Coolant under bike!

Mel Critchley

Mel Critchley

Club Member
Evening everyone,

Just had a fantastic day out at Guildford Harley Davidson. Bike running well or so I thought. On returning to my bike I was greeted with a pool of what appears to be coolant on the deck of the IOW ferry. As I live close to the ferry I rode her home and investigated once she had cooled down.

The expansion tank is empty. Popped the pump cover off expecting to see a horrible mess but everything looks good. I have tried to find any signs of the leak , to no avail, any ideas ?

All pipes and fitting look good with no wet spots or parts that I can see. Will get her off the ground as soon as time permits for a better look.

The way I'm thinking at the moment is: I was in stationary / very slow moving traffic and she was really hot, the fans were working overtime! Could she have boiled up thus venting the contents over the floor and if so is this normal? Failing that could the water pump have given up the ghost?

Any help or advice would be gratefully received.
 
I am not familiar with water cooled Harleys but from experience with Cars I would say that is exactly what has happened. Coolant boiled and expanded and vented out of the system, (someone more familiar with water cooled lumps will come on and tell you more). I don’t believe it is a totally sealed system. Look around the Filler Cap for signs of staining and obviously everywhere else too.
Check all hoses and clamps are tight.
You could do a pressure check if you can get the tool. It pressurises the system and makes it easier to spot leaks. Do not exceed a few Lbs. of pressure, I believe 4 or 5 Lbs. MAX.
Let us know what you find.
Good luck. 👍🏻
 
There are some reported cases of water pump and thermostat issues and a upgrade is available via dealers in warranty claims but start with basics as routine checks can save a lot of pain could be worth checking harleys recall list 👍
 
Thanks for the advice, done all the above, will be topping up and bleeding system once possible.
Still not sure where fluid vented from, poss overflow due to pressure.
 
So the best I can fathom is the header tank emptied its content over the floor due to pressure build up in the system via the overflow / vent pipe. I investigated and found no leaks and coolant in rad system. Both fans and water pump are working correctly, with no fault codes or engine management lights / warnings.
I refilled the header tank to the required level and purged the system, all looks good for a test ride.
 
Check the pump impeller for flow what year bike ? It may have missed the recall for thermostat and pump mod by the sound of it they dont throw up fault codes and do what you describe also the previous owner may not have been religious about checking oil and water at same time every time 👍😎
 
She's a 2017 model on an 18 plate with just over 8000 on the clock. Dealer serviced at 5k, they checked for recall notices nothing pending.
 
Ask em to do a pump flow test to check impeller and thermostat check if it happens again to be safe has it a stage 1 done ?
 
Not had any modifications to engine or performance.
Will keep an eye on her and get her checked over by a dealer as soon as possible.
Thanks for all the help and advice.
👍
 
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