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22 Year Old bird with a leak - radiator?


XXitanium

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Is leak. Is bedddy bedddy bad -

 

I'm going on a trip out west this fall. 44k miles on the bike as it sits.

 

I still need to get the bike home from storage and verify what's leaking. There is a repair shop that only does radiators about a mile from my house.

 

I emailed East End. It looks like to just get the radiator. Taxes, shipping, etc comes to $540 at my doorstep.

 

East End Radiators
3 Milnbank Street
Dennistoun
Glasgow
G31 3AQ

Sales / Service: 0141 554 5281

 

If anyone cares to suggest options, please chime in.

Edited by XXitanium
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  • XXitanium changed the title to 22 Year Old bird with a leak - radiator?

Yeah, new, used, eBay ranged from $45 ~ $140.

 

I'm such a dinosaur. I think if radiators as being copper.  The one in my old F250 was a good deal plastic.

 

I was thinking of doing the dual fan arrangement while I'm in there.

 

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From their website.

 

"Professionally custom built radiator to suit 1999 to 2003 Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird Motorcycle.

To fit early Fuel Injection models circa 99 to 03 - there IS a hole for the temperature sender.

Manufactured from copper & brass so it is heavier than the aluminium original but also means it is more durable, longer lasting as well as being cheaper and easier to repair in the event of damage (i.e. stonechips/accident).

**Units are generally in stock for immediate dispatch but these are popluar radiators and do sell locally/over the counter. If we have no stock at the time of ordering it may take up to 3 working days to dispatch. If required urgently please call to check stock to avoid disappointment**"

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55 minutes ago, XXBirdSlapper said:

How about just having yours checked and possibly repaired??

It could be hoses or something else.

 

I just thought if anyone had time and inclination it might be worth the discussion ahead of time. 

 

I could just take it to the mechanic with a wad of cash too.

 

I was surprised when I took Joe's advice and looked on eBay. Stock is cheap and lasted 20+ years and might not be the problem anyway.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

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I don't think  your XX is under undue stress.  Turbo? High speed runs? Commercial towing?

 

Stock aluminum works for most folks just fine.  You can get 5 of those for one custom copper and brass masterpiece that will still go to shit once road crap and chemicals get on it.  I'm sure it's a fine piece of kit, but you don't need a Rolls Royce to get to Walmart.

 

(I was going to say you don't need to have a fancy wedding and reception just to get a blow job, but this is a publicly viewable forum....)

 

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You're shopping on a guess that it's the rad, useless.  And I would not install a copper/brass/soldered rad willy nilly; not only are you introducing more metals to the system creating potential problems, you'll also have to be a little more careful with your coolant selection to protect it.  Some coolants are said to attack and/or not protect the solder.  We know that the stock rad. and singe fan works.

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7 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

And I would not install a copper/brass/soldered rad willy nilly; not only are you introducing more metals to the system creating potential problems, you'll also have to be a little more careful with your coolant selection to protect it. 

Regular Prestone will work as I have it in my old Mustang (factory radiator) 2 Honda bikes and a newer Ford.  I think Bill likes to explore what is out there before deciding what he wants.

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3 hours ago, blackhawkxx said:

Regular Prestone will work as I have it in my old Mustang (factory radiator) 2 Honda bikes and a newer Ford.  I think Bill likes to explore what is out there before deciding what he wants.

Are using a 'long life' or 'conventional' Prestone?  I don't know if they make anything but long life any more, but they used to have both.

 

The early formulation of Prestone long life was said to have issues, they've changed it.  Dexcool is said to eat solder, and other stuff.

 

In the last few years I've shyed away from 'generic' coolant use.  While it might be fine in lots of stuff, there are engines that will be severely damaged by them despite what they say on the packaging.  While many state that you can mix different coolants without a problem, there are some that don't play well together and become a gelatinous goo.

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17 hours ago, XXitanium said:

 

 

If anyone cares to suggest options, please chime in.

Get brand new chinesium radiator from ebay, amazon, etc. They are less than 100 bucks. You can get 8 of them for that quote.

The radiator shop will most likely use chinesium core anyway. 

 

I would not bother with used oem unit, it is at least 17-18 years old.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Radiator-for-1997-2003-Honda-CBR1100-CBR-1100XX-Blackbird-Fuel-Injected/393236966315?fits=Model%3ACBR1100XX&hash=item5b8ebfebab:g:2KsAAOSwUphgAM9a

 

 

 

Screenshot_20210407-102255.png

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3 hours ago, tomek said:

Btw, replace all rad hoses, especially the one on the back of engine block.

Some factory hoses are N/A for my 97 last I checked. Any other sources for quality replacements?

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on a previous bird, the inner part of the fairing had been rubbing on one of the side tanks, making a pin hole over time...

 

i ended up soldering that but, i bet jb weld would've worked too.

 

+1 for repair or replacement with a cheap ebay unit.

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Has anyone here used the cheap China one?  They may be great but just judging from our group, the factory rad seems to be pretty stout.  Who knows.   Riding locally it wouldn't be a issue but he said something about taking a trip out west.

 

Quote

Some factory hoses are N/A for my 97 last I checked. Any other sources for quality replacements?

That is a good question.  Anyone know?

Edited by blackhawkxx
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5 minutes ago, ptxyz said:

on a previous bird, the inner part of the fairing had been rubbing on one of the side tanks, making a pin hole over time...

 

I had very same failure. Fixed that on the trip with permatex radiator repair kit. 

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I have a spare radiator that came with Zero’s bike. Mike, was it functioning? I would be happy to ship it to whether good or repairable if yours is tits up.

I will go with the crowd on keeping a more stock unit. 

Oh, and if you do change it out that is perfect time to install Evans No-Boil.

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I paid £45 for a brand new 2 row alloy radiator on eBay, yes it's a china job, but it's way better than the knackered unit I replaced.  Even if I only get a few years out of it I'm happy.  Being 2 rows it's also better than the standard cooling.  

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On 4/9/2021 at 12:49 PM, JaBr said:

Being 2 rows it's also better than the standard cooling.

You assume.  Maybe it is better and maybe it's way shittier.  I've seen a few examples of radiator 'upgrades' that were actually a downgrade and had to be replaced immediately because they wouldn't cool enough.

 

If you've already put enough miles on in hot weather to prove that it's an improvement, or at least an adequate replacement, please share your experience and a link for those needing to replace theirs.

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On 4/9/2021 at 2:49 PM, JaBr said:

I paid £45 for a brand new 2 row alloy radiator on eBay, yes it's a china job, but it's way better than the knackered unit I replaced.  Even if I only get a few years out of it I'm happy.  Being 2 rows it's also better than the standard cooling.  

If inlet and outlet are in stock locations it cannot be possibly 2 row.

I've seen pics of those alleged 2 rows on ebay. Those are clearly single pass units.

Two row rad would have in and out on the same side.

If they are on opposite ends they are single. Or even triple. All that applies to rads with horizontal tubes.

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The number of rows has absolutely nothing to do with the positioning of inlet/outlets regardless if they have vertical or horizontal tubes.

 

If the rows were internally separated so that the coolant had to flow through one, then reverse direction to flow through the other then yes, the connections would have to be changed, but I've never seen or heard of a radiator built like that and can't imagine why anyone would do that.

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1 hour ago, superhawk996 said:

The number of rows has absolutely nothing to do with the positioning of inlet/outlets regardless if they have vertical or horizontal tubes.

 

 

I was thinking about passes. Lol. I looked at the pic of rad on ebay and realized it cannot be possibly dual pass. That was before my second coffee for the day. Apologies.

And yes, all marketing claims have to be verified. Let's say thicker rad is suppose to cool better but perhaps is is gonna choke the airflow thru the core and the end result will be not so great.

Same with dual and triple pass. It depends on water pump capabilities and so on.

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I had a passing thought that you were thinking passes instead of just rows.  And to add to the rest of all this, a wide single row might do better than two narrower rows.  Material type and thickness, row spacing, heat sinking....  There's just no way to say that a two row is better than a one.

 

A friend of mine recently had me replace the radiator in his Cherokee XJ with an all aluminum "high performance" rad thinking it would be an improvement.  From looking at it I had serious doubts and told him he should just return it, but he was convinced it was great so I installed it.  It overheated constantly.  I replaced it with a cheapo stock replacement plastic/aluminum rad from Oreilly and all was good again.

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