radiator repairs,,,who does em

[apexape]

ive sprung a leak ( core ),,,can I get it fixed,,or should I start looking for replacement
20 year old Gixer ,,where??

thx

 

[GreyGhost]

Can you see where leak is? Physical damage or pinhole? Repairs I have seen looked like hell as they destroy all the fins in the area to access the leak. I would probably replace instead of repair.

 

[apexape]

yea it's good one,,,Suzuki wants 1200 for a new one,,,ive found plenty on E-bay, new for around 150 made in usa
but I'm worried about quality, has anyone gone down this route??

 

[bitzz]

If the leak is in the core, it's fixable. Find the hole, cut the passageway, fold it over and solder it up.
If the leak is at the edge, you can't fix it.

GOOD LUCK finding someone that will take on the job.

In a RZ group I frequent, there was a lot of discussion as to which aftermarket rad to buy (there are dozens for a RZ) and the general consensus was this one brand was better than the rest, so they did a group order of a dozen rads. About half of them were junk... and they were all from one supplier. I fixed/rewelded the seams on two.
... not a hope in hell I would be paying $1200 for a bike rad

 

[oioioi]

Try NCK cycle
Or bike yard in Caledon.

 

[nobbie48]

Can you see where leak is? Physical damage or pinhole? Repairs I have seen looked like hell as they destroy all the fins in the area to access the leak. I would probably replace instead of repair.

Old Joke

"We pick the dead bugs out of your radiator for free. Pick holes fixed for a modest fee."

 

[nobbie48]

I haven't heard of "Stop Leak" for years. I assume there's some bad chemistry.

 

[Priller]

yea it's good one,,,Suzuki wants 1200 for a new one,,,ive found plenty on E-bay, new for around 150 made in usa
but I'm worried about quality, has anyone gone down this route??

Can't speak to any claiming to be US made (on eBay, who's checking?), but I picked up a Chinesium rad for my RC51 track bike a couple years ago. The 51 has side-mounted rads, which mean drops break them, which means even Honda's deep parts bins have been emptied, which means decent used ones are spendy. The eBay special is an obvious step down from the OEM rad on the other side, but it's decent enough. Seems to do the job, even working hard at the track...

 

[TK4]

Even if you can find someone to do it, I doubt you'll get much of a fix for $150 - better to give the Chinesium replacement a shot.

 

[Gary]

Most inexpensive rad fix on the market (the rad must contain anti freeze) one packet does the trick, and will last......

 

[bitzz]

the rad must contain anti freeze)

OH? why? ...pretty sure it would work with plain water... and it will last until it dries out
Egg whites will do the same thing AND will keep sealing when it dries out... for a little while.

My favourite "bush fix": A guy on youtube holed the differential in the bush of Africa, all the oil leaked out, so he packed the diff with mushed bananas. He says it works great... and it's common in the bush.

... somebody wanna test to see if banana mush is JASO MA2? It would pass SAE GL4

 

[GVH]

I did the all aluminum radiator eBay made in USA for an sv project worked good. Only issue was I bought the race rad not street filling neck tucked away and hard to fill bleed

 

[oioioi]

Most inexpensive rad fix on the market (the rad must contain anti freeze) one packet does the trick, and will last......

View attachment 67872

Explain to the uneducated how this work, please.

 

[Gary]

Explain to the uneducated how this work, please.

Science. I can't explain how it works, but I can verify it works.
Chemical reaction of some sort......the leak stops within a millisecond of the pepper (or paprika) making contact with the rad fluid.
Bitzz says anti freeze isn't important. Respectfully, I disagree.