Coolant safe for NT700?

[mizzark]

Hi everyone,
I know the book recommends Pro Honda HP coolant. I have some Zerex G-05 that I've used on other Japanese bikes. Is this safe for the NT700V? What makes the recommended Honda coolant so special? It seems really overpriced.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Phil Tarman]

There's a reason to avoid some kinds of coolant. Mike Simmons (or someone else) will chime in and tell you which ones are safe. I know nothing about Zerex G-05. It might or might not be OK. IIRC, the ones you need to avoid do damage to aluminum engines. I wish I could help, but, be assured that someone will!

 

[Hondafan]

Honda specifies silicate free inhibitors. Honda type2 motorcycle anti freeze is also borate free. This Valvoline pre-mix is what I use;

Robot or human?

 

[Frosty]

After some research, I went to the Honda car dealer and bought a gallon of premixed Honda Antifreeze. It might be a different color. This is for my 1998 Honda VFR 800 project. YMMV.

Sorry about the focus, but you get the idea.

 

[NewTo700V]

The regular Prestone 50/50 green you can get anywhere is perfectly safe. Just read the back, safe for aluminum blocks.

 

[mizzark]

Thanks everybody. It seems like the Zerex should be fine. Form what I've read, as long as your coolant is ethylene glycol based you're good. The propylene coolants have some silicates in them and that can be bad for the aluminum parts in the cooling system.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Told ya' you'd get the help you needed!

 

[mikesim]

The critical factor in Honda's preference for coolant is the presence of silicates which Honda considers to be a no-no because of premature seal wear. Most of the greens while they are OK with aluminum have a high silicate content. I would NOT use them. The Zerex Red as noted earlier is the latest Asian recipe as used by Toyota and other Asian makes. The best choice that is available is the Zerex Asian Blue which exactly duplicates the original Honda formula and is still recommended by some Asian makers such as Honda, Subaru, etc. The GO5 which was mentioned earlier was developed as a HOAT (hybrid organic acid technology) and is pretty much used by Daimler, Chrysler and some Ford products. Stay with Zerex Asian Blue or OE Honda and you can't go wrong. One other choice that comes to mind if you can find it is Beck-Arnley Blue which is available at some import specialty shops and is another duplicate of the OE Honda formulation.

Hope this helps!

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

Told ya' Mike Simmons would have the answer! It helps to have years of experience in the auto parts biz.

 

[ARKNT]

Many of these chemical things are too complicated. Selecting oil for instance, not all the specs are on the bottle. Some Rotella is JASO rated but not labeled as such on the jug. Looking up the specs on their website should not have to be done. Asking for mistakes.
Coolant is similar.

Brad

 

[mikesim]

Many of these chemical things are too complicated. Selecting oil for instance, not all the specs are on the bottle. Some Rotella is JASO rated but not labeled as such on the jug. Looking up the specs on their website should not have to be done. Asking for mistakes.
Coolant is similar.

Brad

It's getting worse, Brad. Not only do the OEM's have special recipes for coolant, it is now migrating down to trans fluids, gear lube, power steering fluid and engine oil. The German's are the worst! VW's oil specs seemingly change on an annual basis and the oil blenders can't keep up with the changes so many folks are stuck with the the dealer as the only source for the first year or so. Rotella T4 and T6 are labeled JASO MA however T5 is not. T5 however will meet JASO specs since it is a blend of T4/T6. Shell did not want to incur the cost of JASO testing since their motorcycle market for Rotella is so small.

 

[rc_heli_nut]

Not to start an oil thread, but...

I'm amazed at how well the Rotella T6 works in the NT. I've been using it for years now, the clutch and shifter work so sweet.

On another note, I recently did a valve clearance check, at 26k miles. Last one was around 8k. This time around, only 1 intake on each bank needed adjusting, and the change was less than .001". At this rate, I won't dive in for another valve check until 60k.

Brad

 

[mikesim]

When I first got Traveller I checked the valves at each recommended interval. After several checks with little or no change, I now check about every 30K miles. I'm soon to arrive at 120K so once again they will be checked/adjusted. My manual dexterity is not what it once was so it's almost an all day procedure for me.

Mike

 

[Warren]

So far my manual dexterity seems to be holding up but my memory is becoming a challenge. Nothing worse than getting a job done that has taken a few hours to do and then thinking did I remember to tighten that bolt back at the beginning. Before any job that is going to take some time I now write up a check list of the procedure and check the tasks off when completed.