QuestionOK, so I was going around a turn and lost my turning nerve, and i hit the curb on the left side ... besides being totally freaked out .. i cracked a pipe ... It is a Honda Shadow VT600 VLX DLX. All the way at the bottom, on the front left side, there is a pipe that runs parallell to the bike, surrounded by corrugated plastic ... this is where i hit and it looks like coolant is coming out (is the lime flourescent green stuff coolant?) .. ok so lots came pouring out ... so i rode home cautiously and made it ok ... now my question is:
1) How bad is it for the engine to run without coolant? I ask not because i want to continue like that, but can i ride it about 15 miles to the nearest Honda shop .... or am i risking serious damage? i really don't want to pay $75 for a tow knowing i am going to have to pay a whole bunch for service already ... please let me know what you think ...
2) What is that pipe that I cracked, and how expensive relatively should it be to replace? Assume that nothing else broke but only that i hit the curb at one spot, on that pipe, and that pipe is the only thing that cracked open ... can they like patch weld the pipe, or is it easier to just replace that pipe? what should i expect the repair shop to tell me ...
Thanks again.
AnswerSounds like coolant.
It is very bad to run the engine without coolant. It's analogous to pulling a hot dish out of the oven without oven mitts! Don't chance it. Overheating can cause all sorts of expensive problems. Tow it.
I have no idea what you cracked or how to fix it without seeing it. If it's down low it's probably not an expensive part, though it's usually the labor that's expensive. I'd expect the shop would just replace the whole unit. Figure $35-135 for the part, $20 for coolant, and $75-150 for labor.
Pat
