I just got my bike a week ago and today was the first day i could bring it out and ride it around so i can break it in a little bit. i brought it back from a 15 min ride and let it sit and idle, and after about 10 minutes of sitting coolant started to spray out of the the run off tube. why did it do that?
2008 crf 450r Question
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Did you happen to notice if the cooling-fan was running at the time? If it wasn't, I'd say it overheated (due to either fan-motor failure, or [more likely] the radiator fanswitch failed-open).
That, or (if you've recently changed/added coolant) there's an air-bubble in the cooling-system, and the engine overheated due to low-coolant/low-coolant-flow.
Even a new part (like a radiator fanswitch) can fail on occasion.
Try this: locate the fanswitch in the radiator (no idea what side it's located on this particular bike). Start and warm the bike, (watching the temp gauge) and see if the fan kicks-on. If not, remove the wire from the switch and ground it against the frame (single wire). If the fan runs, it's the switch.
Should be covered under warranty.
That, or (if you've recently changed/added coolant) there's an air-bubble in the cooling-system, and the engine overheated due to low-coolant/low-coolant-flow.
Even a new part (like a radiator fanswitch) can fail on occasion.
Try this: locate the fanswitch in the radiator (no idea what side it's located on this particular bike). Start and warm the bike, (watching the temp gauge) and see if the fan kicks-on. If not, remove the wire from the switch and ground it against the frame (single wire). If the fan runs, it's the switch.
Should be covered under warranty.
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Any particular reason you let it sit and idle for so long? basically you overheated it. The coolant absorbed as much heat as it could then started to form steam bubbles, the steam leaden coolant thus expanded into the path of least resistance which was the atmoshere via the overflow tube and blew out...........
What you need to do is refill the radiator with the proper mixture of coolant and not let it idle for more than a minute or two. The lack of a fan tells you it's not supposed to sit still for any length of time.
It would probably help if you used salt water with lots of minerals in it for the mixture....salt water takes longer to boil you see and the dissolved calcium chloride and sodium chloride will plug up any leaks you may have in future
What you need to do is refill the radiator with the proper mixture of coolant and not let it idle for more than a minute or two. The lack of a fan tells you it's not supposed to sit still for any length of time.
It would probably help if you used salt water with lots of minerals in it for the mixture....salt water takes longer to boil you see and the dissolved calcium chloride and sodium chloride will plug up any leaks you may have in future
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You're so smart, why did you idle it so long knowing the bike wasn't equipped with a cooling-fan?
I don't ride or work on "dirt bikes" nowadays - the ones I used to ride were all air-cooled, and I was smart-enough not to let them sit idling and overheat when I did..............
You complained about a water-cooling issue, I assumed this bike was equipped with at least a minimal cooling-fan.
Well, I s'pose I've "larnt my lesson" (never assume someone asking for help even knows WTF he's asking for). Can we say the same for you? If not, I advise you sell the bike and take up something that requires less mental-stress. Like making mud-pies.
Just an FYI, I recently got a water cooled CRF (my first water cooled bike) and the local Honda dealer advised me to break it in by letting it sit and idle for 10-15 minutes, then go ride. This is not what the manual suggests.
I thought this might cause it to overheat, which is how I tripped over this thread after a Google search. I was trying to find out a little more about water cooled bikes in general.
But my reason for commenting is that some of you could have been a little nicer as he may have just been given some bad advice. Nobody knows everything. Obviously, the comment about checking the fan and temp gauge (which a CRF doesn't have either) was not exactly spot on either.
FWIW,
Jim.
I thought this might cause it to overheat, which is how I tripped over this thread after a Google search. I was trying to find out a little more about water cooled bikes in general.
But my reason for commenting is that some of you could have been a little nicer as he may have just been given some bad advice. Nobody knows everything. Obviously, the comment about checking the fan and temp gauge (which a CRF doesn't have either) was not exactly spot on either.
FWIW,
Jim.
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