My "new" Tiger

[D-Fuzz]

What's that saying about if something seems too good to be true?

I stopped by the shop today to check on the status of my bike.  The carbs were all cleaned up and back on thre bike.  He replaced a bunch of o-rings and such and said they were A-OK.  The mechanic asked me if I wanted him to check the bike over which I thought would be a good idea given I had just got it and knew it hadn't been driven much in the past number of years.  

One of the things I asked him to check was the coolant.  Well, for some unknown reason, the PO had basically put straight water in the radiator.  The stuff coming out was a little brown, so the mechanic flushed the rad out before putting anything new in.  Once we had done that, he did a pressure test on the system, and it appears there is a leak in the head gasket.  It didn't really show up before, likely because the corrosion was blocking stuff up.  Since there is only a couple weeks of riding left for the season, he said we should try some Irontite to see if it would temporarily seal the head gasket leak until it can be replaced, likely over the winter.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will work for the short term.  I am just pissed that a bike with 9000 miles has a bad head gasket.

I rode the bike home tonight and it was a bittersweet experience, for sure.  With the carbs cleaned, syncronized and working properly, it was a completely different bike.  It sounded different, it was responsive and had lots of low-end power.  The mechanic told me to watch the temp gauge to see if the Irontite stuff was working or not.  The gauge moved to the line just above the cold mark and stayed there.  When I got home, I turned the bike off at home, I heard what sounded like a big burp from the expansion tank and it pushed some coolant out of the tube onto the ground.  I started the bike up again and let it run a bit, but I couldn't get it to repeat the burping again.  I have a feeling it might be fooked, but I am just hoping to catch a break and have that stuff work.

I love the bike, I just don't want it to turn into a money pit.  If I wanted hassles, I'd have bought a Beemer. :P

[Colonel Nikolai]

I think it'd still be worth it even if it needs a new head gasket.

[Bixxer Bob]

Ok,  I'm a little sceptical here.  If I pressure tested my coolant system and there was a leak I wouldn't immediately assume head gasket unless there's some other compelling evidence that you've not yet mentioned.  I'd be looking for leaks at  hose joints, thermostat housing, rad cap, and radiator first.  

In my experience, the first evidence of a head gasket leak is pressure in the cooling system accompanied by oil in the coolant, or water in the oil.  And as you've just filled the coolant system, I wouldn't be jumping to conclusions over the burp you mentioned.  These bikes are difficult to burp (just search for threads on the subject - you'll see...)  If she needs topping up, just top her up and then keep an eye on her.

Your temp gauge reads about right, so, as I said, unless you have evidence you've not posted yet, I'd be holding back on ripping the head off.

[John Stenhouse]

^^^^^

What he said, don't jump the gun, just ride it. How far from shop to home? If it doesn't overheat which you haven't said it does, leave it alone.

[Mustang]

Ok,  I'm a little sceptical here.  If I pressure tested my coolant system and there was a leak I wouldn't immediately assume head gasket unless there's some other compelling evidence that you've not yet mentioned.  I'd be looking for leaks at  hose joints, thermostat housing, rad cap, and radiator first.  

In my experience, the first evidence of a head gasket leak is pressure in the cooling system accompanied by oil in the coolant, or water in the oil.  And as you've just filled the coolant system, I wouldn't be jumping to conclusions over the burp you mentioned.  These bikes are difficult to burp (just search for threads on the subject - you'll see...)  If she needs topping up, just top her up and then keep an eye on her.

Your temp gauge reads about right, so, as I said, unless you have evidence you've not posted yet, I'd be holding back on ripping the head off.

 

the puking coolant was due to a trapped air bubble in the system which is what also made it fail the pressure test .

if you had a blown head gasket your temp would have gone up to high
I personally don't think you have a problem ...........

[BruKen]

the puking coolant was due to a trapped air bubble in the system which is what also made it fail the pressure test .

if you had a blown head gasket your temp would have gone up to high
I personally don't think you have a problem ...........

 :P Is there much point in saying Hear! Hear! after you've spoken?  :roll:


 :lol:  :lol:

OK. Hear! Hear!

[D-Fuzz]

the puking coolant was due to a trapped air bubble in the system which is what also made it fail the pressure test .

if you had a blown head gasket your temp would have gone up to high
I personally don't think you have a problem ...........

After an anxious couple of moments this morning, I think either the heat gasket wasn't an issue or the Irontite stuff has worked at sealing it up.  I started the bike up this morning (it was only +2C outside) and let it idle for a few minutes.  There seemed to be a bit more white exhaust coming out of the tailpipes than I was expecting and there seemed to be quite a bit of moisture at the end of the tailpipes.  Panic was starting to set in.  I took off the seat and there weren't any bubbles coming into the expansion tank, and as the bike warmed up, the temp gauge came up to the line above cold and stayed there.  But there was still the white exhaust.  I turned the bike off and checked the oil, still black, no white milky stuff.  I put my gear on, started the bike and went for a ride.  The white exhaust remained for a few minutes, until the bike got nice and warmed up, then it went away.  The bike ran great and the temp gauge stayed steady.  I rode in town and on the highway for about an hour, came home and turned it off.  No burping in the expansion tank, no moisture on the tailpipes, oil was still black.  Needless to say, my panic level has gone down.

The only small issue that still needs addressing is the petcock.  It is fine when in the ON or OFF position, but I switched to reserve today and it started leaking.  Considering the o-rings in the carbs were all dried out, I assume the o-ring in the petcock is the same.  I know there is info on here about this, so time to start searching.

[Mustang]

The white exhaust remained for a few minutes, until the bike got nice and warmed up, then it went away.  The bike ran great and the temp gauge stayed steady.  I rode in town and on the highway for about an hour, came home and turned it off.  No burping in the expansion tank, no moisture on the tailpipes, oil was still black.  Needless to say, my panic level has gone down.

Perfectly normal all steamers do that white smoke thing ............

[Bixxer Bob]

the puking coolant was due to a trapped air bubble in the system which is what also made it fail the pressure test  ...........

I'm struggling to keep up here Mustang.  If the system is completely filled, the tiny air space in the thermostat housing will mean the pressure rises really quickly until the cap releases and then the pressure should hold steady (because we all know that for this purpose, you can't compress a liquid).  If there's air in the system, it'll take longer to reach blow-off because you're compressing more air, but it will blow eventually. If there's a leak somewhere the pressure will slowly fall regardless of the amount of air in the system.

That's the theory out of the way; and it's more years than I care to count since I last did this (aircraft radiators were still made of brass...) so in practice, what did I miss???

[Mustang]

the puking coolant was due to a trapped air bubble in the system which is what also made it fail the pressure test  ...........

I'm struggling to keep up here Mustang.  If the system is completely filled, the tiny air space in the thermostat housing will mean the pressure rises really quickly until the cap releases and then the pressure should hold steady (because we all know that for this purpose, you can't compress a liquid).  If there's air in the system, it'll take longer to reach blow-off because you're compressing more air, but it will blow eventually. If there's a leak somewhere the pressure will slowly fall regardless of the amount of air in the system.

That's the theory out of the way; and it's more years than I care to count since I last did this (aircraft radiators were still made of brass...) so in practice, what did I miss???

It's a Steamer thing !  

but seriously the puking coolant usually happens when you have overfilled the system and there is no room in the reservoir  the min max lines on a steamer are a joke .

I know nothing of science and theory's .I just know steamers .

D-fuzz 's mechanic obviously does not .

[D-Fuzz]

My Steamer would be the first and only one within 300 miles of me, so it's kind of a learning endeavour for all involved.  You are right about the puking coolant though.  Since that happened, the overflow reservior has stayed at the MAX mark, so I guess it was just overfilled a bit.  The bubbles appear to have been the air getting pushed past the cap as the system was pressurizing.  I am just glad it wasn't gloom & doom. :D  :oops:

[BruKen]

the puking coolant was due to a trapped air bubble in the system which is what also made it fail the pressure test  ...........

I'm struggling to keep up here Mustang.  If the system is completely filled, the tiny air space in the thermostat housing will mean the pressure rises really quickly until the cap releases and then the pressure should hold steady (because we all know that for this purpose, you can't compress a liquid).  If there's air in the system, it'll take longer to reach blow-off because you're compressing more air, but it will blow eventually. If there's a leak somewhere the pressure will slowly fall regardless of the amount of air in the system.

That's the theory out of the way; and it's more years than I care to count since I last did this (aircraft radiators were still made of brass...) so in practice, what did I miss???

It's a Steamer thing !  

but seriously the puking coolant usually happens when you have overfilled the system and there is no room in the reservoir  the min max lines on a steamer are a joke .

I know nothing of science and theory's .I just know steamers .

D-fuzz 's mechanic obviously does not .

It's not just steamers. Just had the exact same issue with a Daytona. A few burps as described and she settled down. Had all the symptoms as described above including standing idle for 3 years. She settled in and is a dream now.

[Bixxer Bob]

I wasn't struggling with the connection between puking and overfilling or air in the system - as the engine gets hot the air expands quicker that the fluid so she pukes the excess - but I'm struggling to understand why it would fail the pressure test, unless as Mustang says, the tech simply didn't understand what he was doing.  Even if there was no fluid and only air in the system, it would still only fail a pressure test if there was a leak, otherwise the pressure would hold steady and it would pass.  Even then, the time it takes to pressurise is a good indicator of whether there's air in there or just fluid.

[D-Fuzz]

Sadly, the end of the riding season came for me today.  The forecast for later today is for snow so I figured it was time.  I changed the oil, flushed the brakes and clutch with new fluid, put some stabilizer in the tank and ran it through the carbs, replaced the o-ring in the petcock and removed the battery to bring into the house.  Tigger is now tucked into the corner of the garage, under a cover, until spring arrives....in 6 months!!  Bummer!! :(

[D-Fuzz]

Well, I woke up to 5cm of snow today and a -10C windchill.  Brutal!!

Now that the "off-season" has arrived, it is time to start preparing for next year.  My list of improvements includes:

- SW Motech centrestand (on order)
- Heated grips, 12V outlet, GPS(?)
- engine bars
- luggage(?)

I do have a couple questions.  

It seems the choices are between the Thunderbike or H&B ones and it seems more choose the Thunderbike ones.  Is there a reason for that?  They seem quite pricey, but if they work and avoid wrecking a tank or something, then I guess it is money well spent.  Is it necessary to have some type of rad guard to keep the rad from getting banged up with rocks and stuff?

I've asked this elsewhere, but what do other riders use for soft luggage systems on their Steamer?  I priced out a set of H&B luggage racks and I am looking at nearly $500CDN by the time I pay shipping, taxes, etc.  That is just for racks.  Add on the cost of hard cases and I am looking at $1500 for luggage, which I know is the going rate if you are buying a Beemer or something, but I can't justify that for this bike, no matter how much I love it.

Luckily, the Tigger doesn't need a whole lot of improvements.  It is pretty close to spot-on as it sits.