depending on the size,you can also just crimp it with pliers and but a dab of solder on it.as long as the area is clean the solder will stay on no issue.
exactly,you have no experience so why comment on "thoughts"?. go off what peoples real life experiences are.
Radweld is old technology (30odd years),I dont keep this product nor the dogs turd Barseal and Barsleaks because the tolerances in todays cars and bikes are alot smaller.Heater matrixs are sometimes smaller than bike rads.K-seal has repaired 100's of different things my customers have brought in, be it a radiator,matrix or a hole in the coreplug.It has ceramic microfibre and copper filings in it.I sell k-seal 10 to 1 than any other brand because it works.It is twice the price of the cheap crap.The Radwelds and Bars leaks or Bars pellets were reasonably good in their day but sink to the bottom of a rad in time where K-seal stays a fluid and doesn't clump like the others do.
Pardon my ignorance in these matters but once upon a time when the radiator on my Celica developed a leak, even the main dealer network couldn't find a compatible replacement anywhere in the UK. I took it to Serk Services in Exeter and they dismantled, repaired, reassembled and painted it all for a fraction of the any replacement cost would have been even if they could have found one. I take it then that these skills are no longer out there.
The skills are out there Ken but it depends where the leak is and how bad it is. I had one of my RR6 rads repaired, minor leak on fins, cost me £50, unfortunately it leaked after 6 months. Had two quotes on another RR6 rad which they said could only be sorted by a re-core, cheapest quote was £480 and the other £450, so I skipped that. Tried a chinese one, cheap but had to mess around getting it to fit and it started leaking after about 8 months. Good OE second hand ones are a bit like rocking horse poo, sent two back to breakers after they leaked when fitted. Finally got a non leaking second hand one on atm. After what has been said on here I will try K seal if I get a minor leak (wouldn't have done before the comments on here saying it was OK). Hate the thought of having to buy a new one because £650 is crazy money IMO for a rad.
I tried to nudge a friend, and fellow 954 rider, who lectures in enginering at a local college, into making a bespoke rad guard for both our bikes from sheet titanium as a CAD project, but he was too worried about the cut off of the available cooling surface of the rad. He was already a tad paranoid about the running fan effecting his battery life before so I was on a hiding to nothing with it but it would have been sweet. Gawd knows what a 954 rad costs to replace, when Mr B told me how much the owner's handbook would cost me, I shit a brick.
I made a rad cover out of stainless for my RRW rad. The hole to steel ratio is around 40%, no cooling problems whatsoever. Of course the higher performance 1000RRs will probably suffer more. R&G do one for 1000RRs for about 60quid.
I've not had anything to do with K-seal, so its of some interest to me. Do the manufacturers advertise it as a permanent solution or is it sold as a temporary repair. What does it say on the Tin? .................... I've just had a look, says its a permanent fix. Sounds great, you pays your money and takes your choice. I would still solder it, but I'm a traditionalist.
I figured that as the rad is curved, making a straight guard with no direct contact with the matrix surface would leave enough of an air gap anyway, more in the manner of the grill on a car, but he wouldn't waiver. Surprisingly, there aren't that many around for the 954. Arthur found one in the States he sent me a link for, but I think, that was the only one around.
I had to curve mine to clear the front mudguard. I fitted plastic saw guards either end and held it on with cable ties at the top and a bracket at the bottom. Still on five years later.
Thanks for all assistance everyone, I have spoken with a Honda dealer and I was almost sick when they told me a new rad plus labour would be 850 quid. I think I will look for a rad specialist in my area and take it there myself and get them to repair. Failing this being an option I will go for K-seal, the mixed reviews of using a sealant do make me nervous but if a few of you have used it and say it's fine, there has to be some faith in that!!
I personally wouldn't have an issue trying K seal, but another option you may want to consider? My rad got damaged on a ride out, used rad weld to get me home. After some advice from a member on here I gave this a shot. Halfords | Evo-stik Hard & Fast Metal Epoxy Putty Found the hole, picked the rad weld out that had sealed it until the coolant was again leaking. Rubbed the paint off, applied this. Drained the system down at a later date and replaced coolant. 2 years and over 10k on the rads still fne.
Rad repairers here in Sittingbourne use solder if that doesn't work they use Araldite, same type of glue as Dave V has just mentioned.
i wouldn't use any rad seal as a permanent fix. Emergency only but not long term, the coolant ends up with little bits floating around the system. once you put that crud in your system it will take a few flushes to get all the little bits out, even then you cant get it all out, sits around the engine, around the water pump. Ive used it in cars and sometimes it blocks the heater matrix, i know bikes don't have these but it could restrict the flow in certain places. I would remove the rad, take it to a specialist, get it done properly
It seems I have a number of options - my preference is going to be finding a specialist to fix - can anyone recommend a rad specialist in the West Sussex/Hamshire area?? If this isn't an option or is too pricey, I will probably try to solder it as I think this will have the least impact on the cooling system??! Thanks again all.
Yeah, why would you bother using the cheapest, simplest , most effective option , as advised by several people on here? Why not go the whole hog and buy a new radiator? FFS
I wouldn't bother soldering it, I tried my last week and it didn't work and I had a small hole where the fan touched the rad. Best bringing it to someone who know's what he's doing and can fix it. Otherwise just look for a second hand one. I was to keen about pouring stuff in mine either. Luckily whatever everyone recommended to me I couldn't get here in belgium so I didn't get any nasty sny remarks on my topic
