Help! with radiator flush proceedure

[poman]

Hey guys, Sorry for the dumb question, but I have changed and flushed car radiators before but not the valk and dont want to screw up. 

My questions are these...
 
>What is the quick and dirty proceedure to flush and refile my valk cooling system.
 
>Do I need to avoid certain flush chemicals?or is off the shelf stuff ok?

>What is the best extended life coolant to use and how much? 50/50 prestone extended life or honda
  or what.

Thanks as always for sharing your experience.
Poman out!

[bentwrench]

use the honda coolant from a car dealer one gal.premixed.lots cheaper than the MC stealer.You don't have to flush it unless it really bad.it will drain completly from the screw in the water pump.If you want you could fill it back up with distilled water run for a while then drain it out and put the coolant in.The new honda coolant is long life(5 yrs ?)but i do mine every 3-4 years.
bw

[Thunderbolt]

probably the Honda car stuff would be the least expensive.  Silicates will ruin the seal in the water pump.

[John U.]

The Prestone and Havoline long life coolants are silicate free also.

[Robert]

I wouldn't flush the system unless its with just plain water radiator is easy enough to run water through but I wouldn't put any chemical in it. I always fill my system with distilled water 5% antifreeze and water wetter I run that all year here in Fla and my system looks brand new.

[9Ball]

the standard procedure is only a drain and fill, not a flush and fill.

Be sure to clean out the overflow bottle under the LH side cover, being careful not to put too much stress on the bottom nipple when removing and installing the hose....this is a known weak spot and many here have had leaks and breaks at this point.

I've never gotten more than 3-1/2 quarts on the refill....seems about normal.  The service manual volume appears to be based on a complete disassembly of the water pump, so some always remains in the system during drain and fill.

The bottom copper drain washer can be reused, but I always replace it.  Depending on where you buy these, I've paid anywhere between $1 and $4 for the Honda OEM part.  You can typically get these for pennies at the hardware store.

Finally, I always just use the Honda 50/50 premix.  These can be bought for less than $4/quart and I always keep a case on hand since my Wife's VTX uses the same stuff (so does my Rocket 3).