boiled antifreeze today :(

[countrydog]

I have trophy '01 1200 and it had a bad radiator cap and would boil all the coolant out sitting at idle when it was relatively nice out. It took some trial and error(thermostat, rad flush) before I could track it down to the radiator cap not sealing and having no pressure would cause it to boil over before the cooling fan would kick on. Just my .02 from a past experience.

[ArferBrick]

should it not be visible?

No because it would be inside the engine either in the cylinder liners or cylinder head.

can bad (automotive) coolant cause this?

No.

But having thought more about it, you could have damaged a cooling pipe somewhere, that would cause the flow of coolant to slow down and increasing the coolant temperature.

I don't know these bikes intimately, but follow the all the pipes and hoses and see if any are kinked, squashed, or buckled.

Also taking some pics would help, I'm sure you have a cellphone with a camera?

How do you know the coolant in the reservoir is boiling? Are you absolutely sure it's not just air bubbles? I ask that because I can't see how a remote reservoir could get enough heat to do that. The coolant in the reservoir would have to be constantly circulating in order to boil, and that's the whole point of the reservoir - it catches coolant which overflows once the coolant in the engine expands due to heat, then allows it back into the system once it cools down again. It's not part of the pressurised, flowing system and should remain relatively cool, hot maybe, but never so hot as to boil. To boil it would have to be well over 100 °C!

Stick a thermometer in it to see.

[Vallejo]

Originally Posted by 2-wheel-wannabe

Make sure the radiator fan is not hitting the radiator too.

+1

I've seen that happen at the track. Pulled into the pit lane and a CBR600RR belonging to one of the guys sharing our box starts pissing coolant all over the place. It had been running hot the previous session and he put it down to the fact he'd been ragging it round a track. We strip the fairing off and the fan had somehow embedded itself in the radiator. After a bit of bending, straightening things with a screwdriver, flushing the cooling system and replacing all the fluid bike was good to go again in under 25 minutes.

[apetrov1x5]

Originally Posted by ArferBrick

No because it would be inside the engine either in the cylinder liners or cylinder head.



No.

But having thought more about it, you could have damaged a cooling pipe somewhere, that would cause the flow of coolant to slow down and increasing the coolant temperature.

I don't know these bikes intimately, but follow the all the pipes and hoses and see if any are kinked, squashed, or buckled.

Also taking some pics would help, I'm sure you have a cellphone with a camera?

How do you know the coolant in the reservoir is boiling? Are you absolutely sure it's not just air bubbles? I ask that because I can't see how a remote reservoir could get enough heat to do that. The coolant in the reservoir would have to be constantly circulating in order to boil, and that's the whole point of the reservoir - it catches coolant which overflows once the coolant in the engine expands due to heat, then allows it back into the system once it cools down again. It's not part of the pressurised, flowing system and should remain relatively cool, hot maybe, but never so hot as to boil. To boil it would have to be well over 100 °C!

Stick a thermometer in it to see.

I could be air bubbles, maybe not boiling...I will make a shot video next time

[apetrov1x5]

Originally Posted by Vallejo

+1

I've seen that happen at the track. Pulled into the pit lane and a CBR600RR belonging to one of the guys sharing our box starts pissing coolant all over the place. It had been running hot the previous session and he put it down to the fact he'd been ragging it round a track. We strip the fairing off and the fan had somehow embedded itself in the radiator. After a bit of bending, straightening things with a screwdriver, flushing the cooling system and replacing all the fluid bike was good to go again in under 25 minutes.

I can see the radiator spinning, therefore I presumed it is free

[apetrov1x5]

Originally Posted by countrydog

I have trophy '01 1200 and it had a bad radiator cap and would boil all the coolant out sitting at idle when it was relatively nice out. It took some trial and error(thermostat, rad flush) before I could track it down to the radiator cap not sealing and having no pressure would cause it to boil over before the cooling fan would kick on. Just my .02 from a past experience.

thank you for advice, I will try to find a new cap - I am not in the proximity of a dealer at the moment.

but when I will do the pressure test, they pressurise through the radiator cap as far as I remember - that will be a good replacement for the cap for the purpose of testing

[apetrov1x5]

can anybody show/tell me where our water pump is?

[Wayne's Striple]

-The coolant pump/oil pump are one unit, chain driven, and located in the sump. The thermostat is under the throttle body unit I believe. If your temperature guage on the instrument pod reads around 2/3 scale while cruising at speed then the thermostat and cooling pump are ok. When coming to a stop after a ride on a hot day with the engine still running the radiator fan should come on within a minute or two and hold the temperature at or below the top two bars on the temperature scale; if it isn't then get the Triumph tech to check it out. With the bike cold and vertical the level in the expansion tank should be between the min and max mark. Use only Triumph or Honda HP motorcycle coolant not automotive coolant which can damage the coolant pump seal faces over time. Check that ALL the hose clamps are tight; some hoses may compress a bit over time and loosen. - Wayne

[apetrov1x5]

Originally Posted by Wayne's Striple

-The coolant pump/oil pump are one unit, chain driven, and located in the sump. The thermostat is under the throttle body unit I believe. If your temperature guage on the instrument pod reads around 2/3 scale while cruising at speed then the thermostat and cooling pump are ok. When coming to a stop after a ride on a hot day with the engine still running the radiator fan should come on within a minute or two and hold the temperature at or below the top two bars on the temperature scale; if it isn't then get the Triumph tech to check it out. With the bike cold and vertical the level in the expansion tank should be between the min and max mark. Use only Triumph or Honda HP motorcycle coolant not automotive coolant which can damage the coolant pump seal faces over time. Check that ALL the hose clamps are tight; some hoses may compress a bit over time and loosen. - Wayne

thank you very much - the temp never went higher than 2 bars from the top - this is according to the instruments (how much is in Celsius 2 bars from the top, I have no idea )

the fan works, and when I ride out of the town the temp will even go down one bar to 3 bars from the top...

the problem is that coolant bubbles when is very hot outside...

My next step is to open radiator cap in the morning when the engine is cold, to start the engine and see if there are any bubbles coming out.

This way I believe I can diagnose a blown head gasket, right?

UPD. one hose was wet around the connection to the radiator, this is tight now and the fan has polished a strip of 1 cm wide area on the radiator - I have straitened up the fan holders so it does not touch the radiator any more.

[apetrov1x5]

this morning I started the bike with open radiator cap - after 1-2 minutes I got a bubble every 3-4 sec...

then when there where 3 bars from the top, many bubbles and the coolant went down (thermostat opened???) - topped it up and again bubble every 3 sec...

Is this a 100% indicator that my head gasket is blown and had to be repaired?
No other test required?

and how likely is this to occur on a 5000 miles bike?