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Posted by John Hopkins
- July 12, 2013, 15:08:19 PMYou say you just got back from a ride, but you don't say how far..You also say you got the bike out of winter storage last week but don't say if you have been riding it all week..
without further knowledge I suggest you drain all the old oil out, remove the old oil filter, drain and flush the coolant system and examine all the waste liquids for cross contamination..
Many people think that because these engines are so large, that they are indestructable..they are not..
Coolant is the single most important part of your engine..
Before you remove all the fluids from your engine lay down beside the bike with some kitchen towel and wipe all around and under the engine to find any wet spots..if you find any carefully trace them upwards until you are sure you have located the source, then replace the part that is causing the leak before refilling the fluids.
don't undo a single nut or bolt until you have taken a clear photo of it because this will save you wondering where that pipe or wire or cover went.
John.
Posted by Troll
- July 12, 2013, 12:11:10 PMIf it's burning coolant you will know it pretty quickly. Very distinctive smell in the exhaust, even without white smoke. I would monitor it over the next few days. Are you sure there are no external leaks?
Posted by Bucko
- July 12, 2013, 11:39:16 AMI got back from a ride last night and happened to notice the coolant looked low so I removed the right hand side cover to discover the overflow bottle was completely empty. What the ^&%$? My experience over the years is that I often have to ad a bit of coolant after the bike has sat over the winter (I just got the bike out of storage last weekend) but this is the first time that the bottle was empty. In any case, I filled the bottle to the full level, then checked this morning (after cooling overnight) and some of the fluid has been sucked back in to the cooling system as it should.
Just wondering if i need to go through the full burping process once the bottle has gone dry? I usually don't get overly concerned about burping as the cooling system will generally self purge over a number of hot/cold cycles as long as the bottle is topped up and as long as there's minimal air in the system to begin with.
Still wondering where that coolant went though. I don't smell anything odd in the exhaust and no sign of leaks. Oil Looks fine. 
?? I hope it's not being sucked into the cylinders.
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