Quality Coolants For Cool Bikes
Many engine antifreeze/coolants are suitable for motorcycle use, including racetrack-approved (“non-slippery”) coolant, temperature-lowering coolant, prediluted coolant that requires no mixing, and traditional coolants mixed 50/50 with distilled water.
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As history tells it—possibly mixed with a bit of urban legend—California’s tolerance for lane-splitting motorcycles stems from the tendency of the old air-cooled bike engines to overheat in traffic on hot days. Whether that’s fact or fiction is of little concern to today’s crop of liquid-cooled bikes though. Because ever since the days of the Suzuki Water Buffalo and Honda Gold Wing (i.e., the 1970s), upscale bikes often incorporated liquid-cooling, a feature that continues to chip away at model lineups across the market, from dirt to street and everything in between. But just because they’re impervious to idling around in the heat doesn’t mean liquid-cooled bikes can be ignored. They still need regular servicing, including oil and filter changes, tires and brakes, drive chains or belts, and—less frequently but still necessarily—engine coolant. When the time comes, pick a quality coolant and treat your bike right.
For Cool Beemers
Formulated specifically for liquid-cooled BMW products, BMW Antifreeze/Coolant offers year-round protection in virtually any weather you’ll be able to handle. It also guards against corrosion, boil-overs, and heat damage.
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Most modern BMWs are liquid-cooled, and so in keeping with that protocol, BMW offers its own unique branded Antifreeze/Coolant cocktail. Available in 1-gallon jugs, this BMW product offers a stated year-round protection against “corrosion, boil-overs, and heat damage.” Probably no one runs plain water in their radiators anymore, but if that’s you, switching to a coolant like this will prohibit what may ultimately turn into expensive or corrosion issues inside the cooling system’s galleys, fittings, and radiator. Being a Genuine BMW Product additionally offers buyers the knowledge that it’s specified, blended, and tested for BMWs.
Cool-Running Coolant
Engineered to optimize engine operating temperatures, Engine Ice High Performance Coolant inhibits power losses associated with excessive heat. Prediluted and ready for use, it’s also allowed by popular race series.
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Engine Ice High Performance Coolant is so-named for a reason: It’s said to reduce average engine operating temperatures 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It also reportedly keeps “boil over” temperatures to 256 degrees Fahrenheit or less, and provides “freeze-up” protection all the way down to -26 degrees Fahrenheit. Sold in 0.5-gallon jugs, Engine Ice High Performance Coolant is also easy on the environment, thanks to its biodegradable, nontoxic, and phosphate-free formulation. Engine Ice is useful for racers, as certain series prohibit traditional coolant, which can make the track slippery if it overflows there. Engine Ice is safe for most all metals.
150,000-Mile Coolant
Carrying a 10-year/150,000-mile warranty, this Mopar coolant is 50/50 prediluted and ready to use, right out of the 1-gallon jug. It also contains a bittering agent to keep wildlife away if it spills or overflows.
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If you just took delivery of a new liquid-cooled bike, you’d rightfully expect years and miles of good times together. But check this out: If that motor was filled with Mopar 10 Year/150,000 Mile Coolant, you’d be quite a ways down the road before needing to change the coolant. In fact, that’s 150 “iron butt” days, 15 times around the USA, or six times around the world. So basically, this product lets you put engine coolant in the back of your mind—and leave it there. The coolant is prediluted 50/50, so the 1-gallon jug is ready to use.
Coolant For Older Vehicles
Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant is a unique product. Designed for certain older American vehicles, it protects down to -34 degrees Fahrenheit, resists rust and corrosion, and includes a bittering agent to repel animals.
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From well-known Zerex comes Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant. Available in 1-gallon jugs, Original Green is specially formulated for certain American vehicles dating back to model 2002 and earlier. As is typical for engine coolants, it protects well below freezing—in this case, down to -34 degrees Fahrenheit. It also provides extended protection against engine rust and corrosion, thanks to a “patented organic acid corrosion inhibitor package.” To keep wildlife—and household pets too—safe, Zerex Original Green Antifreeze/Coolant contains 30- to 50-ppm (parts per million) of denatonium benzoate that acts as a bittering agent.
