noticed that my radiator is starting to gather dirt between the fins behind the rad gaurd. will removing the rad gaurd at the weekend and try to flush clean with "low pressure" hose pipe if that dose not work, will try to blow it out with my leaf blower, any other suggestions that won't damaged the fins?
Hose pipe will do it. Get it wet then flush it from inside fairing if you can. Give the rad guard a scrub too!
front wheel out and fender off , and get in there with some muck off and a scrubbing brush, just done mine like that and got enough dirt to re pot some plants
Scrubbing brush on the radiator?!!
wrongly described brush, my rad guard is fitted and i use a car wash brush with soft bristles, no damage to the fins but gets through the rad guard and lifts the dirt out
Quote from: Winston Smith on July 10, 2012, 10:41:20 PM
Hose pipe will do it. Get it wet then flush it from inside fairing if you can. Give the rad guard a scrub too!
+1.. be gentle, fins can be damaged easily. soak the rad first to soften the dirt
Always clean the rad from the inside out.
I,ve just cleaned the rad, it was not as bung up as first thought. had a quite a few bugs here and there and the normal gathering of dirt in between the fins. so removed the rad cover, did not fancy using a hard brush :nono: instead got the wifes "hoover" which as a very soft brush attachment, turn the hoover on and gentle brushed the rad and suck the :shit: out done the trick :yes: then washed it through with the normal free flowing hose pipe looks like new again :smiley: just need to clean the brush attachment for the hoover before the wife hoovers her curtains :whistling: or I will be in the :shit: :laugh:
Quote from: 2kwacks on July 11, 2012, 11:06:46 PM
I,ve just cleaned the rad,
The long nights must simply fly by :innocent:
Quote from: Winston Smith on July 11, 2012, 11:16:36 PM
The long nights must simply fly by :innocent:
admittedly not the most interesting/important job we can get on with. however it's a job that's needs doing or my pride and joy could start :sweatdrop: ing. on an other note..! I do find myself at that aged, where I find the :sad: est things quite riveriting :yawn: dam..! at one point, I even consider the b.m.w 1600 gt :grin:
2K - it was more the time you posted the comment!
I hosed my rad through today too - :embarrassed:
The R1 always had the rad soaked before cleaning with a soft toothbrush. The GTRs fins look closer together and significantly bigger. How do you hose it from the inside- or am I being dense?
Quote from: tommytool on July 12, 2012, 11:00:26 PM
The R1 always had the rad soaked before cleaning with a soft toothbrush. The GTRs fins look closer together and significantly bigger. How do you hose it from the inside- or am I being dense?
I found no problem hosing it down from the inside, I just removed the flow attachment from the hose.. "this way the hose is more flexible" you then can get the hose between the fairing fins on either side and pinch the end of the hose to create more water pressure. this seem to do the trick spot on! your can see the water flowing freely through the rad from the front :smiley:
Quote from: Winston Smith on July 12, 2012, 10:51:27 PM
2K - it was more the time you posted the comment!
I hosed my rad through today too - :embarrassed:
it was more the time you posted the comment!.. well I had nothin' better to do at the time :laugh: :wink:
:mfr_lol:
I may be wrong here but.....
I Always use a power washer ( a domestic one ) on other bikes I have owned , they are not going to blow the core out ( an Industrial one will ) , if the Rad is that fragile then we are all in trouble , used to do tractors and combine rads with a washer that genarated 5000 psi it was the only thing that got all the crap out , or strip them out soak and blow out with HP air line ( Wearing a pair of goggles ) , the old GPZ 900 R was known for overheating and boiling up cannot see that the GTR would suffer like that but I am new to the bike so I hope not , ended up pulling the thermostat out in the campsite at Paul Ricard during the old Bol D Or ...its a long story ...
Unless someone is motocrossing with their GTR I cant really see rad cleaning being a routine maint task , bugs are going to degrade eventually .....surely !!! :whistling:
I can't see the normal power washer doing any arm to the rad providing you don't have it on full force and you are fair decent away from it. of course, we all have our own thoughts on this. also can't see bugs blocking the rad to the point it overheats, we also tend to blabber on about trivial things when we have nothing better to do.. like I'm doing now :grin: but on a more serious note! I tend to keep on top of the dirt and bugs that get trapped in the fins. I don't and won't use a power wash, I just use a normal hose pipe from the back of the rad and rinse the bugs and dirt out, providing you do this on a regular basis the rad will stay bug and :shit: free.
Or you could come and live in the "Dales" where it never rains, so you have no need to worry about your rad getting clogged full of shite :whistling:.
Quote from: 100milesaway on July 28, 2012, 09:43:49 PM
Or you could come and live in the "Dales" where it never rains,
:shocked: :shocked: :shocked: :shocked: