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R1200RT Radiator - Cleaning off the bugs

stooie

stooie

Member
The good news is riding the back country roads of western Oregon provides wonderful roads and beautiful vistas in a pristine environment.

The bad news is that the pristine environment has grundles and grundles of bugs in the summertime. The front of the radiators are awfully buggy. So far no impact on coolant temperature but sooner or later one can see it being an issue.

My first idea is to spray on some Simple Green or S100 and then come in from the back of the radiator and spray with a garden hose (NOT a pressure washer). Three questions:

1. Is this safe? I don't want the 40 - 60 psi water pressure to bend or otherwise damage the radiator fins.

2. Is this effective? Anybody have any experience with this method?

3. Does anybody have alternative methods to suggest?

I welcome any and all thoughts and suggestions.

Ride long and prosper!
 
My oil cooler fins get sprayed with water liberally, then a right angled toothbrush used in the same direction of the fins [ vertically ] brushing gently. Rinse and repeat if necessary but usually no more than two sprayings and brushings is necessary.
 
Let me repeat a caution mentioned above. Do NOT spray a radiator with a high pressure or car wash sprayer. We were on a trip and my F650 was running hot. I decided to clean the radiator - at a car wash. I managed to pierce the radiator with a blast of water. I managed to salvage the trip to get home by getting a blob of "gas tank repair" at an auto parts store. I kneaded a bunch of this epoxy into a ball and pressed it against and into the radiator at the point of the leak. This worked just fine to get the thousand or so miles home. Wherein I was privileged to buy and install a new radiator.
 
So you are not in your "right mind"?

You are not the only person that understands how to use a pressure washer. Also, there have been times in my life where I had little choice as I had no other place available to wash my motorcycles. Also I often ride when it is below freezing and will run by the local self serve car wash on the way home. Tough to wash a motorcycle at home in freezing temps!
 
This guy...https://www.acehardware.com/departm...ring-and-irrigation/nozzles-and-wands/7230550

...is great for safely cleaning the radiator because you can dial in a super fine stream (1mm!) and direct it literally between fins, and it works quite well provided you loosen debris up first w/ hydrogen peroxide as some suggest. Or I use this product which I use for all sorts of mild cleaning tasks including the windscreen, my helmet visor, household cleaning where a mild cleaner is indicated: https://www.bugsnall.com
 
LFarling said:
Who in their right mind uses a pressure washer on their motorcycle?
Click to expand...

Many people do, at a car wash anyway. Did you fail to read or fail to understand that I was on a trip far from home with a bug filled radiator causing the motorcycle to run too hot?

So in these circumstances, what would a person in their right mind do? Just curious?
 
Last edited:
Captkerosene

I have used this on all my oilheads and both my wetheads. Go to the auto parts store and purchase a cheap radiator bug screen. Cut it into the same size and shape as your radiator or maybe just slightly larger. Just push it into the shroud and it will stay there due to air pressure. When bugs hit it it evens out the force of the impact so it does not bend the fins and is easy to clean off. It may restrict airflow a little bit but not near as much as bent fin's. I ride a lot in the KS and NEB where bugs are big enough to have to file flight plans and have not had any problems with bent fins or cooling.
 
Captkerosene said:
I have used this on all my oilheads and both my wetheads. Go to the auto parts store and purchase a cheap radiator bug screen. Cut it into the same size and shape as your radiator or maybe just slightly larger. Just push it into the shroud and it will stay there due to air pressure. When bugs hit it it evens out the force of the impact so it does not bend the fins and is easy to clean off. It may restrict airflow a little bit but not near as much as bent fin's. I ride a lot in the KS and NEB where bugs are big enough to have to file flight plans and have not had any problems with bent fins or cooling.
Click to expand...

And as a bonus that bug screen just might shave off a bit of impact force should a piece of gravel be thrown up into a radiator potentially causing a puncture. I created radiator guards for my '16 RT but took them off in large part because they trapped bug guts and those got trapped between the stainless steel mesh screens I used and radiator face making them hard to clean off. I wonder if the perfect compromise might indeed be a fine stainless mesh to help, again, slow down gravel projectiles etc.
 
Don't use Simple Green on aluminum as it can corrode the aluminum...
Hydrogen Peroxide with a bit of patience will get rid of 99% off the bugs. Radiator guards are your best defense against bugs or worse..YMMV
 
Hate to burst your bubble, but hydrogen peroxide is corrosive to aluminum too! Simple Green might be safer!
 
Water and judicious use of a soft bristle tooth brush swept vertically along the fins. Soak the fins, let it sit for a minute, soak them again, then the brush. It's really only a few minutes to get the bugs and their remnants out of the fins
 
PoorUB said:
Hate to burst your bubble, but hydrogen peroxide is corrosive to aluminum too! Simple Green might be safer!
Click to expand...

As long as you rinse thoroughly with water it will be fine. I have seen simple green ruin the wheels on a GS, whereas peroxide has not..... YMMV
 
I have found most “stuck” on contaminates get a lot easier to remove once they have been wet/soaked. Very soapy dish detergent will hold the moisture to soften things up......Let it soak then wash/rinse off.
OM
 
You can get foaming air conditioner condenser cleaner from most auto parts stores. It is self rinsing and is safe for all air con condensers and evaperaters, so it should be safe for our bike radiators. It is about five or six dollars a can and should last a long time.
 
LFarling said:
Who in their right mind uses a pressure washer on their motorcycle?

It is one of the first things people tell you NOT to do. Not necessarily for the radiator fins but for wheel bearings and electronics and such.

It is a good warning for sure but I would hope people on this forum would know not to use high power pressure washer on their bike.

I have used a car wash on the road but after about 25 years on bikes I know what to NOT hit with it. And since car washes use filtered gray water, I just as soon stay home and use my hose and a good wash mit when not out on the road.
Click to expand...

Some say you must not be your right mind if you ride a motorcycle.
 
Simple Green for Aluminum

PoorUB said:
Hate to burst your bubble, but hydrogen peroxide is corrosive to aluminum too! Simple Green might be safer!
Click to expand...

"Simple Green" is actually more than one product, as another forum member shared with us a few years ago. The stuff you can normally buy at Home Depot, Wallmart, etc., can harm aluminum. But there is another version of Simple Green that is OK to use with aluminum. Here's a link:

https://simplegreen.com/industrial/products/extreme-aircraft-precision-cleaner/
 
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