My bike is a pile of poo

All the water that should be in it is on the garage floor. Manky old peice of **** that it is...

Actually I lie to a certain extent. In two years of having it and going to Germany twice on holiday this is the first major wobbly it's thrown. It still looks lovely as well, just a bit miffed that it has wet itself.

If i were a betting man id say its ur standard radiator hose clamps they are sh**te ,its happened to me a couple of times, £1.50 for a bag of 6 i think from my local hardware shop half hours work to remove fairings old clamps and install new ones.....job done

Ooh how posh an indoor water feature..i'm jealous

Don't be... I'd rather the water was where it was supposed to be! Any idea what size jubilee clips it will need? God/Griff said fillit and run it until the water level stabilises and the pressurise and watch for the squirt. Why would a shonky hose clip empty the expansion tank though as all the hoses I can see are above it?

Don't forget to remove the bleed screw/cap when you first run it to let some air out. There will be a load more air after the thermostat opens at about 65 degrees if the water jacket emptied as well.

Where do I find the bleed screw/cap? That's a new one for me Right now I don't know how much water came out, the expansion tank is empty, but it's been standing cold since the start of winter so would the water jacket be empty?

Si600 said:

Where do I find the bleed screw/cap? That's a new one for me Right now I don't know how much water came out, the expansion tank is empty, but it's been standing cold since the start of winter so would the water jacket be empty?

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Depends on the year of the bike as to whether there is a bleed screw. (near cap on post 04) Fill the rad with the water and then run the bike for a minute (cap off) and top up as the air is dispersed. Then fit the cap and run until the thermostat is open so that air trapped behind it escapes when it opens. then re check the level. If you run it on the side stand the air bleeds out much better than on a paddock stand as the filler is the highest point. The water jacket should still have water if the thermostat was closed when the leak started but it's best to be sure.

could it have froze and split the tank during all the frost...?

carpe diem said:

could it have froze and split the tank during all the frost...?

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Scary thought.

I hope not as it would likely have done damage beyond the rad (blown core plugs etc)

ANTI FREEZE!!!! when sorted, if ever your unsure if there is anti freeze in a car etc dip your finger in liquid in rad or wherever and it should taste sweet, thats why some bad men put it in wine.

i always had you down as more of a rohypnol kinda guy bj?

Update, if anyone gives a @~*&
I replaced the two hose clamps on each side by the rad, and the one down by the expansion tank, 5 in total. I then took the radiator cap off and the bleed screw out and topped up the expansion tank with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze/water. Started it and waited for the fans to cut in. Put the caps and plug in and it settled at about 93 deg and all the pipes and rad were hot. went for a razz around the block and no visible leaks and all pipes dry.
But...
From what I had gathered from Griff and Spoonz the water in the expansion tank should have gone down once the rad was hot as then the thermostat had cut in and presumably any random air pockets should have been pumped out. Have I done anything wrong? Certainly it didn't overheat and the temp was about 78 on my little potter. Any thing else I should look at or just have a look and see if the garage floor is wet again tomorrow evening?

Might give Griff a yell tomorrow if I remember... He did ask for a status update

As your bike probably leaked cold the theromstat would have been closed so probably trapped the water behind it from leaking. If the temps are fine i wouldn't worry too much but maybe re check the level after your next ride to be sure.

The expension tank also feeds water into the system as required so probably when ther was still some pressure in it the water was sooked up

si just gimme a call today to run through it but im pretty sure all is well if the temp is holding , you should top up the expansion tank to at least the min. line but sounds cool dunnit!!

well done mate!! Fixed!!