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Coolant Reservoir Relocation Question

fred-houston

fred-houston

COG Membership Officer
Guest
I just moved my reservoir from it stock position to the right side of the bike next to the battery box.  The change went without a hitch, but when I emptied the stock reservoir it had at least 30oz of coolant in it. 

The new reservoir I installed is definitely smaller, but i could only put about 12oz of fluid in it leaving space for expansion and such.  Looking closer at the stock reservoir fill lines it does not appear that it should contain anywhere near 30oz of coolant. 

So my question is, does it require that much coolant in the reservoir?  It appears the reservoir I installed is from an SV650.

Thanks


res1.jpg

res2.jpg
 
Not sure of the answer but assuming that tank has a breather hole as it should then it will just blow out of the hole if to small.
Does that tube going in the top have a tube on the inside down to the coolant?  If not then it is not going to work right.
 
smithr-scad said:
Not sure of the answer but assuming that tank has a breather hole as it should then it will just blow out of the hole if to small.
Does that tube going in the top have a tube on the inside down to the coolant?  If not then it is not going to work right.
Click to expand...

Tank has two lines, one top and one bottom.  Look closely in the lower left hand corner of the picture and you will see the second line next to the frame.
 
Cap'n Bob said:
It looks like you have room to install a larger bottle if you feel the need!
Click to expand...

Your right, I do have the room to do that, I just don't know if there is a need, that is why I was wondering how much coolant is usually in the stock reservoir.
 
If the bottle is too small, when the motor heats up you will dump fluid on the ground. Now that the fluid is lost, when the motor cools it will suck air into the radiator. The purpose of the bottle is to prevent air in the system. Air will not cool your motor as well as coolant and could increase corrosion.

Now, I am not saying that particular bottle is too small, but I would hesitate to put a smaller bottle than what Kawasaki felt was correct. Theoretically you should be able to calculate the required bottle size from the expansion rate of your coolant, the volume of coolant in the system and the minimum and maximum temperature the bike is exposed to.

Connie Mark said:
Why the relocate in the first place?
Click to expand...
Easier access, mainly. Some have reported better air flow, after moving the bottle and leaving off the little piece of plastic cover.
 
I installed a coolant tank from a 1989 Kawasaki ZX900 in approximately the same place you installed yours.
Mine appears to hold less volumn than yours, and it has worked fine.
NOTE: After I installed mine, I poured the coolant from the original tank into the new one. I had to add a bit of coolant to reach the level that I wanted.
If you are concerned with yours, fill the old tank with fluid and pour it ointo the new... That should answer the question of if you have enough volumn.

Connie Mark, Like he sed,,, Easier access, mainly. Some have reported better air flow, after moving the bottle and leaving off the little piece of plastic cover.

I live in Houston and moved mine in the hopes that I could get a little more cooling air around the engine. The side benefit is the new Tank is much easier to check.

Ride safe, Ted

 
Thanks for the responses.

I wanted to move the reservoir for a couple of reasons. 

One being that I don't like it sitting so low on the bike.  On different brand bike I had a rock puncture my reservoir and when the coolant hits the rear tire it make for a fun ride. 

Second is I wanted ease of access so I can check the level and such. 

Third I am retired with nothing better to do than tinker with a probably good design.  ;D
 
MOB wrote an article for the Concourier about locating the stock bottle behind the battery box. He also replaced the stock coolant cover plate with one with holes in it.
 
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