coolant change

[Robert]

Has anyone changed the coolant yet? Yea yea I know a new bike but I want to put in water wetter and the owners manual is a waste of time. I think we need to get some tech lessons going. 

[mrtappan]

....... have you ever read any reviews/tests of Water Wetter?  It's basically another gimmick chemical that no tests show any improvements in normal vehicles using traditional recommended coolant already. 

[Robert]

....... have you ever read any reviews/tests of Water Wetter?  It's basically another gimmick chemical that no tests show any improvements in normal vehicles using traditional recommended coolant already. 

Not big on any aftermarket additives but I use it all the time in quite a few vehicles. I don't know why there are no good reviews I personally have seen it lower the temp sometimes 20 degrees. My son had a brand new Chrysler 300 Hemi and I did nothing else except drain enough coolant out to put in a bottle of Water Wetter. Took a infrared temp reading before and after and the diff was about 20 degrees. Not to mention it does not have the additives that antifreeze has in it and also has a corrosion inhibitor. I have seen the additives in antifreeze make like a white coating on the inside of the radiator and so I flushed it out put in WW and water with only about 15 percent antifreeze and never have had a problem again. No corrosion, and cooler temps by infra red. Th other thing is when stopped the rad fan on my 01 Valk comes on alot less with WW in the radiator as opposed to antifreeze only. Of course it will only cool to the temp of the thermostat so if you have a 195 thermostat in the vehicle don't expect it to go below that but down here in Fla it gets hot and humid and I  know this product  works. I put in more than recomended so maybe that is the difference. Thanks for bringing this up. 

[mrtappan]

Straight of their tech sheet on their website:

Cooling System Fluid         Stabilized Temperature
50% Glycol/ 50% Water      228°F
50/50 with WaterWetter®   220°F
Water                                220°F
Water with WaterWetter®   202°F

Those results were done with a iron block 350 Chevrolet with aluminum heads run at 7200 RPM for three hours.

Water Wetter is basically just like a spoon full of detergent.  It breaks the surface tension so there's less air pockets inside the engine.  Although if you own a race car it's nice since it evaporates instead of leaving a slick spot on the track like regular glycol.    

I'm not seeing a point in lowering such a low compression engine, which doesn't have a problem cooling, a few degrees.  As the guy that has to fix broken bikes all day, I always use the "Don't mess with it unless there's a reason" mentality.  

If you feel the need to tinker, the radiator cap is on the right hand radiator under the cowl of course.

See part #3:
http://www.bikebandit.com/oem-parts/2014-honda-gold-wing-valkyrie-gl1800c/o/m156350#sch846738

[Robert]

Thanks for the link exactly what I was looking for, Duh should have thought of that. As for the Wetter I have found that the heat here in Florida is a killer. The main reasons I run WW here in Florida are antifreeze is a poor coolant and it also has stuff in suspension in the coolant that eventually falls out and clogs the system. When you see residue of a leak that is the deposits in the antifreeze drying up and being visible. Those deposits are what clog the system.  Hoses, water pumps, even electrical connections last longer because of the heat being taken out as the system was designed to do. I have personally found the latent heat in the engine or heat soak is much less with WW also. Meaning when you shut a car or bike off and you come back hours later and its still hot. I would run water but you need to have a corrosion inhibitor and water pump lubricant in it and water wetter has both. I have seen metal rust dipped in antifreeze and cooling systems with antifreeze in them corrode or have rust in them.
  The other reason is on my 01 Valk it makes heat transfer more efficient and so you have less heat on the driver to deal with. The air that comes out of the radiator although warm is less warm with WW so I stay more comfortable.  
 I understand the aint broke idea but I see more problems here from cooling systems that look ok and have just antifreeze in them. With the WW the plastic components and hoses last longer and this translates to more problem free miles. Less leaks, cleaner systems,less plastic cracking so less maintenance. I have seen most problems of cars destroyed was because the cooling system broke in some fashion and the car overheated, toasting an engine. WW gives a edge so it does not become catastrophic in alot of cases. Or it never gets to this point because the temp is lower and dissipating correctly.
  Thanks again for the link

[hungryeye]

Check with Honda about your 3 year warranty, Any additives in anything will void it most likely, if it was a 1 year warranty I wouldn't care, but Honda has a great 3 year warranty.

[mrtappan]

Mine came with a free extra year when i bought mine because of a promotion.  So depending on when you bought yours it may have the extra year.

[hungryeye]

That's interesting, what model year and date you purchased? I bought my 2014 in April 2015.

[mrtappan]

I bought a 2014 in August (I think) of 2014.  I got a free extra year of the warranty and the $1000 in OEM accessories.

[hungryeye]

I paid $11,800 including tax and title, I guess they couldn't take much more of a hit