Track days that allow engine ice? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Track days that allow engine ice?

S

Star72

Member
Hello,

TL;DR: Are there any track day organization that allows engine ice on track?

I just did my phase 1 at FAST a while ago and am in love. I look forward to going to tracks more often but there is one major block for me: coolant.
I live in an apartment and don't own a lot of tools. I am not comfortable with doing the flush myself anyway. I am considering getting a mechanic to do it for the next season and switch back to anti-freeze before winter hits. I don't think it worth it for this season but I now have to itch.
Is there any place that don't require bikes on water/water-wetter?

EDIT: found a thread asking for places to buy engine ice years ago and started a war on track day safeties. Hopefully that doesn't happen here.
 
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Check with organization, in Canada only water wetter + water allowed (I use distilled water). If you garage is heated, you can leave that in throughout winter.


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All you need is basic hand tools, a hose, some distilled water and 15min.
Don't pay a shop to do it.
 
i really hope that there are no organisations that allow it, if you crash and spill it all over the track you are gonna ruin a bunch of peoples track day...dont be that guy

as miggs said, its really easy to do and doesnt require a lot of tools / skill
 
You can leave it empty during the winter, no need for Coolant.
 
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Jayv said:
You can leave it empty during the winter, no need for Coolant.
Click to expand...
But what about if the flux capacitor starts to rust due to the 2.5 water spoliation in the air!

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miggs said:
All you need is basic hand tools, a hose, some distilled water and 15min.
Don't pay a shop to do it.
Click to expand...

It takes me 4-5 hrs, please tell me what I am doing wrong?

I have to drain, fill, get temp beyond 105 to open thermostat. Let the bike sit to cool a bit (ah hour) so I don’t burn myself and to lower pressure.

Drain, fill, get temp up again and so on.

I have to do above 3-4 times to get the draining fluid to become clear on my 2012 CBR1000RR

Is there an easier way?


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samurai said:
It takes me 4-5 hrs, please tell me what I am doing wrong?

I have to drain, fill, get temp beyond 105 to open thermostat. Let the bike sit to cool a bit (ah hour) so I don’t burn myself and to lower pressure.

Drain, fill, get temp up again and so on.

I have to do above 3-4 times to get the draining fluid to become clear on my 2012 CBR1000RR

Is there an easier way?


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Click to expand...

A few thoughts.
A) Can you run with the rad cap off? That would take an incredible amount of time out.
B) If A is not possible, normally the thermostat allows some fluid to pass even when closed. I think you could save time by running the engine for a few minutes and then dumping to flush.
C) I have opened a system at full temp and pressure many times before. Wear some protective equipment (how much is up to you) and put a heavy rag over the cap to deflect the spray down. The blast of spray is much much less than a second.
D) Alternatively, pull more of the system apart to clear more of the old fluid each time (obviously this way gets the most air into the system and therefore takes a bit more time at the end to clear).
 
^ It is also possible that there are additional drain points which haven't been identified.

If you have a light bike, or an assistant, it can also speed up the process to tip the bike mostly on its side (obviously not by crashing to the ground - controlled fashion) with the drain point open.
 
Drain all the coolant when bike is cold, replace drain bolt.

Refill with water from a hose and run bike with rad cap off until you get up to temp.

Leave bike running and then crack open drain valve.

As water is draining out the bottom I get the garden hose and continuously run water into the system.

Since the bike is at temp and the thermostat is open it will flush entirely through the cooling passages and the rad.

You will need a large drain pan, or 2, to swap out as you are flushing the system.

Takes about 5min until only clear water drains out.

Stop the hose, let all the tap water drain out and refill system with distilled water and water wetter.

Run bike to temp again with cap off, squeeze lower and upper hoses a few times to help remove air pockets, top up system and call it a day.

Don't forget to flush the overflow bottle...

Many will say don't use tap water blah blah blah, but you are only using it to flush the system.

Done it this way for years and I've had no issues with rusting, sediment, overheating, or the pump.
 
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Brian P said:
^ It is also possible that there are additional drain points which haven't been identified.

If you have a light bike, or an assistant, it can also speed up the process to tip the bike mostly on its side (obviously not by crashing to the ground - controlled fashion) with the drain point open.
Click to expand...

Really no need to tip the bike over.
The drain point is at the lowest point of the system.

Remove the rad cap to let air pressure push the fluid out faster.
Gravity and physics are your friends.
 
miggs said:
Really no need to tip the bike over.
The drain point is at the lowest point of the system.
Click to expand...

It's not always downhill everywhere in the system all the way to that lowest point ...

If the engine is tilted forward at an angle (most are), or is a V-configuration engine which always has cylinders tilted at an angle, there are almost certainly pockets in the coolant jackets that are below the height of wherever the path to that drain point is, which won't be drained by simply opening the drain point at the lowest spot in the system.

Sometimes there are additional drain screws in the coolant jackets specifically for draining those spots. My fizzer has two of them. (Whether they are easy to get access to with the bike assembled and the bodywork and exhaust system in place, is quite another matter.) Some bikes don't have such drain spots for low points. At that point, your choices are, tip the bike over to encourage more of it to find its way out, or flush it for several minutes as described above. The more of it you can get out before starting to flush the system, the faster the flushing will get the job done.

My race bike is easy to tip to the left side to help drain the cooling system.
 
True true.
Never considered that.
 
Star72 said:
I can't do this. I live in an apartment and don't have access to a garden hose.
Click to expand...

Do you not have any friends or family that own a house? If not, find a local shop who can winterize it for you.

This is not really that a big of a deal.

Don't use engine ice.
 
Star72 said:
I can't do this. I live in an apartment and don't have access to a garden hose.
Click to expand...
I work on my bikes in a storage unit with no access to water and change coolant no problem. I use those large bottles of distilled water and just refill them with tap water.
 
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