Towerworker! We have an antifreeze problem.

Inspired by CycleRob, this section is devoted to all flavors of the F800.

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sweatmark
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Towerworker! We have an antifreeze problem.

Post by sweatmark »

Really, we do. Following a recent 3-day-weekend, 1100 mile ride, I found the F800S motor's right side splattered with coolant. Somewhere during the ride I'd noticed that sweet smell, but had seen no indication from the OBC that engine temp was anything but perfect.

Some googling confirms that other F800* riders have experienced some coolant leak/spray from the hose connectors on RHS of motor... and that's my guess for the source on our bike. A peek at the coolant expansion/overflow chamber confirms that fluid level is now a bit low. Supposedly, this is a one-time problem due to overfilling at the factory... but time will tell. And I don't want to get Mrs. Sweatmark nervous about her F800S' BWM quality.

Day 1 of the ride was a 440 mile run in 95 degF weather, with days 2&3 cooler. Just boring interstate travel en route to Canada. The F800's 50+ MPG won me over, as less expensive option to the Rockster.

The irony, of course, is that we've had 6 BMWs in our garage at different times, and all but the R1200C have experienced some type of right-side-engine discoloration due to leaks: fuel for the oilheads, and now official-Towerworker-antifreeze.

Will have to take pics before the bike is washed...
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CycleRob
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Re: Towerworker! We have an antifreeze problem.

Post by CycleRob »

sweatmark,
The coolant weeping can be 3 different sources, 2 of which have occurred on my F800.

1--Tank overflow from a very hot engine + high RPM's. You cannot fill the coolant recovery tank to the "full" mark line. If you do it will expand enough to force a small amount out the tiny hole in the top of the cap. Set the coolant level no higher than midway between the Min and Max lines. The vertical opening in the bodywork allows easy visual level checks. Problem solved.

2--One of the 10 hose clamps doesn't grip tightly enough and very slow weepage occurs, in the form of blue crystal fuzz at the hose end. Not much loss, replacing the heavy duty squeeze spring clamps with a screw type radiator hose clamp should fix it.

3--The weep hole in the water pump housing shows liquid and/or dried crystals. It can be a seal failure if liquid loss is obvious and substantial -or- just an infrequent hyper performance over temp stress weep if the evidence is slight.
`09 F800ST

Member since Sept 10, 2001

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