Coolant Recommendations

Bluey

Well-Known Member
It's time to replace the coolant in my FZ1S. The manual is not very specific on the type to use. It just says to use an Ethylene Glycol with corrosion inhibitors for aluminium engines. On a previous post it was recommended not to use car coolant but a quick check in the local car part shop shows most claim to be compatible with all engines including motorcycles. I might just use the Yamalube product but any recommendations would be welcome.

Also some research shows that the coolant drain plug is susceptible to breakage during removal/installation. Any suggestions to work around this would also be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I believe most car coolants these days are safe for Aluminium engines and your standard 'green' premix is just dandy. All the ones I've ever purchased certainly say so on the bottle
 
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Thanks for your replies. The Nulon Blue sounded good for the reasons given by Ballmead but I was concerned about the use of OAT in this product. So I rang Nulon and spoke to one of their tech reps and he reckoned that the Nulon Long Life Green was the go for my bike. So on the way to Supercheap Auto I called into the Yamaha shop to get a new drain plug and washer for the job and was promptly talked into using a motorcycle specific coolant. They had a Motul product as well as the Yamalube Premix. Needless to say there is now a fresh load of Yamalube in my radiator. I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure.

As for the drain plug it was, of course, "nil stock" and is now on back order from Japan. I was able to get the old one out and reinstalled no problem but it was showing some signs of corrosion. I will however have a new one ready for next time.

Riding in 37 degree Celsius heat this afternoon has given the cooling system a real workout. It worked fine but the operator will need a cold beer to cool off.
 
Dustin it was just the usual claim that they have seen problems with bikes that have used non motorcycle coolant. I know this is just anecdotal evidence (bullsh*t) but I just thought " how can I go wrong if I use a Yamaha product in my Yamaha?". Once again I took the line of least resistance.

Ballmead the short answer to your question is "I have no idea!". But my research suggests that some of the newer coolants with OAT (organic acid technology or organic additive technology as Nulon puts it) can be brutal on some metals found in older vehicles e.g. brass solder etc. The guy from Nulon that I spoke to didn't say not to use the Blue but simply suggested that Green was the best choice for the FZ1.
 
Dustin it was just the usual claim that they have seen problems with bikes that have used non motorcycle coolant. I know this is just anecdotal evidence (bullsh*t) but I just thought " how can I go wrong if I use a Yamaha product in my Yamaha?". Once again I took the line of least resistance.

Ballmead the short answer to your question is "I have no idea!". But my research suggests that some of the newer coolants with OAT (organic acid technology or organic additive technology as Nulon puts it) can be brutal on some metals found in older vehicles e.g. brass solder etc. The guy from Nulon that I spoke to didn't say not to use the Blue but simply suggested that Green was the best choice for the FZ1.

Motuls own MotoCool factory line coolant uses OAT technology, I don't think it's an issue in modern motorcycles.

https://www.motul.com/us/en-US/products/oils-lubricants/motocool-factory-line
 
Motuls own MotoCool factory line coolant uses OAT technology, I don't think it's an issue in modern motorcycles

Ballmead you are absolutely correct. I guess I was just looking for the assurance that a product was specifically guaranteed to be suitable for my bike by the manufacturer. Unfortunately the Nulon lube guide doesn't cater for motorcycles at all, an oversight on their part which I did mention to them. Motul does and recommends the MotoCool for the 2008 FZ1 which as you point out uses OAT.

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Think I'll go blue next time. Thanks for your help!! Cheers.
 
Hey guys. New to the sport bike world. Been driving cruisers for the last few years.
Anyways, I just got myself a 2006 FZ1 with 13,600miles on it. I just changed all my fluids. I used Castrol Power 1 10W-40 oil w/K&N filter.
For coolant I used Prestone 50/50.
I did a flush with Prestone Radiator Flush. It was pretty bad before I did that. Pretty sure it had old DEX in it. Had to clear the drain hole after removing the plug to get it to drain. Luckily I didn't have any trouble with the plug and the washer was fine. Bike was really clean besides the coolant.
 

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