I know this has been discussed many times, but I'm new to cycles and easily confused, so I'm going to ask anyway.
What brand of coolant do you guys use in your bikes? It can be name brand or store brand. I'm looking to stick with more or less what the original coolant type is, so I'm not looking to switch over to the "ice" stuff, or whatever that's called.
I think I'm just having a hard time understanding which brands can and can't be used in an aluminum engine. So specific brand names would be awesome!
I'm not sure if it matters or not, but I'm running an '07 klx.

 

Probably nearly anything of modern off-the-shelf variety will work just fine in the KLX, but Kawasaki recommends a glycol based coolant if I remember correctly. You've asked a question that can cause more ire than an oil thread, so get ready.

Glycol based coolant is basically the old school stuff like the Prestone yellow stuff that was about the only thing worth talking about in the "old days". I still use the glycol based stuff, but I'm not afraid to use just about any brand, even the good WalMart stuff. Coolant got stupid expensive, and WalMart doesn't make its coolant...probably contracted it through Prestone.

I won't use that approved "green" stuff that won't kill pets if they drink it. I want my coolant to have all the glycol and good additives to work the very best, not to try and save Fido if he's dumb enough to drink it.

On the "ice" product you mention, really all that means is that it contains an element called a "water wetter". It's a chemical that enables the coolant molecules to more tightly adhere to the metal surfaces in the hot engine which enables more heat to be drawn from the engine by the coolant. It really does work if it's the right compound. I add it to my coolant mix in the form of Royal Purple Purple Ice. However, the chemical loses its power to improve the cooling ability of your standard coolant more quickly than the regular coolant mix does. Nothing bad happens, as the coolant mix will continue to work like it normally should.

I would also recommend the mix of coolant/water at just over 50% water and less than 50% coolant or a no more than a 60/40 mix. I also use distilled water...not drinking water...just to minimize minerals a bit more.

 

I'm running straight distilled water right now. to lazy to bother with buying/mixing anti-freeze after i did the big bore install. Didn't see any difference in cooling capability vs the antifreeze mix in before even with the larger increase in engine size.

Need to get some anti freeze in it soon though to prevent any possible corrosion, though with modern aluminum radiators/engines many say this is a moot point. No personal experiance with this however, anti freeze is cheap insurance.

Honestly i think these things are way over-thought alot of times. Any anti-freeze is probably going to work fine as long as it is mixed correctly.

 

Also you might be surprised at who makes the "walmart" stuff as TNC said. I've worked for the company in various functions for the better part of the last decade and when i was in the merchandise field i had the chance to glance over the list of suppliers who made many of the "supertech" automotive products.

Just to name a few that i remember - Champion made the oil and air filters, Mobil and Valvoline made most of the engine oils, STP made the gas cleaner, Gunk made the carb cleaner.... list went on.

I personally used the supertech car filters in my Ninja exclusively for the last 6 years until they were replaced with the purloater (spelling?) filters recently. I will most likely use those going forward as soon as i find a cross reference as they appear to be the same as the supertech they replaced.

 

https://www.kawasakiforums.com/forum...e-36922/page2/

 

Make sure it is silicate-free. All those above may be, but I've read where silicates can damage the close-tolerance seal in the water pump.

 

Thanks for the info, guys!
I bought some autozone brand coolant the other day that says it's compatible with aluminum engines, but it also says that it's "low silicate". It's listed for use with a few GM vehicles. I think I went for it because of the aluminum thing and because it's green.
From what I gather, most all of the coolants now a days should be safe, so I guess I'll just stick with the one that I bought.
Thanks again, for the quick education!!

 

the klx250 has an overbuilt cooling system, which is a good thing. No need for the higher end coolants out there, even in a desert climate with this motor.