be discarded, because the chart was wrong. My opinion is that the results should be kept, UNLESS too many people are DQed. I mean, you can't throw out the results over every error in the charts or maps, you would never have a complete event. But on the other hand, you just don't want most of the riders DQed on day one of a 2 day event. That's just no fun for the attendees. So it will be up to the organizers...
That night Harley announces the afternoons results will be thrown out. I'm 2 minutes behind Barry, and there's a bunch of guys right on my tail...
(day 1 stats: morning: 89.2 miles plus approx. 40 miles lost, afternoon 91.6 miles)

Day 2 
It's a new day and it's like starting all over because yesterday's afternoon stage was discarded.
So starting day two I was solidly 2 minutes behind Barry, so my agility tests weren't going to be critical. Actually, there was someone close behind me (sorry I didn't check who it was, or I'd post it), but I assumed our times would likely spread enough that the agility tests wouldn't be critical. I still made an effort with them, but it was nice not to be concerned. After day 1's roast as I waited for the agility test after lunch, I was happy to just let these happen without stress for day two. I actually ran most of them without my stopwatch and just counted the seconds.
 I was happy to zero my first secret check in the morning and then we headed up into the mountains. Another great single lane road winding the way up. It's overcast and that's nice as it keeps things cool. There was a chance of rain and I brought all of my rain gear. This ended up being a good thing. We kept going up and up and it got colder. And then we were in the mist from the clouds and it was almost like rain the roads were wet and there were occasional small puddles. And visibility fell to 10 feet in places! And it was cold. I was in a giant debate with myself over whether to stop and put my rain gear on. I knew I was losing time as I rode more slowly in the fog and sometimes got stuck behind other riders. And I'd lose more time stopping to put the gear on. I kept hoping we'd head back down out of the mist... but eventually my hands became numb and I knew I had to stop. I figured most would do the same, so there was a good chance if I handled things smartly I could still do well. And there was always a chance Barry stopped longer. I stopped and put my gloves on the bikes shifter by the engine to heat them and put my rain jacket on. I ended up stopped quite a while to thoroughly warm up. I heated my hands using the engine as a radiator and waited till they were truly warm again. I didn't time it, but I lost between 5 and 10 minutes there. And then off I went, finally comfortable and passing people as I could trying to carefully and safely keep my time losses to a minimum. and as we came down out of the mountains the conditions cleared and it warmed up and I started to zoom along again. But I had obviously lost a lot of time. Finally made it to lunch and given the conditions I did pretty well. But Barry was heroic and actually zeroed the stage! He had anticipated the cold and dressed well. And he had managed to ride swiftly in the tough conditions. A really admirable effort. Unless something broke on his bike he was going to win!
After lunch I did well and zeroed my checkpoints. But I suspected things were all going to be decided based on the mornings score.
(day 2 stats: morning: 84.5 miles, afternoon 53.8 miles) 

That night was the big banquet. And excellent time of tales camaraderie and plenty of wine.  Barry took home the Overall 1st place trophy having finished the whole event less than 30 seconds away from perfect. Amazing! I took second approximately 10 minutes behind him. And Dean Kessler took 3rd a couple minutes behind me.

PS: My thanks again to the organizers and the fantastic volunteer staff. They stand alongside the road in the hot sun and cold rain and score us and encourage us through the whole event. Just amazing people who clearly love motorcycles and participating in an event like this.

On the way home in the rain!

It's the first big storm of the year for us in California. We were fortunate this didn't happen yesterday as it would have snowed on our route! And we seem to have picked up a forest mascot for the truck. We saw thousands of these seemingly suicidal squirrels on the road during the Giro. I saw a tarantula standing in the road once too, high and obvious on its legs. Very cool but I didn't have time to stop for a pic.

Dinner banquet!

Managed to take second place in the 175 class and overall! Barry won again, he is an awesome competitor! And Dean took third with and excellent run. It was another great Giro d' California.