Coolant loss?

[17-in-87]

I have a K1 GSXR 600, noticed over the past week or so that my coolant level keeps dropping. Hopefully this is due to a leaking hose, haven't had the chance to check yet, but could this be an indication of something more serious?
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K1 GSX-R 600 - blue n white of course....

Growing old is compulsory - growing up is optional...

[iloveriding]

Yes it could mate, But check for leaks first, then ask again, No point worrying over what might be
Tony
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Ride Safe, Stay Safe, Be Safe, Be Seen And See All Other Idiots on the road

[17-in-87]

[iloveriding]

Yes mate sorry, Take the oil filler cap off and see if its wight, creamy
froth.. If so then good luck. But on the bright side there are loads of places you could be losing water from. Bike might be running hot and steaming the water away
Tony
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Ride Safe, Stay Safe, Be Safe, Be Seen And See All Other Idiots on the road

[stinkwheel]

Take it for a ride then feel the coolant pipes. If they're rock-hard, it's probably bad news.

With a blown head gasket they loose coolant due to overpressure in the radiator rather than overheating. So, the bike overheats but it does it AFTER loosing the coolant, not before.

So, look at the fluid level in your coolant bottle. Take bike for a short wazz (enought to get the revs up but not to get the bike hot) then check the coolant bottle. If it was halfway and is now brimming, it's probably the head gasket. Could also be a defective radiator cap but usually isn't.

Another way would be to tape a small container onto the expansion bottle overflow pipe. Go for a short razz (again, not enough to get it hot but get the revs high) and check for coolant in your bottle.

When the head gasket went on my GPZ, it was just a tiny little jet of gas going between the cylinder and the coolant jacket. Initially it was fine up to about 8,000rpm at which point it overpressured the coolant and spat it all out. You could ride it all day long at 7k with no problems, push it to 8k and it puked all the coolant out in about five miles. The engine speed at which this happened gradually got lower and lower as the 'jet' got bigger.

EDIT: If it was loosing coolant into an oilway, you'd get mayonaise in your oil. If it was loosing coolant into your cylinders, you'd get white smoke out of the exhaust.

If it was loosing it out of a leak, you'd get a puddle.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[teampots]

check your radiator and make sure that none of the fins are broken etc chances are its losing coolant from there due to stones etc jumping up

if it is buy a bottle of bars leaks and shove it in the radiator will seal it and seal up any other leaks that appear in the rad
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Current - Fazer 600
Prev - Bandit x2 (Killed) CB400 (Superfour) CBR125
Currently Restoring - Kawasaki S1 250 Triple (Slowly but surely)

[i_am_tim]

or crack an egg in the rad? supposed to seal off leaks in the old days, i would expect to to fuck up modern bike engines tho
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previous bike: 2000 Aprilia rs 125 - SOLD

current bike: 2001 Yamaha R6 - sweeeeet

[JakeyR]

[17-in-87]

Quick update - think I've sorted it.

Checked the oil for water contamination, or at least tried to. Normally check the oil level every week or so when I clean the bike, haven't cleaned the bike for a while because of the bad weather, it would appear that my oil level has dropped through normal use, making the bike run hotter than normal, therefore evaporating more water than normal.

Topped the oil up (half a litre before I could even see it in the window ) bike is now running cooler, coolant level seems to have sorted itself out.

Note to self - check your oil more frequently...

Thanks for all replys.
____________________
K1 GSX-R 600 - blue n white of course....

Growing old is compulsory - growing up is optional...