Flushing Coolant

[willr1]

Ok, I have to flush my system and put Water Wetter in for the upcoming trackday Sat. However, my manual on my bike and the R1 forum has no pics of what/where the drain plugs look like. I have no friggin clue, they are suppose to be on a pipe on the lower one, near the kickstand, I found a screw that was in the pipe, that had some sort of water/oil stuff dripping on it, but nothing that stood out.
Anyone have a pic of what the bolts look like, it doesent have to be an R1, but Im sure they are all about the same, just somehting for me to reference to. thx

[Over TWO Customs]

Typically a small 8 or 10mm bolt near the water pump. Fast and efficient way is to just pull the lower radiator hose. Can be a bit messy but it drains it quick. Fill it back up with water and flush it again.

[BlueLghtning]

As Lorne said, usually a bolt right on the water pump. Also don't forget to drain and refil your overflow.

Also, make sure you use distilled water. Don't use tap water.

[willr1]

Ok, I suck at this and have no clue where the water pump is, the service manual I have is from online and is confusing me even more.

I took off all my fairings. On my left side, above the kickstand, I see this gold phillips srew/bolt that is in some metal tubing, going from the radiator to the engine area. It is leaking a little something like water/oil mix, I guess that's the coolant. Is that the nut I need to unscrew ? Then, I was told that I had to do drain the cyclinder bolt, flush once, fill up, start it, flush again with distilled vinager and water, then flush again, then fill with water and Water Wetter, start it while the rad cap is off, wait till it sux it down, then fill it up.

I have no clue on this bike, but give me a car and I can get by.
Thx guys

[wallypiper]

I don't know about the vinegar. Vinegar dissolves mineral deposits but if your system has always been filled using distilled water, there won't be any mineral deposits. To find the water pump, follow the hoses from the radiator. A large hose from the radiator connects to the center of the water pump which is on the left hand side of your bike. The pump also has a discharge hose leaving the perimeter of the pump perpendicular to the inlet hose.

Some bikes have particular air bleeding requirements. Air pockets can exist in the cooling system that will never go away without opening a bleed port somewhere to allow the air out. Air bleed ports naturally usually face up somewhere. Not all bikes have this. It depends on the overall design and routing of the coolant system. You really should have a shop manual on your bike if you plan to do a lot of work on it. Typically costs $50-75 but they are full of detailed factory specced procedures for things like flushing and bleeding the coolant system.

Here's the fiche:
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/2003-yamaha-motorcycle-yzf-r1r-r1-water-pump/o/m8959sch259745

Note that no hose is shown connecting to the inlet in this diagram. The inlet is the port facing the lower right corner with the o-ring identified as "23" next to it. It looks like 27/28 is a drain point, on the bottom of the elbow where the hose turns up to go to the engine. The diagram doesn't show any kind of drain bolt on the pump itself.

This fiche shows the radiator and includes the hose from the radiator to the pump (but it doesn't show the pump).
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/2003-yamaha-motorcycle-yzf-r1r-r1-radiator-hose/o/m8959sch254003

[willr1]

Sweet thanks, I got it all flushed out without a hitch. Thanks guys, now, I did the dumbest thing, I sprayed the Champions chain grease on my chain and it is freakin nasty ! I tried spraying it with True Green diluted, scrubbing it and hosing it off, but it is a thick, white greasey mess all over the chain and sprockets, how the hell do I get this stuff off without ruining my o-rings?

[Lazarus]

Try some gas or kerosene.

[Derrick]

Sweet thanks, I got it all flushed out without a hitch. Thanks guys, now, I did the dumbest thing, I sprayed the Champions chain grease on my chain and it is freakin nasty ! I tried spraying it with True Green diluted, scrubbing it and hosing it off, but it is a thick, white greasey mess all over the chain and sprockets, how the hell do I get this stuff off without ruining my o-rings?
try some WD40

[willr1]

I will, Im getting a better brush tommorow and Im going to try and just scrub a dub it, gently of course, but gotta get that crap off before Sat.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

WD-40. For real. It's an amazing degreaser. Takes off chain wax all the time. Put a piece of cardboard behind the chain, to prevent spray from getting anywhere you don't want it (Like on your tires).