7 year old coolant, TE450

Granted it has only 1,400 miles / 60 hours, but the radiator coolant fluid had been the machine for the last 7 years.....

That's crazy, especially since my 2010's been thru at least 2 gallons of coolant.....

The coolant looked nearly fresh with just a small amount of tiny sand-like grit that I guess could be "casting sand"?

It appeared to be just like the similar tiny grit I observed in the first coolant change from a KTM 950 Adventure I used to own. A KTM dealer tech told me the grit was casting sand used in the cooling system manufacturing process. Don't have any reason to think it is not true, the grit was not there at the next change of coolant.

When you remove the lower cylinder drain bolt ....


And remove the radiator cap, it pees a stream


I use distilled water to flush several times, rocking the bike left and right, getting on the bike and bouncing hard, taking off the lower hose from the left radiator, turning the engine over a bit, waiting, drip drip..... The quantity each time is just barely over a quart. It is interesting before draining the system to observe the water flow into the right radiator from the cursed T - fitting.....


The flow jets into the top of the right radiator from that T - fitting, and the photo was taken at a 1750 rpm idle.

Did you happen to check the pH of the coolant solution? Even though it may look perfectly fine, when Glycols break down they become acidic. There are V1 buffers added to antifreeze mixes, but 7 years is a very long time for coolant in a powersports radiator.

What do you prefer, G-12 or a good conventional coolant like Paraflu, Castrol Freeze....?

I am an Evans distributor and I truly stand behind water-less coolants, regardless of who you get them from. What is G-12?

Actually, I hadn't thought of checking the pH. Have test strips for my swimming pool...... The sample of old radiator coolant measures 8.2 pH. The replacement coolant is a shade over 8.4

That's not bad.

G-12 is a organic coolant.
I prefer the Evans, but I have a lot of Paraflu, Volvo Penta coolant and organic G-12.

Posted in thread earlier about the sand-like grit I found in the flushed original coolant from my '07 TE 450. That same ? type of "sand" in my '05 KTM 950 ADV, leftover casting sand, caused failed water pump shaft seals in numerous KTM machines a few years back.
The grit would score and degrade the water pump shaft seal, coolant would enter engine crankcase and internal engine problems would begin.