Robbed Peter and Paid Paul, then got this!!!!

[cotton]

Ok, my last post was to sell my 2012 Tenere instead I went ahead and just paid it off!!! ::015::

May be doing this ::010:: ::010:: ::010:: after next April 15th but done is done.

But it is mine!!! ::012:: ::013::

Anyway, today my riding partner who is my oldest brother and I went for a short 200 miler around thru middle TN and I noticed radiator fluid on my boot at lunch.

Started leaking just before lunch and then most of the way home!! At home after it cooled down and I finished mowing the yard, looked at the overflow.

Was full, after taking off the side cover and looking inside the radiator could not see any fluid.

And this is what it looks like tonight.

 

[EricV]

Sorry to hear of the problem. Congrats on paying off the bike! ::008::

Did you notice if the fan was coming on?

Has the bike been dropped on the left side? (it's real easy to compress the fan against the radiator, causing the fan blade get stuck, and usually that burns out the fan motor quickly.)

Where does it appear the fluid is leaking from?

 

[cotton]

Bike has been dropped 3 time by myself. Once just laid over in the yard. Once on pavement sitting still and once on a creek crossing that was concrete covered with slick moss.

Bought the bike new in 05-2012, has about 10,400 miles. Done all the oil changes myself.

I poured some engine ice in it and most of it ran out onto the floor. Looks like it is coming out about half way up on the radiator.

Fan was running on the way home.

Trying to decide if this might be under warranty or not.

Anybody have an idea about this?

 

[Don in Lodi]

Vehicle insurance could cover some if you're creative. Warranty is doubtful if it can be seen to be damage from one of the tip-overs.

 

[cotton]

Two of the drops were on the right side. Only the time in the yard was it on the radiator side.

The first drop was about 2 weeks after I got it. The other two was about 4-6 months ago. Leaking just started today....???

All three of them did no damage to the plastic shrouds.

 

[Sup-Ten]

If the left drop was enough to damage it you most likely would have known as you would have probably toasted the fan when it got pushed in to radiator. Do you have any other pics of the rad?


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[cotton]

Fan is not damaged. Turns freely and heard it running

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[EricV]

I would suggest you let the dealer look at it before doing anything else at this point. Barring visible damage, it should be a warranty repair/replacement. IIRC, there has been another one that leaked due to a flaw in manufacturing.

Good luck and report back. I would not mention the Engine Ice, just use the generic term "coolant".

 

[Don in Lodi]

With the cover off can you see where it's coming from now?

 

[BravoBravo]

With the cover off can you see where it's coming from now?

Don, further up the string, he indicated it seemed to be leaking out of the rad about halfway up.

Definitely sounds like something the dealer should be looking at, IMHO.

-Bruce

 

[Mark R.]

Bike has been dropped 3 time by myself. Once just laid over in the yard. Once on pavement sitting still and once on a creek crossing that was concrete covered with slick moss.

Bought the bike new in 05-2012, has about 10,400 miles. Done all the oil changes myself.

I poured some engine ice in it and most of it ran out onto the floor. Looks like it is coming out about half way up on the radiator.

Fan was running on the way home.

Trying to decide if this might be under warranty or not.

Anybody have an idea about this?

A decent radiator shop should be able to fix a leak for about $100, and pressure test it in the process.

 

[cotton]

Well after taking off the fan, here is what I found

.
Lesson learned be very very careful on the left side. Not sure when this happened. Bike has not been dropped in a while and no signs of a leak until Sat. About twenty of the "ribs" have holes. Good news for everyone that has the Givi bars, radiator comes off without removing the bars!!


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[HoebSTer]

ouch!!! Sad to see that!!!

 

[Karson]

Looks almost identical to the other documented case we saw a few weeks ago...Could it be a coincidence or something to be cognizant of?

 

[cotton]

I will say very strongly that I do not believe the tip overs I have had caused this. I am telling you the time it fell on this side was in the grass, sitting still, just miss judged getting my size 10 1/2 foot over the seat!! I will be looking into seeing if I can offset the fan further way from the radiator. Maybe some spacers behind the brackets that hold the fan on. Had not idea this had happen until the leak showed up.

 

[Karson]

I am in complete agreement that your left side set down in grass wasn't the issue, especially with crash guards . I find myself questioning fit/alignment of the left side fairing when I take it off and reattach. Everything is just so close in proximity. Heck, if you look at the fan in relation to the "honeycomb" structure of the fairing, it's like it sits flush together. No wiggle room like the right side has. At several thousand RPM's, that fan could chew a hole in the radiator in very short order, like a second or two.

Not sure if you could even bolt the left side fairing without it being aligned correctly, but something to think about or look closely on. Any sort of inward pressure anywhere on the fan housing or bracket(s) would definitely be cause for pause.

Again, this is all assuming the LH side fairing could be bolted without being properly aligned...

Just trying to stir the hive mind here a little. Having this happen a thousand miles away is not comforting to think about.

Discuss. 8)

 

[EricV]

The fan is close to improve ducting. The plastic side panel can be bolted up with distortion w/o much effort. The holes are not intended to be precise.

Moving the fan farther from the radiator will mean the fan pulls air from the gap, not thru the radiator. That equal less cooling efficiency.

Now if the fan is pushing, (I haven't checked, but don't think so due to it's location in regards to the radiator), things would still equal less efficiency.

A soft hit w/o the guards could certainly push the fan against the radiator. the question is were the Givi guards in place during that drop. And were they deformed. Givi guards are sort of known for being one time use.

 

[cotton]

Just dropped off the radiator at a shop that said no problem fixing it. Will be ready tomorrow. Will post the after pic tomorrow. The bars were not on yet when it was dropped. I dropped it on this side when the bike had less than 1000 miles on it. Strange it would take over 9000 miles for this to show up. Anyway should be back on the road later this week. Anybody have comments on what type of anti-freeze to use? We ran engine ice in our KTM dirt bikes. ???


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[Mzee]

What is the the final verdict?

 

[cotton]

Back on the bike. Rode to work two days. No leaks. Looks like all is good. Did put some washer behind the fan to give some more clearance.


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