Hi all. Popped the rad cap off my speedy to have a look at the coolant the other day. It looked a little manky, so I thought ok it's due a refresh, the bike only has 15k on it, so it's probably never been done before. Dropped the coolant out of the bottom of the water pump hose, and it didn't actually look too bad. Nice green colour, not contaminated by the look of it... The expansion tank is a different matter entirely!!!. Full of copper particles.. Looks like most of the bikes bearing faces are in there! The bike starts, runs and rides fine, no noises to my untrained ear, so how's all that got into the expansion tank?
Messy ! Not that likely that metal parts from your bike could get in the coolant without some kind of running issue! Maybe its corrosion that has build up and has coloration to look like metal ? Should not be rust! - if coolant you took out was clean its a good sign. Why not flush it out, add some decent coolant to the whole system and forget check it again after a few 100 miles or so. Could it be you have hard water and it has left a residue in the tank ?
It's definitely copper, looks like the copper particles from coppaslip... Almost like someone has lobbed a spoon full of it in there....
Weird! I'd just give it a good clean up and try again. As coolant out if engine looked good, I wouldn't worry. Does the bike 'use' any coolant?
I'm going to run a mix of vinegar and deionised water through it. Flush it out and refill... Very scary seeing that lot in there thou.
