Anxious to see how this mod works out. This is the kind of mod I don't want to see on the bike. Or, don't want it to be noticeable should I say.

Just like being a teenager going out to the Friday night dance, and, big white head pimp decides to pop out in the middle of your forehead on Friday morning..

So, show us pics when completed crux.

 

If I'm right, the BMW coolant bottle is thin enough to fit behind the fairing. I'll have an answer sometime next week

 

Watching this with anticipation.

I like the idea of being able to see through the frame ala early Duke!

 

Agreed!

Ive wanted to do an "exterior" coolant res for a while for that purpose mostly... and maybe to add a little bling but i havent found a bottle cool enough yet :-P

Other guys interested in different setups, there are pages and pages of different bottles and ideas over at customfighters.com

But lastly i would like to see this one done...PICS!!!

 

But as for the bling factor... it has to benefit the bike in some way other then looks(performance, functionality...etc) for me to actually do it...

 

I recieved the BMW coolant bottle today. I cut open the bubble wrap, took it out, sprayed the bottle with a bunch of Simple Green to clean 'er up, rinsed it off, dryed it with a clean rag, then went about seeing if it works for us.

*Huff*...sorry guys, but it seems this one will not work as is. However, I have an idea to make it work. Give me untill tomorrow and I will post some pictures of the modifications I need to do to it. It just involves a heat gun (or someone could even use a hair dryer), so it's something everyone can do.

If for some reason this does not work, I have a template (I made a template in case anyone else wants one as well. They are easy to make.) already drawn out for a resevoir that fits next to the right side radiator. It's as tall & thick as the radiator, but only two inches wide. It will be made out of either plastic or metal, I haven't decided yet. If the latter, I will use two barbed 90 degree fittings with a clear tube between them to tell how much fluid is inside.

Sometimes the K.I.S.S. rule bites ya in the ***.

EDIT: Someone posted about Custom Fighters and all their ideas for a coolant res. I'm a member of that forum and 99% of what they use is energy drink bottles and aluminum water bottles, which won't work for the Superhawk. We just don't have the room.

 

While enjoying a snifter, I decided to check eBay to see what they had for universal coolant resevoir's. I found this, which is almost what I was describing in my last post, but this is round. For ~$40, it's not a bad deal really.

EDIT: Found something even better at a lower price! Heck, I'd rather buy this one and spend a couple bucks to make a sight glass.

 

It came time today to work on the BMW coolant bottle. I tried my fix and the damn thing still wouldn't fit correctly. I honestly thought a few minutes with the heat gun and everything would be gravy.

So, I started to look around for a coolant resevoir that would work and found this. There are several companies that make resevoirs similar to this in the same size (2" dia., 5" tall). They are all roughly the same price with shipping, which is ~$38-$45.

It got a little late tonight to putz around with motorcycle stuff, so tomorrow I plan on using a cardboard tube cut to the same dimensions as the Ruckus resevoir and see where the best place is that I can put it. If that doesn't work, I always have plan B, and use the template I described in post #36.

I was really hoping to find something that was easy on the wallet and looked like it belongs on the bike. We'll see...


EDIT: I decided to check around again for another coolant resevoir option and my interweb search'fu came up with this. Just another option.

 

Wow, you're finding some great options. The last one made me think about RC airplane fuel tanks. Wonder if that world has anything that would work...

James

 

why not use the frame tubing as a tank???

 

+Awesome. Definitely not an afternoon project, but that would be the trick for sure.

 

FOUND AN ANSWER!

I had the chance to mock up the 2" diameter by 5" long coolant resevoir. Guys, it fits perfectly behind the right radiator. Not in front of, like I first had thought. Not only does this size fit, but you have existing attachment points nearby for a custom bracket. Oh, AND it is hidden behind the fairing. For the rare times you need to get to it, you just remove one fairing bolt (or two, whatever you are comfortable with) and you have access.

For me personally, I have some leftover 2" dia. tube, so I'm just fabricating my own, instead of spending yet more money on my bike. I'll post pictures when finished.

EDIT: I've had a long day and my brian hurts. Can someone figure out if the coolant resevoir above will be big enough for our coolant system? That's the last hurdle.

 

Looking forward to that, I also want to relocate my thermo housing to get the complete through the frame look as I don't run a thermo anymore because of the electric water pump on my bike.

Still have the carb heater lines hooked up, but they shouldn't be a problem.


The cogs are whirring on this one!

 

Looking forward to some pics of through the bike. I imagine that overflow tank will be fine in size. I'd personally run it, although that doesn't mean it's a good size...

 

The HRC bottle is 250ml so these dont need to be big.

 

Oops, forgot to post pictures. I get sidetracked way to easily. I have the shiny ball syndrome haha.

With Jack Flash's blessing, I'm working on a "kit" that comes with everything needed to relocate the coolant resevoir, so the fuel screws are very easy to get to. It needs some more testing, because I wasn't sure if the 2" dia. x 5" long tube was big enough to hold the proper amount of coolant or not. Once it's ready, I'll make a new thread and post a bunch of pictures.

 

when you say kit, do you mean something to sell to us that have not much mechanical aptitude.....???

 

Yes sir.

It would come with everything you need.

The coolant resevoir that I relocated on my bike behind the right radiator is the system I would sell as a complete kit. I just got my bike back on the road (thanks again Jerry!), so I want to do some more testing, more rides with it before making them available. I would feel crappy if I sold them and they weren't holding the proper amount of coolant, or find that putting the resevoir behind the right radiator was interfering with something else on the bike. The unknowns is what I'm concerned about.

The coolant resevoir I made is metal. I picked up some 2" dia. plastic tube to use as well, just to make it a little lighter. So, there will be options. Sorry, no pictures yet, because I'm not sure if this is what the final product will look like.

Oh yeah, I made a lip on the top of the metal resevoir and you can use the cap off your stock coolant resevoir. I should be able to do this with the plastic resevoir as well.

Please be patient. It's already made, but just needs to run through the paces first.

 

Updates?!?! My bike is apart, carbs are off, and i wanna get rid of the coolant tank

James

 

I ended up trying an HRC coolant bottle, but i wasn't able to put it where i want it (HRC bottle now for sale). So, i purchased a 4oz Nalgene Rectangular Wide Mouth bottle and made a bracket out of aluminum.

I mounted the bracket to the open hole on the bottom of the airbox, using the original phillips screw.

James

 

Another pic

 

Since James updated his thread, I wanted to as well. There are no kits, since it is super simple to make your own. Figured this out in my relocated coolant bottle thread.

It's neat to see you came up with a very similar idea James. Great minds think alike!