growweblaar
Race Dog
Had a quick ride on Saturday pm doing little trails around here. Lost it in thick sandy patch on a narrow trail (forgot to deflate tyres again) and Dak went down hard on its side (so did I ;D) and embedded itself in the dune side.
Immediately, coolant started streaming down the side. Oh sh*t - I broke something
. Finally got bike extricated from fynbos & sand. Did not want to ride bike without coolant, so started to push (it wasn't too far from home). Gave up after a while and rode bike home the last few hundred metres at looow speed.
Back in the garage I assess the damage: cracked side panel, sheared screw holes, ripped-off indicator, no coolant, but I can't find any broken pipe or other leak. It seemed like the coolant leaked from the radiator cap - and then it dawned on me: the cap was open.
At first I thought the fall must have somehow hit the cap (though the panel??) and twisted it open (90 deg twist from closed to open - see attached pics). But then I saw the pressure ding on the side panel (see pic) and it looks very much like the cap was already open when the bike hit the deck, causing the cap end to crack the panel :-\.
So why would the cap be open?? I have never personally opened the side panels. Unless... the bike has very recently returned from it's 10,000 km service from Donfords... ??? I can't prove it, but do you think it's possible that the technician changed the coolant and forgot to close the cap (the Dak's cap can't be taken off, just twisted open and closed). If that's the case, I have been riding for the last few weeks with an open radiator :'(. Is that not bad for the engine?? The temperature light never came on, so I hope the cooling system still functioned to some extent.
Regardless of the pre-history, what do I do now: is the Dak's coolant just 50/50 anti-freeze & water, and can I just top it up, or should I bleed the whole system?
And do you think I should take the matter further with Donfords?
Thanks for your input
Immediately, coolant started streaming down the side. Oh sh*t - I broke something
. Finally got bike extricated from fynbos & sand. Did not want to ride bike without coolant, so started to push (it wasn't too far from home). Gave up after a while and rode bike home the last few hundred metres at looow speed.Back in the garage I assess the damage: cracked side panel, sheared screw holes, ripped-off indicator, no coolant, but I can't find any broken pipe or other leak. It seemed like the coolant leaked from the radiator cap - and then it dawned on me: the cap was open.
At first I thought the fall must have somehow hit the cap (though the panel??) and twisted it open (90 deg twist from closed to open - see attached pics). But then I saw the pressure ding on the side panel (see pic) and it looks very much like the cap was already open when the bike hit the deck, causing the cap end to crack the panel :-\.
So why would the cap be open?? I have never personally opened the side panels. Unless... the bike has very recently returned from it's 10,000 km service from Donfords... ??? I can't prove it, but do you think it's possible that the technician changed the coolant and forgot to close the cap (the Dak's cap can't be taken off, just twisted open and closed). If that's the case, I have been riding for the last few weeks with an open radiator
:'(. Is that not bad for the engine?? The temperature light never came on, so I hope the cooling system still functioned to some extent.Regardless of the pre-history, what do I do now: is the Dak's coolant just 50/50 anti-freeze & water, and can I just top it up, or should I bleed the whole system?
And do you think I should take the matter further with Donfords?
Thanks for your input
