KX Riders
Maintenance & Technical => KX500 Original => Topic started by: stock500 on April 22, 2009, 02:53:28 PM
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Has anyone ever used those little aluminum in line coolers? If they are worth the 20 bucks I would like my bike to run cooler. I ride some tight trails that never open up to get air through the radiator, so if they help enough to make a difference it would be nice to know.
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Contact Neal Holt @ Fluidyne. He might be able to build a set for the K5. If they don't already.
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I can get them for 20 bucks each on rockymountainatvmc.com if they are worth it. I don't know if it really makes the motor cool enough to make a difference.
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I put a set of those on my 04 kfx250. They are known for overheating. They did nothing for me. I had the inline gauge and it didn't change my running temps. Had to upgrade to the 05 radiators.
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It may be more effective to build an overflow bottle, upgrade the coolant and put on a higher pressure cap. I found my K5 only got really hot when I was slipping the clutch. I never got around to upgrading the cap. Cam.
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which coolant is the best??
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I used Moose Juice, but there are others. Here's one called Engine Ice.
http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/Product.jsp?skuId=303686&store=&catId=&productId=p303686&leafCatId=&mmyId=
I do a lot of the slow 1rst gear climbing slip the clutch in the heat of summer and haven't overheated yet. I made the mistake on an older KX500 of dumping drinking water in when hot. Not good it corrodes the aluminum radiators up if it isn't distilled water.
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I run this blue honda car coolant, comes premixed 50/50. I found some coolant website once that tested coolants and it was the one they universally recommended. I was told once that it is the same as engine ice but I don't know if its true (and I doubt it). My next step in my 450 was to put in engine ice but I haven't needed it. I did the overflow tank and the coolant and have been good so far with no overheating even on those 1st gear days. Cam.
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I remember when I used to race desert a lot, some of the people who went to flag the course that rode KX500's would run into heating problems. Temperatures reaching over 110 degrees, a big barrel to cool, and the lack of airflow through the radiator would plague some of these bikes. I know one thing that helped a lot was to run a lot more distilled water in the radiator than coolant (like a 70/30 ratio). Coolant has great anti corrosive properties and a high boiling point, but water actually does a better job of cooling the engine. I found this out when I blew a radiator hose in the desert on my van, and when I put pure water in the radiator, it ran a lot cooler. In conjunction with running a greater amount of water than coolant, it's also wise to run a higher pressure cap, as the higher the pressure, the higher the boiling point. I think Kawasaki lists various radiator caps for the K5.
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Great info, Thanks for all the replys. Cam, I assume that the coolant you are talking about would be avalible from any auto parts store? Is there a specific name or is it just Honda Coolant and it is blue in color? I have had great luck with Pro honda gear oil, so I am sure this will be good.
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Honda car and MC shops only I think. Cam.
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stock500, you definitely will want to find a higher rated cap for slower riding. they offer a 1.1bar= 15.95 psi and a 1.6bar= 23.20 psi cap. last time i rode at st. anthony i had to run the 1.6bar cap because it was so hot that day. i would also run the engine ice. one of my buddies runs it in his ktm550 and it works wonders at lowering the temp.
MADDOGGY
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Here's the part number of the bigger 1.6 cap.
Part # 49085-1073 (CAP-ASSY-PRESSURE,P1.6 )
Dutchie
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I think that there is a good chance that the 1.6 cap is from the KX85. I recall reading this somewhere. Cam.
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cam, it's just listed as an optional part in the k5 parts breakdown.
MADDOGGY
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I run the 1.6 on my KX250 that I race enduros with. It would start to piss out a little coolant in extremely long, bar banging, tight sections. After I switched caps it has been fine. I will be using it on my 500 conversion also, along with the bigger 250 radiators.
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So more pressure means cooler running temps?? :? Also when I take my radiator cap off and start my bike the coolant drops from the bottom of the filler neck, down to were I almost cant see it. Is that normal?
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Stock,
The higher pressure just makes the boiling point of the coolant higher so the rad won't overflow as often. It prevents loss of coolant but doesn't make the engine temp lower (unless without it you end up with no coolant). What you are describing doesn't sound right to me, but I am going from K5 memory (they are fond ones...). It sounds like you have air in your system which you will have to purge out using the purge bolt on top of the head (I bet you wondered what that was for). Normally when you fire up your bike with the cap off the coolant will stay at the level of the neck, with lots of turbulence, and sometimes spill over a bit. I would suggest you to run your bike and add coolant when the level drop to fill it up, then open the purge bolt until coolant comes out. Top everything up and you should be fine. Hope this helps. Cam.
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Thanks Cam I will bleed my coolant when I get my top end back together.
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So more pressure means cooler running temps?? :? Also when I take my radiator cap off and start my bike the coolant drops from the bottom of the filler neck, down to were I almost cant see it. Is that normal?
Before you go spending money on bling, try swapping to this:
http://www.engineice.cc/faq.html
I run Engine Ice in my 12,000 rpm shifter kart, and it dropped my temps 11 degrees F !