@hub 's reply sounded like filing at the radiator cap was not
per manual, but works better; ?

The 2012 manual recommends checking the level at the rez but I can say for a hundred percent, that's not reliable at all. You pull the cap off and look in the radiator with the bike on the side stand. Should be full to the neck if I recall. I have a tutorial for the Gen1 on that, check it out if you're interested. LOL as for filling, the manual directs you to Periodic Maintenance where there is no info on filling or draining. It's in my tutorial. LOL my 08 service manual does the same thing, no info on coolant change, poor info on coolant level check. I got much of that info from Hub years ago.

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Your reservoir doesn't change levels.... (?) I've had to top mine off
a couple of times, and am due to check again..

It's probably your hot weather. Could be a leak but I'm leaning more toward hot weather. The coolant level never changes in either of the 14s I've owned, 08 Hayabusa neither.

I'm guessing that the glycol itself is very unlikely to
evaporate out, though the water is, so I'm guessing that the coolant
should be tested (I think theirs a kit) then if it shows bad,
I'm thinking, for a test I should add a cup + - of distilled water,
to partially replenish the mix bringing it back to 50/50 vs 60/40,
aka too much glycol per distilled water.....

All you need is a simple coolant tester. Most look like a mini turkey baster with five balls inside. Suck the coolant up out of the radiator and check how many balls float. The tester will come with a chart showing what your antifreeze strength is based on how many balls float. They're available at any auto supply. I know your not concerned about freezing but if you float four balls, that's about 50/50. I have a tutorial on this too. You should go for 50/50, that will be best for eliminating corrosion in the cooling system and maximizing the cooling efficiency. I don't know about you but for me, adding one cup of distilled water to a batch of 50/50 coolant leans the mix out considerably. The system doesn't hold much liquid. Check my tutorial. I think the service manual specs the capacity too. No sir, when I adjusted my coolant strength, I changed by an ounce or less several times until I got four balls floating. I did that over a few weeks, it takes time for the admixture to thoroughly disperse with whatever you already have in there. Also, check when cold. I believe hot coolant tests differently than cold. Last thing, if you flush with distilled water after draining, there's several ounces of distilled water you can't drain out no matter what. You pour your 50/50 in with that, it's not 50/50 anymore. It will float one or two balls less when you test it.

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I'd guess that most people that
are in love with these bikes, never even get the chance or
wherewithal to acquire one, and to have both lol....yep...

You said it... Reminds me of a FB post a friend recently made. She said she rolled her eyes at the display of wealth shown by a yatch docked at the local marina. My feeling is, we all use whatever we have to our best advantage. What rolls my eyes is when people think there's something wrong about someone else having something most others don't. As for me, I can have a few, maybe several bikes before I cash in my chips. There's a lot of things most normal people have that I won't ever have. I'm not rolling my eyes at them, I'm glad for them and I'm glad for what I can have too.

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I don't know about you but for me, adding one cup of distilled water to a batch of 50/50 coolant leans the mix out considerably. The system doesn't hold much liquid. Check my tutorial. I think the service manual specs the capacity too.

You'd told me about the testers, brain slippage, :smi I just saved
a couple of the 6 ball turkey baster looking models, with a 5/16'' looking
tube on the end.
I hadn't thought about the coolant capacity, good to know, just an ounce or too
of distilled added, not a cup, but where do you add it, radiator is best ya think?
So , interesting, that I randomly came up with that theory of the water being what escapes,
not the glycol, that was original thought (rare) ......

My feeling is, we all use whatever we have to our best advantage. What rolls my eyes is when people think there's something wrong about someone else having something most others don't.

Agreed.
There's a lot to unpack with her statement, I bet she could
easily be corrected not that it would do her any good. :smi
1.'Display of Wealth', yeah just a quip really, not something
she came up with, she's just parroting it, and
doing what I call herd-signaling,
it's like virtue signally with a twist, also condescending,
and haughty in a semi-reverse sort of way.
2. She doesn't really mean it, she certainly has something
or things that are very nice, where a homeless or someone
that never had anything could use the same quip.
3. A Yacht is most often not a 'display of wealth', rather
a beautiful boat that a couple or individual saved and worked their asses
off for decades to own, and or sold all
their sht (home, rental property, vehicles, grand children haha, etc..)
in order to be able to afford it.
Surely, there are instances where a Yacht is such a display,
but it isn't fare to just use that term out of hand and so what
if that's what they bought it for, their sweat, their work,
their right to spend their money of piss it away as they please.

I hadn't thought about the coolant capacity, good to know, just an ounce or too
of distilled added, not a cup, but where do you add it, radiator is best ya think?

I guess if you're sure you have circulation to/from the rez, you could adjust the mix by adding to the rez. Only thing is, you wouldn't want to overfill the rez, that could lead to an overspill when the engine gets hot. ...of course, you could suck some out of the rez before adjusting the mix with an equal amount, that's what I did when I adjusted via the radiator cap. I still think adjusting the mix and testing through the radiator cap is best. That way, you know you're considering the coolant that actually is flowing in the system. Even if your bike does suck up coolant from the rez and shoot some back, how much? how often? I found it perplexing enough to adjust through the radiator cap. I believe I had the fairings off three times before I got the mix right. You don't want to make large adjustments because that leads to draining large quantities of coolant to displace what you intend to add.

If I had flowage between the rez and the cooling system like you do, I guess I'd try adding an ounce to the rez. To get a definite read on the mix test, I'd still use the radiator cap. If that shows the same result as testing from the rez, I guess you know you can do that. That won't work here with our cooler weather but maybe it works in hot climates.

So , interesting, that I randomly came up with that theory of the water being what escapes,
not the glycol, that was original thought (rare) ......

...but you're probably correct to a large degree. Obviously there's at least a small vent to the outside atmosphere since we have an overflow tube. Water evaporates readily, glycol is a more slippery and viscous liquid like oil. All the slippery viscous liquids I know of don't evaporate, basically. Actually, they do but way, way slower than other liquids. I used clove oil to slow the drying of oil paint. It slows the initial oxidation (drying) of oil paint markedly. I put one drop of clove oil on a sheet of glass and it remained for weeks, maybe months. Eventually, it seemed to totally disappear. So oil does evaporate, just very slowly with the large molecules it's made of. One reason to not jump to conclusions if your motor oil is low when you change it. The crankcase is vented too. The oil gets hot and some escapes as vapor. My old 14 always lost some oil and it wasn't a leak and it wasn't burning. The same thing is probably happening in your cooling system. I've never noticed a drop in coolant level but it's un usual to have the opportunity to run the engine in temps over 80° up here.

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of course, you could suck some out of the rez before adjusting the mix with an equal amount, that's what I did when I adjusted via the radiator cap

That sounds to me like the safest plan.

The same thing is probably happening in your cooling system. I've never noticed a drop in coolant level but it's un usual to have the opportunity to run the engine in temps over 80° up here.

80f is 'March' here. lol

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from before:

Surely, there are instances where a Yacht is such a display,
but it isn't fare to just use that term out of hand and so what
if that's what they bought it for, their sweat, their work,
their right to spend their money of piss it away as they please.

...or maybe the boat's owned by someone who was born into wealth... that's ok too. I'd buy a yatch if I were a multi-millionaire.

of course, you could suck some out of the rez before adjusting the mix with an equal amount, that's what I did when I adjusted via the radiator cap

That sounds to me like the safest plan.

I would pull the cap off and have a look at the coolant level the next time you have the side fairing off just to be certain. However, if you're sure coolant is going back and forth between the rez and the radiator, I would think the radiator must be filled to the top. The overflow tube is right at the filler neck so if there wasn't coolant up to that level, it probably wouldn't be overflowing to the rez when it gets hot.

* Last updated by: Rook on 7/28/2026 @ 1:34 PM *

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LOL I called in again today! It's ok, the new owner of my company WANTS us to use all PTO before the year's end. They won't bank it for us like the original owner did. ...kind of a dumb rule if you ask me (encourage people to not come to work) but if that's the way it is now, I'm not going to throw away my PTO.

BTW, my mother seems a lot better today. The hand is fine but she hurt her left leg in the fall. The leg seems better too. I wrap her lower legs every day and I don't see any bruising, probably just a muscle strain.

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.or maybe the boat's owned by someone who was born into wealth... that's ok too. I'd buy a yatch if I were a multi-millionaire.

Yep, me too and probably 99% of the population would as well.

I would pull the cap off and have a look at the coolant level the next time you have the side fairing off just to be certain.

Will do.

LOL I called in again today! It's ok, the new owner of my company WANTS us to use all PTO before the year's end. They won't bank it for us like the original owner did. ...kind of a dumb rule if you ask me (encourage people to not come to work) but if that's the way it is now, I'm not going to throw away my PTO.

Right, use or lose it, I'd use it for sure.

BTW, my mother seems a lot better today. The hand is fine but she hurt her left leg in the fall. The leg seems better too. I wrap her lower legs every day and I don't see any bruising, probably just a muscle strain.

Good, and good that she didn't break a hip or hit her head.

For years I've half jokingly said that when we get a certain age
we should start wearing an inflated innertube. :smi

For years I've half jokingly said that when we get a certain age
we should start wearing an inflated innertube. :smi

Good idea, just like the Michelin Man.

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Good idea, just like the Michelin Man.

Ha ha , probably where I got the idea :smi
Though I prefer Pirellis.

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