What antifreeze coolant should I use in the ST1300?

ride2day said:
Your Temp gauge will always say three bars if all is working fine even at a 130 degrees.....
Click to expand...

Exactly. And if the cooling system stops working fine, it'll be because something failed mechanically, not because the heat transfer medium is Evans.
 
As Bill stated, drain as much out of the system as possible. You’ll want to pull both block drains and when you close it up, use new copper gaskets. I tried to use the old gaskets and they leaked, which cost me extra time. I also pulled the radiator and flushed it with water and blew through it with light compressed air and then left it to bake in the hot sun the rest of the day. However, it is important NOT to flush the block with water, per the manufacturer instructions. Better just to leave it with a residual amount of old coolant then to introduce more water. Button it up and fill with Evans. I bought 2 jugs, but only used 1. Run the engine up to temp with the cap off the radiator and check the level and look for system leaks. Make sure to fill the reservoir bottle on the left side. No need to modify the radiator cap.
 
Not to beat a dead horse (though it doesn't hurt the horse), but I would not be afraid to use any modern antifreeze in my ST1300 that meets or exceeds ASTM D4985 Standard Specification for Low Silicate Ethylene Glycol Base Engine Coolant for Heavy Duty Engines Requiring a Pre-Charge of Supplemental Coolant Additive (SCA).
The standard budget priced Wallyworld brand Super Tech 50/50 Antifreeze/Coolant Pre-Mix states:

  • Compatible with any antifreeze/coolant
  • For any vehicle with aluminum and other engine metals
  • Meets or exceeds ASTM D3306 and D4985
That pretty much covers it all for me, unless you want to go for an extended life coolant. And at under $8 per gallon. A hellofalot cheaper than the $24+/gallon Honda Pro Plus premixed coolant. I haven't done an exhaustive check, but I would bet most modern antifreeze mixtures meet this ASTM standard.
FYI: The Honda ST1300 Service Manual Cooling System Specifications Recommended Antifreeze calls for "High quality ethylene glycol antifreeze containing corrosion prohibitors." Nothing special there.
 
It's an old subject that comes up every spring... just like oils ( and always good to read with popcorn )

IMO, Pick you choice of name brand non-silicate type antifreeze like Prestone or Honda an drain and refill. ( no I never did the side plugs )

Prestone has worked fine for me since 04 and my buddy has 200k on his 1100 using it also without any problems. If you bike is overheating its due more likely to the system having a problem over the antifreeze.
 
Steppin Up said:
I just put prestone extended life/distilled water in mine this spring. Flushed out old coolant twice. I think it meets the needed requirements. Considered using honda type 2, but the prestone was easier for me to get my hands on. ;)
Click to expand...
Been using this combo for 20+ years in three STs and one VFR. Works great.
 
RCS said:
For the last 34,000 miles I've been using Maxima Coolanol premix and had absolutely no problems. (product description says "This extremely low-silicate fluid is ideally suited for all motorcycle applications.")

But, in searching through some posts I've learned that others are using Prestone Extended Life mixed with Distilled Water.

I found the article link below on Antifreeze which raised the question...

http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/antifreeze_coolant.htm

What antifreeze coolant should I use in the ST1300?
Click to expand...
Evans Waterless Coolant for motorcycles
 
Always check your coolant with a multimeter, connect ground to negative post and drop positive in radiator. Anything above .4 to .5 volts is to high and has become acidic.
When your coolant becomes acidic it turns the radiator into a battery which on aluminum engines is deadly. I have removed heads that look like worms from electrolysis bored into them.
Good coolant is now just as important as engine oil.
 
Honda blue Type II. Buy it at you local Honda (Auto) dealership. It will be cheaper than your local motorcycle shop.
 
I've heard this before, and I have to wonder, are you using any run of the mill multimeter to check conductivity through coolant goulashes?
To my knowledge, we have HOAT, OAT, Blue [so I'm told], Orange, Yellow, and Green.
My understanding is that Green is the old stuff, shouldn't even be able to find it, OAT is Organic Acid control T.. T.... it'll come to me
HOAT is Hybrid Organic Acid control T.. T... [it's just not happening]
Wondering if anyone would like to start a thread on engine coolant.
 
I'm another convert to Evans Waterless, will never need to change the coolant ever again.

I found residual water will steam out the Radiator filler with the engine running on 3 bars - without the radiator cap on!

Bit pricey but it's a one-off investment that takes care of your hoses, pump, seals etc. for the life of the engine.

Wonderful stuff :thumb:
 
Chris09 said:
I've heard this before, and I have to wonder, are you using any run of the mill multimeter to check conductivity through coolant goulashes?
To my knowledge, we have HOAT, OAT, Blue [so I'm told], Orange, Yellow, and Green.
My understanding is that Green is the old stuff, shouldn't even be able to find it, OAT is Organic Acid control T.. T.... it'll come to me
HOAT is Hybrid Organic Acid control T.. T... [it's just not happening]
Wondering if anyone would like to start a thread on engine coolant.
Click to expand...
Coolant testing using a multi-meter is nothing new. It was part of GM's technical training decades ago. Back then all anti-freeze was pretty much the same stuff chemically so the test worked on all of them. I have no idea if this is still a valid test with all of the different types of coolant available now.

As for the colour of the coolant- This is not regulated so while most manufacturers adhere to a similar colour scheme for similar chemical types this is no guarantee of what is in the jug- check the specifications for your application.
 
beanoil said:
fiziks, you may want to do a little more research on dex cool. It does not fare well when it gets air in the system, and does have a tendency to soften certain plastics. Just ask any GM owner from say, 1999 on up if they had their lower intake manifold gaskets replaced on nearly any V6 GM makes. That being said, I second the ELC coolant skunkape mentions. I'll be using Delo from Chevron.
" Delo Extended Life Coolant/Antifreeze products are heavy duty engine coolants that use a patented organic corrosion inhibitor technology called aliphatic carboxylates.
Delo ELC is free of nitrates, borates, silicates, phosphates and amines. These products contain nitrites and molybdates for additional cylinder liner protection."
Click to expand...
Wasn't the coolant that caused the intake gaskets to leak.
 
st1300r said:
Preston and distilled is in there now as it was what was available.
But honda if anyone would know about coolant formulation for aluminum engines.

Even after reading that I still wouldn't go anywhere near dex-#*#$
Click to expand...
Ya think Honda is the only manufacture of aluminum engines!
 
Chris09 said:
I've heard this before, and I have to wonder, are you using any run of the mill multimeter to check conductivity through coolant goulashes?
Click to expand...
I am using a Fluke #87, I have used a #23 and works fine, since I was using them a lot at work, I spent the money. A really good meter today is not out of range money wise. Chances are you will need a good anyway. If you head down to your friendly neighborhood shop they can suggest what is a good one.
Also on this site I can bet there is more than enough info to get started. Think I will get a thread started on which these guys has used and what they have used them on.
 
It's been suggested to me to take a VDC reading by setting the positive lead on the positive terminal and the negative lead in the warm returning liquid through the rad cap.
Not sure what I'll find or what it will mean though.
Is it possible that a high resistance through the ground circuit back to the battery will charge the coolant goulash?
 
Put the negative on the negative battery terminal. Putting the negative lead on a ground close to the radiator should work also. The resistance is not part of the equation.
The acidity of the coolant and the core become a battery. A .4 to .5 volt or higher will mean the coolant is failing. I have tried to make sure the radiators and heater cores are properly grounded.
I do it with my multi meter because I don't want to get PH strips to test the acidity that way.
Using to meter through the positive side will just give you a reverse reading which is fine as long as you know it is happening, never tried it with engine running.
What is coolant goulash mean anyway, have not heard that term before. But I use "pookey pucky" to describe epoxy to so no critique of personal wording meant. I guess it is the coolant water mix, am I right?
 
To get a half volt between the coolant and ground would necessitate every metalic component in the cooling path to be floating relative to the negative terminal. I can be pretty thick at times but this I'm not getting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom