So I have a 2010 TE510 and when I am riding up some steep single track where you have to ride the clutch, etc the bike's radiator will be boiling by the time I take a breather. I hear it boiling inside the radiator but it never seemed to overflow ito the reservoir bottle much. So on Sunday I was attempting to navigate up a particular nasty trail (read as should have turned around earlier and gave up) when my overflow bottle burst spraying boiling coolant out of the side of the bike. Luckily it was downhill almost the whole way back to the parking lot, so I coasted back, then opened the now cold radiator, topped it up with some water, then drove the 30 miles home on the streets with no problems. The overflow bottle seems to have bubbled, then burst, at the closest location to the exhaust pipe, which makes me wonder if the exhaust pipe heat softened the bottle at that spot. Also, should my radiator actually be boiling like that? Is that within normal operation limits or does my Husky have an inadequate cooling system? Replacing the bottle will be easy, but to avoid this happening again I have some ideas I would like some feed back on. And for reference, the coolant pump seems to work fine as does the radiator fans. IDEAS: 1) Try to get the radiator to run coolor by using a superior coolant? I have heard there are some higher end synthetic fluids that work better than the stock stuff. Comments? 2) Replace with a more heavy duty reservoir bottle? I had a Ducati 998 that went throught these bottles all the time from them being poorly manufactured. 3) Wrap pipe insulation on the exhaust to ensure the bottle doesnt get a soft spot, will probably help me not melt my pants anymore which happens occasionally anyways. 4) Put some sort of heat shield on the actual bottle. Any feedback, ideas, or similiar stories will be much appreciated. Sean
I have heard that the bottle burst if they go dry and then hot steam and fluid shoot into them from the radiator. One tip is to always make sure that there is always coolant in the bottle at the right level before you start out on any ride.
Interesting, I hadnt heard of that, good to know. My bottle had fluid in it (well, at least when I started the ride), I have been good about always checking it before each ride. Thanks for the info though.
Also maybe your radiator cap has gone bad. I had a bike that the radiator cap was slowly going bad on for a while and finally it went out bad enough that my radiators went almost dry in a mere three days. Luckily, the bottle on that bike has a neat little overflow tube on it so that fluid that is pushed into the bottle isn't pressurized and runs neatly out the tube that runs down the frame. I bought a new cap for the bike and it's been holding pressure and fluid nicely since then.
That was my first thought when reading this. I think what happens is under some conditions, the hot coolant dumping into a cool dry bottle, quickly over-pressurizes bottle faster than the catch tank cap can vent it (directly onto your leg), and it melts/bursts. My opinion on the IDEAS: 1) I like Engine Ice, and also use a couple ounces of Redline Water Wetter, but there are other high quality waterless coolants out there too. 2) Don't know if there is a tougher bottle available. Making sure the radiator is full AND catch tank is about half full (should be fill marks on bottle) will keep the bursting bottle issue to a minimum. 3) I wrap my pipe(s) from head back to behind my leg. Some of my reasons are, I feel it helps reduce heat transfer from pipe to radiator, fuel tank and carb, during slow hard single track riding......but what started me doing that years ago, was it reduced heat felt on my leg and keeps my pants from burning when picking up bike or bull dogging it thru really nasty crap. 4) Not going to help keeping bottle cooler. I had a radiator cap go bad last year that contributed to several boil overs during single track rides that really weren't that bad, and in places I had never boiled over before........ended up replacing with CV4 cap (20psi) and hasn't blown off again (so far). After all that though, IMO the best way to help the 510 keep cooling system under control is with lower trail gearing so you can let that good torque work and stay off the clutch more.........heavy clutch use really heats up any bike. I have way lower gearing than a friend of mine KTM 525EXE and I seldom puke out more than a dibble (when cap is good). His on the other hand started spitting out on a regular basis after most climbs........clutch use was a major factor. He has since reduced gearing and installed catch bottle and fan kit. Now we can't tease him as much about his little tea kettle.
I had a overflow bottle split but not burst. I pulled the plastic valve out of the cap so it had a bigger hole to spew. I recently added Engine Ice and a 1.6 rad cap but I think the best thing I did was shorten my gearing to a 13/52. Havent boiled since on some pretty nasty stuff even at high elevation. BTW Husky replaced the bottle under warranty.
Jetting, gearing, ICE, etc.... coolant expands when hot, contracts when cold. cap has to be good to go or.... husky's got some of the best cooling systems i've ever seen. when jetted and geared right.
Good Feedback Thanks for all the great feedback folks. I decided to try everything, ha ha. I replaced the bottle. I filled the rad with a similiar coolant to Engine Ice (prop glycol/water 50-50) and added some Water Wetter. I will be wrapping the pipes this weekend. I am going to go up 2 teeth in the rear from a 47 to a 49. Going to test the rad cap and replace if needed. Cheers.
OEM radiator louvers installed, OEM fuel tank on? Ive blown a Tee (06TE450) (had a big tank on that visibly did not flow air properly), Blown a crossover tube(08TXC450), and really exploded a reservior(08TXC450). My current machine (TXC450) is and has been equipped with OEM fuel tank, EE rad braces, OEM louvers, Evans/ZipTy nonaqueous coolant, 1.8 bar cap, Hi press crossover tube, CV4 rad hoses with built in tee, and now with the updated coolant pump.
