QuestionI recently purchased a 1985 Honda Shadow VT700. I noticed that the reserve coolant tank is empty and, upon trying to fill it up, the coolant runs out of a hose hanging down underneath the bike. There are two hoses of the same size side-by-side hanging down under the bike, one is capped, one is not. The hose that the coolant runs out of is the uncapped one.
I consulted the repair manuel for the bike but it does not talk about this uncapped hose at all. However, it does talk about its capped neighbor as being the drain tube for the crankcase breather. In the picture in the manuel which shows the drain tube for the crankcase breather it shows the neighboring hose in question as uncapped. Is this hose the cause of my empty coolant reserve tank or could something else be going on? Does this tube need to be capped? Also, does this mean that there is no coolant in my bike at all?
AnswerPhil, the the coolant tank hose has a ipper hose that drains to the ground, if the system overflows and the lower tube that goes into the tank to draw fluid up to the radiator via the small fitting below the radiator cap.
It's really no different than any automotive coooling system... just look under the hood of any car/truck.
You need to check the coolant in the radiator (engine cold) first to see if it is full. If not fill with MOTORCYCLE coolant from the dealer. Then fill the coolant tank with coolant to the COLD fill mark. Connect the hose from the coolant tank to the fitting on the radiator and you will be fine.
Just because there is no coolant in the overflow tank, doesn't mean that the engine has NO coolant. Conversely, just because there is coolant in the tank doesn't mean that the cooling system is full. BOTH places must be checked to ensure a full cooling system.
Go to http://www.powersportspro.com/partsfish/login.asp
Sign up for free and log in, select your bike and view the illustrations. I checked the 1985 and 87 which were slightly different in clarity.
Bill Silver
