Coolant change.

It seems I may have only changed about 3/4 of the coolant in my bike. I should have recovered about 3 L , but only got 2 L. I was not able to empty the reservoir completely because the turkey baster I was using was too thick. So, given all that I only exchanged about 66 %. Which is still reassuring, I have improved the ratio from before. I changed the copper washer on the drain plug. For someone with limited skills and tools, I think I did pretty good. I made sure I rinsed all the coolant where I spilled it on the bike and off the driveway.
I did remove the lower tupperware. Noted a broken tab where it hooks on the front screen. Other than that the bike looks good for a 2005. Sprayed some WD40 underneath before I hooked everything back up. Took me about 1 hour start to finish.

...and how did you dispose of the old coolant? It's pretty toxic stuff to pour down a drain or throw in a sealed container into your garbage.

Next time, just flush the overflow with tap water. That way you'll get rid of all the old antifreeze, and when you add the new antifreeze, just strengthen the ratio slightly to adjust for the leftover water in the overflow.

bigbird wrote:

Next time, just flush the overflow with tap water. That way you'll get rid of all the old antifreeze, and when you add the new antifreeze, just strengthen the ratio slightly to adjust for the leftover water in the overflow.

Maybe this is a bit naive, but how do you strengthen the ratio if you are using Honda type 50/50 premix coolant?

Meldrew, I have saved the old coolant in containers for proper disposal. I flushed the spilled coolant from the right side with low pressure hose. I also hosed down the driveway to wash away and dilute whatever spilled on the ground. So, I feel pretty environmentally responsible: no fear.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Maybe this is a bit naive, but how do you strengthen the ratio if you are using Honda type 50/50 premix coolant?

Good question, Tim.
I use Prestone undiluted "Japanese" antifreeze, with no silicates. It's an OAT antifreeze. Helluva lot cheaper than the liquid gold (in this case blue) that Honda sells at its stealerships. That's what every manufacturer is recommending now, including Honda. I believe Chrysler was the last one to switch over. As long as it's a silicate free OAT formulation, it's good in Honda, BMW, etc. Not using Honda Type 2 premix isn't going to hurt anything, IMHO.
If the OP is using premix, then no, he'll just have to suffer the pains and arrows of outrageous misfortune by having a slightly weaker antifreeze solution using my suggestion.