CanTire coolant for a GSXR K7? | GTAMotorcycle.com

CanTire coolant for a GSXR K7?

zx6rr

Well-known member
Just wanted to double-check if it's OK to use any sort of non-alcohol/safe for aluminum coolant from Can Tire for my street bike.. or should I get motorcycle specific coolant from a MC shop?
 
This used to be a simple question to answer, but there are now many different coolant-additive chemistries available, and they're not all compatible. (For example, Volkswagen G12 is a very good long-life coolant formulation, but G12 + conventional green coolant = nasty brown sludge that clogs up the system ... they must not ever be mixed ...)

If you just want to top up the system, the standard coolant in your bike is compatible with conventional aluminum-compatible coolant, the cheap green stuff. It is not compatible with certain types of extended-life coolants, normally red, pink, blue, or purple. That doesn't necessarily mean you can't use those coolants - but if you do, you should flush the system completely so that the various coolant chemistries don't mix, and then stick with what you've switched to.
 
well.. I have water and water-wetter in there now.. since I used it at the track this year before getting my track bike... So I'd have to replace the coolant completely. So perhaps I'll just try to find any aluminum compat. green coolant and I should be good?
 
I thought that only the "long life" coolant was silicate free and therefore safe for motorcycle water pumps.
 
Can of worms. Every vehicle manufacturer has a different idea of what's best and that's why there are so many formulations now. I changed my ZX10R over to VW G12, knowing that VW cooling systems that have been properly maintained (with G12, and not a drop of the green stuff) are always immaculately clean inside. Then I found out that their coolant chemistry is only designed for closed systems (the expansion bottle is pressurized), although it never gave me any trouble. Water pump started leaking (this model is known for that) so then I changed it over to Evans NPG waterless coolant (operates with no pressure in the system) and that's what's in there now.

From what I've been able to tell, the best advice is simply "don't mix". Stick with one type, whatever it may be (as long as it is aluminum compatible).
 

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