brucifer

Hey guys. I haven't ridden my '05 FE650E enough yet to know what's normal or not about it.
The other day I took a quick 20 or so minute ride in some steep hilly woods near my house and when I got back I noticed it was puking coolant at a pretty fair rate. It continued for maybe a minute or so after I shut it down.
It was ridden in first and second for most of the ride. The ambient temperature was about 55 degrees F and overcast.
Is this normal? Is it just not happy at slow speeds, or do I have a problem?
The bike runs killer. There's no oil in the coolant or vice-versa. Thanks!

ned37

go thru the removal of air bubble routine by bleeding it and make sure you just cover the fins in the rad. don't overfill. could you be running lean?

DaleEO

I might add.........

As part of a pre ride inspection, one should always remove the radiator cap, then open the bleed screw to make sure there is no trapped air.

As Ned says the coolant should just be covering the tubes in the radiator when cold, or it will push coolant out.

I've also had radiator caps go bad on me as well, so that is worth having the local radiator shop test.

Are you running the stock louvers? Some of the aftermarket radiator guards really restrict air flow.

What kind of coolant are you running?

I solved this problem on my 04 550 by going to Evans coolant, since I could not install a fan on my 04. When running the Evans your bike will not boil over, as Evans does not boil until 370* at zero psi, and 400 under pressure. The only problem with the Evans NPG-R is that it is not recommended for temps below freezing. I have run mine in temps in the low teens with no problems, you just have to make sure that you warm the motor up good first. Evans is not like water, it will actually shrink in volume as the temperature decreases.

brucifer

Awesome! Thanks guys. Yeah, I read on here about bleeding the air and filling only to just over the cooling fins.
Lean? Maybe. I've never had the carb off to see what jets are in it.
Right now I'm running Prestone pre-diluted and the bike has the stock rad louvers.
I'll definately switch to the Evans and check the cap, or just buy a new one.
Thanks again!

fstclyz

My 390 was overheating on occasion and I switched to the Evans. No problems yet so I think worth it.

CD

berger

The only real issue i see with running Evans is that it does not disapate heat as well as the ethylene glycol based coolants. True it will not boil over, but on the other hand the engine will run hotter. You have to pay attention to the heat levels you are running at. You can dam near melt the engine seals running evans before it will overheat.

You really need to be running a fan kit with the Evans. The fan will help with the cooling and give you a feel for how hot the bike actually is.
Just because it's not boiling over does't mean it's not glowing red.

Bofwool

Check out this thred gents:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=12052

it has some quick fixes for overheating.

SS

brucifer

Hey guys. Figured I'd start with one thing at a time, so I went down to my local KTM dealer and matched up and ordered a new rad cap. Installed it a couple weeks ago but today was the first chance at taking it out for a little run.
I didn't take it exactly where I was before but close enough. No pushing out coolant at all! Not a drop!
So, just a bum cap it would appear.

I bought a universal Moose catch bottle kit too but haven't a clue where to mount it. Any ideas?
The instructions say to mount it up on the triples behind the headlight/number plate; aint gonna happen. No room.
Anyone have one mounted on their '04-'08 FE? Pics? Suggestions?
Thanks.

berger

This is what you need for an overflow tank. Works perfect. Pictures in my gallery. Several on ebay presently, all different prices.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002-Yam ... 588a0873a0

brucifer

Thanks berger. Uhhh forgive my ignorance but, how do I get to your gallery?