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Posted by greenbarn
- July 30, 2014, 09:10:27 AMIf it's that slow of a leak, waiting until winter might be your best bet.
Posted by Bucko
- July 30, 2014, 00:32:14 AMHey GB;
Unfortunately I can't get at the clamp with a screwdriver, at least not without taking a lot of other stuff off first which I don't really want to do at this point in the riding season (worst case, I'll just keep adding coolant and disassemble some more in the winter time).
From the top, with the tank off, I can just get a miniature 6mm wrench (about half the length of a Popsicle stick and about as thin) down through the frame backbone to the clamp on the front cylinder head hose and by alternating the asymmetric wrench opening, I can just turn the clamp screw a few degrees - at a time - flip the wrench over - turn a few more degrees, flip the wrench over. etc. I tightened the clamp a bit more vigorously the second time around than I did the first time - it's difficult with that tiny wrench to gauge how much tension is too much (or not enough). I guess I'll have to get in there again.
I've been Googling some more and it seems the 'pipe' the coolant hose connects too is held on to the head with some kind of a plate and bolt and there's an O ring on the part of the pipe that goes into the head. Apparently, that O ring has been known to leak on the 1500's. If that's my problem, it will have to wait until winter to get fixed.
Posted by greenbarn
- July 29, 2014, 21:06:10 PMWhat are you tightening with? If you're using a screwdriver/nutdriver, it's pretty hard to over-tighten. If, on the other hand, you're using a socket/ratchet, then you do have to be a little careful.
I'd concentrate on the place where you saw coolant staining before.
Posted by Bucko
- July 29, 2014, 17:46:43 PMOK, so the leak is not fixed! 
I put about 1200km's on over the weekend in some hot weather and when I checked Monday morning, the level had dropped again - not as much as before the last round of tightening but dropped nevertheless. I guess I'll have to have another round of tightening but I'm getting worried about over tightening the clamps at this point.
Posted by Bucko
- July 18, 2014, 02:42:09 AMSo, after a several hour 'hot' ride last night and cool down over night, the cold coolant level didn't change. So, I think I've fixed the leak! 
Still not entirely clear which joint was responsible for the leak as I had tightened all clamps again in the second round of tightening but my suspicion is still that front cylinder head hose as I tightened that one a bit more than the others (since it was so awkward to get to, I hadn't tightened it much in the first round, even though there was clearly some kind of residue visible below the hose joint).
Posted by greenbarn
- July 15, 2014, 21:36:47 PMYou have to figure - only a tiny leak will show up pretty quickly on your reservoir. That thing holds, what, a pint or so, maybe?? If you lost a half cup of anti, it would be noticeable. Just saying you could have a real small leak in a hose or something, and it could be hard to find.
Posted by Bucko
- July 15, 2014, 12:00:22 PMIf I have time, I'll pull the plugs tonight and take a look. Thanks for that advice.
I did go for a short ride last night; it was a little cooler than it's been the last few days so I don't think the motor got as hot as it can, but when I checked the level before I went to work this morning the level had dropped only a tiny fraction or perhaps not at all which I take as a good sign but I need to take it on a longer ride to confirm. Tightening down that front cylinder head coolant hose may have had some results after all.
Posted by jmbo
- July 14, 2014, 22:41:29 PMI agree with Troll. It is possible that you have a small head gasket leak or (God forbid) a small crack in the head which depending upon size and location may not feed into the oil system but may feed directly into the combustion chamber. While a fully blown head gasket will typically blow white smoke out of the exhaust as small crack or leak may go unnoticed. Pulling the plugs will tell the story.
Posted by Troll
- July 14, 2014, 19:57:29 PMPull a plug from each cylinder and look carefully at the insulator. A discoloration from anti freeze is pretty obvious.
Posted by Bucko
- July 14, 2014, 19:21:48 PMHi Troll:
I was looking at that diagram this morning and didn't spot anything obvious. I've checked all the rubber hose joints that I could find, the water pump cover gasket, and the various sensors and can't find any evidence of a leak (aside from the one head hose as mentioned above). Did some more Googling today and found references to radiator cracks on 1500 & 1600s near the mounting posts on the sides (at least I think they're on the side - hard to tell from the posted pictures). I'll take a closer look at that but I'm not optimistic as cracks in those locations would presumably lead to some dripping which I'm not seeing any evidence of.
Posted by Troll
- July 14, 2014, 14:01:56 PMHere's a diagram. It doesn't have to be just a hose leak. There are several sensors and a plug in the radiator, and then there is the possibility of a bad radiator cap...
Posted by CDNRatMan
- July 14, 2014, 13:48:54 PMI had a leak on the hose at the top but you had to remove the tank to see the hose, and the first winter I took the tank off I spotted it, the coolant was dripping very slowly on to the cylinder head and so it was noticeable as a leak, but I just tightened the clamp and seemed to correct the issue.
Did see some silicone coated hose in red from China, but that makes me think they might not be that good a quality, but the colour would be cool.
Posted by Bucko
- July 14, 2014, 13:10:11 PMSo, I'm still loosing coolant! I did another round of hose tightening but I have a feeling (need to go for another ride/cooling cycle to confirm) that didn't fix it.
I'm wondering if I'm missing something. The only obvious coolant hoses that I can spot are the two coming off the top of the heads to the filler neck, the hose from the filler neck to the top of the Rad and the hose from the water pump to the bottom of the Rad. Are there other coolant hoses that aren't obvious?
Thanks for any advice.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- July 09, 2014, 18:03:12 PMDo you have anyone who wants to mess with you enough to be playing a practical joke on you?
is 49 around your area today......
Posted by Bucko
- July 09, 2014, 16:18:27 PMSo after the first, albeit short, ride this year on Monday evening and after letting the motor cool down, the coolant had dropped only very slightly. Could probably be explained by a small amount of air being burped from the system after sitting for 9 months. I took the bike for a 3 hour ride on the highway last night so it'll be interesting to see if the coolant level dropped even further. I'll check when get home from work (forgot to check this morning).