Best aftermarket coolant for motorcycles

[Fordiesel69]

I have two 2008 kawaski vulcan 900's and one 1999 vulcan1500.

I am not interested in overpaying for kawaski coolant as it is an orange color, the existing factory fill is green.

I also do not want any kind of internal failure to result from using wrong coolant.

Any suggestions.

 

[ad244]

Best aftermarket coolant (in my opinion) is engine ice. Guys I ride with swear by it. When I say ride with, Im talking about 100 degree days in the desert going up long hill climbs with most bikes having coolant temps of 230F+ and boil overs being common. My buddy has the Beta 500 enduro bike which has the factory fans kicking on at 235F. Before engine ice, we was having the fans kick on just during trail riding at speed let along when he hit the technical stuff. Now the fans will only kick on when doing slow technical riding. The stuff aint cheap by any means but if you want the best, try it out.

Otherwise, I'd stick with the manufacturers coolant. I run straight water and wetter water in my always garaged and never ridden in freezing temps Honda XR but I imagine you see sub zero temps in PA. I've run the green stuff in the bike before with no ill effects (bought the bike with the green stuff in it) but I cant advise for or against it.

 

[skyactiv]

I might be wrong, but are motorcycles shipped dry to the dealer who has to remove the bike from the crate add oil, coolant and assemble the bike? And many dealers probably don't use the exact proper fluid, especially ones that sell more than one brand. If those were my bikes, I'd use PEAK Original Equipment Technology Asian Vehicles Green Antifreeze and Coolant

 

[jeff78]

I run Valvoline Zerex Asian premixed antifreeze in my Yamaha. Nothing special (for a long life coolant), it works fine and is inexpensive enough at Amazon or Walmart. Bike only takes 2 quarts anyway.

When changing coolant types (or if the current coolant is unknown), I'd drain and flush with water first.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by skyactiv
I might be wrong, but are motorcycles shipped dry to the dealer who has to remove the bike from the crate add oil, coolant and assemble the bike? And many dealers probably don't use the exact proper fluid, especially ones that sell more than one brand. If those were my bikes, I'd use PEAK Original Equipment Technology Asian Vehicles Green Antifreeze and Coolant

When I assembled bikes out of the crate 30 years ago they came full of fluids. All we did was put the front tire on and the handlebars.

 

[nthach]

Zerex Asian in any color is my pick for any Asian motorbike.

It gets iffier with European(Ducati, Husky, Aprilia, KTM; BMW is weird that Kymco makes some of their bikes), Dex-Cool or G48 would be the pick for those.

 

[mrsilv04]

Peak Long Life. Says right on the jug that it is fine for use in motorcycles.

 

[Ride_Red]

I buy the gallon size Honda type 2 coolant from the Honda auto dealership parts counter. Meets all the Honda motorcycle specs and probably all Asian motorcycles, too.
it's blue in color. Same stuff as in the quart containers at the motorcycle shop.

 

[BigMoneyGrip]

All of mine are rinsed with tap water then filled with Engine Ice. Never a problem.

 

[Gebo]

I'm thinking your decision making process just got more difficult.

When I had my Goldwings, I always used Honda OEM.

Are you friends with the local Kawasaki dealership? I'd ask them what they use.

 

[wagsrk08]

Originally Posted by Fordiesel69
I have two 2008 kawaski vulcan 900's and one 1999 vulcan1500.

I am not interested in overpaying for kawaski coolant as it is an orange color, the existing factory fill is green.

I also do not want any kind of internal failure to result from using wrong coolant.

Any suggestions.



Understand you don't want to pay dealer prices. How do you think I feel owning a Harley-Davidson water cooled bike? Find out what Kawasaki dealer uses in your water cooled bike model and buy it at Walmart. H-D coolant is actually Peak Global Lifetime (in gold bottle). Dealer sells for $23 gal, or $10 qt. I can buy @ Walmart for $13 gal. My coolant capacity is 1.1 qt...... amazing, huh?

 

[Overfill]

I would use a long life coolant and do D&F every other year.
Peak Global Lifetime, Peak Final Charge, and Prestone Cor-guard would be my pick.