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Flushed and changed coolant a couple of weeks ago as it was a bit murky, rode down to uni and have been riding around for a couple of weeks fine. Got home today and after turning off bike the fan kicked in (which has never happened before!)- I looked around the bike and noticed some brown liquid had spilt out over the sprocket case and on the right hand side too, I checked the coolant and it was brown which aint good!


this is some of the offending liquid and the other side Is this early signs of the headgasket going? I checked the oil and it doesnt seem to have gone at all since it was last topped up. The bike still fires up first time and seems to run as usual, although I probably wouldnt notice any odd noises as I've only had the bike a few months...

Any help would be much appreciated!

also poked my finger in the coolant tank to taste the brown stuff (mmm chocolatey!) and it was seriously hot

was it creamy like or rusty?

I wouldnt describe it as creamy, as it is very watery. So yeah rusty then!

The coolant level is also on the bottom threshold, and I filled it almost to the top line when I changed it, so some lost somewhere...

anyone got any ideas?

did you empty and clean the expansion bottle when you changed the coolant? and did you refill with the correct micture of antifreeze/water? as for the leak, try and see where its coming from, could be the heater pipes leaking, thermostat housing, anywhere really, you need to have a good look around the engine to see if you can see where its leaking from, there could be an airgap in your system which has caused the fan to come on, whats the rad level like?

yeah get the tank off and have a nose round. Are you sure its coolant and not dirty water from riding around in the rain?

Yeah I emptied and cleaned the expansion bottle, seem to remember there being (along with the brown murky water) some gungy brown substance which needed scraping off the inside of the bottle. I filled it with the correct mix im pretty sure as well.

Confident it's not just dirty rain water! Only prob is im down at uni now and currently dont have any tools with me, but im planning on getting some allen keys and whatever from b&q and then I'll whip off the panels and have a good look.

Cheers for the advice I'll prob post again this weekend!

hey, i had the same problem, if by any chance your bike run quite hot and maybe spitting coolant out then sounds like you need to a new head gasket and that should sovle your problem. now thats where the fun begins. if you dont know one end of a screw driver from the other the get somebody else to do the job for you, if not then it is a fairly big job like engine out cams out the lot really. just out of intrest how many miles has your bike done as they are a common thing to go and needs replacing at about 26000. hope this helps.

Done about 45k off the top of my head, one bloke owned it for 11 years and claimed to have done the head gasket, but if it goes around 26k mine has nearly done double that so could well be...

Need to get off my butt and take a closer look, only prob is im down at uni and dont have a nice tool filled garage like at home! Also a chemistry and law degree dont leave you with much free time

If it is the head gasket i'll just take it to the local kwak dealer or fowlers probably, but that means ££££ which i lack!

well yeah if it has done that amount of mileage then i would almost be certain and with your descripcion then im 99% sure it will be that. well yeah the lack of tools may be an issue, is a big job so a couple of tools wont really cut it likei said earlier its the engine out. the only trouble with taking it to a garage is they will charge you a full days labour which will be around the 400 mark which is silly amounts of money if im honest but good luck and hope you get it fixed soon.

if that is the case, how long will i be able to bimble around town on it before i have to get it fixed? It still runs fine, but I'm just doing a slow mile or so each day.

Myn has been in the garage since Monday night having head gasket done

Myn was getting hot quick, and spitting coolant into the header tank, and not drawing it back when cool (Cos air had replaced it).

When I originally went he quoted £150-£200 (Labour and gaskets) + oil and coolant and then he is gonna check valves and cam chain free of charge etc.

Also gonna balance carbs for £15 while he got tank off

Will tell you total cost, when I pick her up today.

Tip - DO NOT go to a KWAK dealer - Quoted me £300 labour + parts + VAT!

I removed the oil filler cap this morning and it was creamy and white all around the cap and edges....
so this is pretty much a dead certain head gasket then?

Called JHC racing in bristol and they said £400 inc parts!!!!

Then called fixit motorcycles just outside bristol and the bloke reckons he can get it done in 3-4 hours at £30 an hour + parts, so all in all gonna be under £150 probably.

reckon i go for it?

My invoice break down for you:

Headgasket: £14.00
Coolant (2x) @ £4.95 each = £9.90
Labour: £160.00

+ VAT

Total = £216.08

Thats for a headgasket change and carbs balanced, along with valve clearance checked etc.

I was impressed with that price tbh