Bilga

I've read around a little bit and people are saying "just use the coolant for a dirt bike, don't take any risks".

But in theory, coolant is coolant. Lowers freezing point, and raises the boiling point so is it fine to use a standard coolant that one would use in a car?

Rainerio

You have aluminum , steel , iron maybe titanium. Back in the day l had a Husqvarna with magnesium. Use what the manual tells you to use. Most cars aren't that exotic with metals.

jon andersson

I use green for cars. I just go for one that says for modern engines. They too, like our bikes, use fancy metals. So far I haven't seen any bad things and I been using it since 2011.

Rainerio

I have a 87 510 Husqvarna with a hole in the the water jacket. I used car anti-freeze on it but maybe modern anti-freeze are better. Or you'd better help so? The hole happened after 25 years so maybe if your going to get rid of it I n short time 5 , 10 years you'll be OK MAYBE. Bought the bike from a friend maybe he didn't maintain right or maybe he did? To do it right you should use distilled water.

steve

I've been using normal car coolant since my first water cooled bike in the '91 without issue. If you don't change it to schedule, the corrosion inhibitors go off and then problems happen.

Coolant is coolant, but some are different, so flush when changing.

I flush with rainwater and blend with rain water, because its what I have here.

FE350

Coolant is not coolant.

Some are ethylene glycol based some are not, some have silicate inorganic corrosion inhibitors some don't, some have special lubricants and some don't. It is correct not to mix and flush if you add a different kind.

It is always best to use what is recommended, unless you know what metals are used and if any lubrication is required and what additive is required to not inhibit corrosion in your specific motorcycle don't guess.

You can also use plain water but I wouldn't recommend it.