Whilst riding the bike over the summer I decided that the engine was not coping with the heat as the raditor fans would come on as soon as I slowed down coming into town or was in traffic. This did not seem right. I check the coolant level. It look a little low. I looked at the raditor itself and found it was largely clogged with years of road filth. I decided it needed sorting.
Removing the radiator was quite simple. Drain the cooling system, remove three hose clips, a bolt in each bottom corner and a long bolt through a cushioned bracket top centre of the radiator. The radiator has two fans so the electrical plugs for these needed unplugging. Since I was going to wash the radiator I needed to remove the fans, three bolts on each fan. Five came off fairly readily. The other one snapped the bracket. Once off copious amounts of oil and wiggling freed up the nut and bolt and remainder of the bracket was free. I decided if I soaked the radiator I would be able to loosen the dirt and would come out with a jet wash. The result in short, after several evoltions of washing and poking the dirt, was that the dirt did not budge and fins were getting bent over. time wasted and probably in a worse place than when I started. Also the paint had come off the ends of the radiator and the Aluminium was powdery where it had begun to corrode. The fan bracket broke because it was corroded. Time for a think.
I researched the cost of a new radiator.....700 of your English pounds plus postage please. That was almost half the cost of the bike. A plan "B" was needed. As luck would have it I had attanded a classic bike show during the summer and picked up a card for a chap in the West Midlands that refurbished radiators. I gave him a call. Short conversation about estimated costs and when I could have it back (when I called him he was on holiday in Portugal) I posted the radiator off to Wednesbury. The clock started ticking.
Whilst the radiator was away I started another job.
