just opened up my new 03 beta as it was knocking with the intention of cleaning up the piston / head as reccomended else where on the site to find NO water in the radiator or engine..

i've literally had this 2 weeks from a respected dealer, I suspect that the radiator is crushed ( is it suppossed to have a crushed core and appear bent on the offside?) looking at the frame closely it looks like it has fallen very heavily on the frame and that has been bent back, what do you think or am I PARANOID!

Edited March 30, 200620 yr by totalshell

also, anybody noticed that their radiator at the top is slightly off to the right when looking at it fom the front and has been dinked against the frame. Mine has at some point and is very close now, looks like yours has aswell totalshell, (little dink on the rim at the top rhs).

Is this normal, I can't really see why mine is off centre other than if something is bent or it's supposed to be like that.

sorry to borrow your thread! *I just thought it followed the trend a little.

Bob

Are you sure that the radiator is the cause of the coolant leak? Might be worth checking in case it's actually a split hose or something and save yourself a lot of chasing around trying to fix a non-problem. I had a big crash on my enduro bike a few years ago and almost tore the left side radiator off. However, there was no coolant leak and I managed to bash it back into place using a log and rock (I was in the middle of nowhere at the time) and it stayed like that (working perfectly) for several weeks before I scraped together the cash to replace it. Just a thought.

radiator seems water tight despite odd shaped core, ive had the head off the bike (that rear head bolt is a real a~~e to get at)

much as i expected the head and piston top were heavily carboned up, now all cleaned up and reassembled, hopefully that was the source of the koncking going to use 98 octane fuel from now on with Ipone (70 ml per 5 litres)

dont know where the coolant went engine and rad were bone dry i've checked all the hoses etc and will use rad weld when i fill her up in the morning

checked thermostat was working by standing in boiling water ( the thermostat not me) and putting a circuit tester on it though you can actually hear the switch 'click' after about 45 seconds in the boiling water

pS Lampkins quoting '' 90 quid '' for a new radiator

Edited March 31, 200620 yr by totalshell

Like R2W said though I would take it back too your dealer where you bought it see what they have too say on the matter. Did it have any coolant in it when you purchased it 2 weeks ago?

yes coolant in only on sat am when i checked before leaving home and i topped it up with about 100 ml max

did trial sat lunch time, bike ran for 2 hours then started 'knocking' so i stopped..

just seems very odd too just vanish! have you checked the g/box oil? was the rad clogged up at all?

Even though the thermostat's working have you checked if the fan is actually cutting in? If not the engine will boil up and cause the knocking you describe.

THANKS FOR THE LINK FERRET FLASHER

IRONICALY I CONTRIBUTED TO THIS MYSELF WITH A SOLUTION INVOLVING ARALDITE AS A SEALER

FAN WAS DEFINATELY WORKING AS I HAD IT WIRED ON PERMANENTLY, AND CHECKED IT DURING THE TRIAL

BLUE ANTIFREEZE WAS IN BIKE (CHANNELS IN HEAD POWDER COATED BLUE) AND WHEN I TOPPED IT UP I PUT IN A 50.50 MIX

TOOK OFF THE WATER PUMP AS AN EASY WAY TO DRAIN RAD AT ITS LOWEST POINT SO WHEN I DID NOT GET ANY COOLANT AT ALL IWAS SURPRISED!

DID NOT PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO INSIDE OF PUMP BUT I'LL WHIP IT OFF BEFORE I REFILL

DRAINED GEARBOX OIL NO WATER CONTAMINATION BUT IT WAS QUITE DARK FOR NEW OIL

WITH HEAD OFF BORE WAS FANTASTIC ABSOLUTELY NO DAMAGE

HEAD AND PISTON SURFACE WERE QUITE HEAVILY CARBONED ALTHOUGH THIS WAS SOFT AND CAME OFF VERY EASILY

NO PLAY APPARANT ON FLY WHEEL OR ON PISTON HEAD (THOUGH NOT SURE I 'D FEEL MUCH UNLESS THE BEARINGS HAD BADLY GONE WEST

WHERE HAS ALL MY COOLANT GONE

HAD READ BETA SSDT TIPS AND AS THE TRIAL INVOVED WET MOORLAND HAD TAPED UP THE SIDES AND BOTTOM EDGE OF THE FRONT MUD GUARD I WAS VERY SURPRISED WHEN I CHECKED THERE WAS NO THING AT ALL IN THE RAD GUARD OR RAD ITSELF WELL EFFECTIVE

Edited April 1, 200620 yr by totalshell

problem part solved

thanks to FERRET FLASHER!

took water pump off to check for corrosion..

inside quite badly corroded and hole right through on very underside of pump about 2mm diameter

taken small screwdriver to all corroded areas to remove loose and to get back to a decent surface and have applied first of a couple of coats of hammerite before applying the asprin of the automotive world 'Araldite..'

obviosly this is only a medium term solution if i replace the side cover what will i find underneath and is it fairly easy to replace..

happy to add a couple of photos showing the inside of the water pump.. and the repair after the first coat of hammerite i intend putting a couple of coats on like this over the damaged areas then an overall coat to protect the un damaged areas

with pump cover off

Edited April 2, 200620 yr by totalshell

excellent chemistry lesson ( and i have the very great pleasure to be married to a chemist, although she would be the last person i'd ask about chemistry!)

with the water pump been so easy to get off i'll be doing it once a month or so when i've completed the repiar. although i had a leak it was certainly not as bad as all the other examples i've seen and i've been 'lucky'

so like you whip the flywheel cover off to let condensation out BETA owners would be well advised to do the same with the water pump to keep the water in!

thanks for everyones support and advice..

Hi totalshell,

I want to do the same on my bike, but I would like to confirm exactly which Hammerite product you used?

From their website, I could guess it might be any (except the garage door stuff)... http://www.hammerite.com/products/index.html

?

excellent chemistry lesson ( and i have the very great pleasure to be married to a chemist, although she would be the last person i'd ask about chemistry!)

with the water pump been so easy to get off i'll be doing it once a month or so when i've completed the repiar. although i had a leak it was certainly not as bad as all the other examples i've seen and i've been 'lucky'

so like you whip the flywheel cover off to let condensation out BETA owners would be well advised to do the same with the water pump to keep the water in!

thanks for everyones support and advice..

7 years on and the beta is still in the garage. not used often though as p65/twinshock trials are more my current skill level. i just used a can of smooth hammerite paint that i had lying around the garage. the repair has held good ever since.

i note though that a significant number of post from that topic have been deleted / are no longer visible. there was at least one which contained significant detail on magnisium and another on how water movement rather than corrosion was the root cause of the damage

best wishes with your repairs..

Good to hear it's holding up!

I found some more useful info at http://www.trials.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4635

The internet is full of it!