Getting The Bug Jam Out Of The Radiator

Has anybody come up with a good way to clean all the bug bodies from the radiator? They have to be compromising airflow. I'm thinking I'll just blow 'em on through with a pressure washer, then wash off the front of the motor as best I can. Bad idea? Better ideas? Thanks in advance.

I put hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and spray the radiator (and the windshield and all other parts with bug goo on them) with that just before I wash the bike. It does a great job of "dissolving" them and a stream of water from the hose takes the residue right off.

Works for me anyway.

Ed

My rad guard stops the bugs and I can wipe the guard clean.

toecutter, wouldn't you be worried that the pressure washer would bend the fragile radiator fins? The hydrogen peroxide idea sounds like a good one; may have to do it several times if the buildup is major.

I just use plenty of water, not a pressure washer, but a good hard stream. Blast before I wash the bike, and keep hitting it while I work. Eventually it's spotless, the trick being to keep the rad wet and the bugs start falling apart. I use the wash bay at work, and we have a hose fed detergent bottle that also helps a lot. Concentrate in the bottle foams out and does one hell of a nice job overall. Made by Ecolab.

URGENT-URGENT-URGENT!

DO NOt- REPEAT- DO NOT USE PREASURE WASHER ON RADIATOR AT ANY TIME!!!

Get the idea? it will without any trouble flex and stuff up your fins as I have witnessed by a friend who used one on his radiator not pretty!

Use a radiator guard and a good cleaning agent as described earlier a good truckwash will do the job as well say CT18

Cheers

I put hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and spray the radiator (and the windshield and all other parts with bug goo on them) with that just before I wash the bike. It does a great job of "dissolving" them and a stream of water from the hose takes the residue right off.
Works for me anyway.

Ed

Click to expand...

Full strength?

Full strength?

Click to expand...

I would imagine. A plus is, if any of the bugs are still alive, they will be infection free.

I just use plenty of water, not a pressure washer, but a good hard stream.  Blast before I wash the bike, and keep hitting it while I work.  Eventually it's spotless, the trick being to keep the rad wet and the bugs start falling apart.  I use the wash bay at work, and we have a hose fed detergent bottle that also helps a lot.  Concentrate in the bottle foams out and does one hell of a nice job overall.  Made by Ecolab.

Click to expand...

Careful, those bugs may consider that abusive treatment.

Has anybody come up with a good way to clean all the bug bodies from the radiator? They have to be compromising airflow. I'm thinking I'll just blow 'em on through with a pressure washer, then wash off the front of the motor as best I can. Bad idea? Better ideas? Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

I just did this the other day (since the front end was off). I took an old, but clean horse hair paint brush and trimmed it down so that the bristles were on the stiff side. Still soft enough to not damage the fins but strong enough to purge radiator of the carcases.

Or, go over to Eve's make-up area a steal her hair brush. She won't know the difference if you run a comb through it before you put it back...

Full strength?

Click to expand...

Yep. Works great. And, as Radman said, the live ones go away infection free!

Ed

Full strength peroxide is a very strong oxidizing agent. While it may be fine, I'd be worried about that the overspray is doing to electrics, hoses, engine paint, etc. Too much test piloting in this approach in my book.

Most radiators in cars work just fine after tens or even hundreds of thousands of miles without any special cleaning. Over time and weather, the bugs come and go and reach a sort of steady state. So I don't see any cooling reason why one has to go in and clean them off periodically.

If it bothers you cosmetically, I'd just hose it off really good, hit it with some soap, let it soak, and hose it off again. That will get 95% of the debris out of there.

Pressure washer harming a radiator? Never heard of this, although I suppose if the pressure and water volume were high enough, it's possible. But I've pressure washed dirt bikes for tens of years and never damaged a radiator.

- Mark

They put radiators on dirtbikes ??? No way !!! Dont tell my Elsinore!

BB

Over the counter hydrogen peroxide is 3% active, so probably little danger of doing any harm. And you would wash it off with water afterwards anyway. Now the industrial grades that start at 30% hydrogen peroxide.........that's another story!

Pressure washer harming a radiator?

Click to expand...

We have a pretty powerful one at work. Several condensers have been squashed flat by overzealous drivers doing that extra special clean job on their vehicles. Still work, but have to be combed or replaced because airflow is nil.

I do this to all my bikes with radiators to keep bug guts out: Buy a roll of black fiberglass screen material for windows (Home Depot, Lowes). They can easily be cut with standard sissors. I then use tie wraps to keep the screen in place. On the FJR, I used extra long tie wraps doubled up & wrapped them around the radiator. The screen stays in place & they can be easily removed for cleaning if necessary. Plus they also act as a soft rock guard & in my 30 years of riding, I've never had a problem with clogged or dented cores.

I soak the radiator real good when I start washing the bike, and cover it good with some bike wash I spray from a spray bottle. I'll let it soak while I'm washing the rest of the bike.

I use a small parts cleaning brush (stiff plastic bristles) and run it top to bottom (with the fins, not against) to remove the big stuff. This gets the surface very clean. I then use a spray nozzle on the end of the garden hose and spray a solid stream of water through the rad fins, being careful to aim it straight through the rad.

After washing, let the bike sit on its sidestand and most of the water drains away.

At 12k miles, the rad is very clean and fins are still straight.

I just ride where there are no bugs.

Along the lines of TWN, I use a detail brush (similar in configuration to a toothbrush but only bigger) only dry, then vacuum the radiatior front with that horsehair dust brush all cannister vacuums used to come with. Takes all of 2 minutes...98% clean. I`m not sure you want to be spraying any chemical nor high pressure water into the radiator...seems to me you might be compomising the electric fan motor in the long run. :assasin:

I loooove my BikeJohnny radiator guard!

Toecutter, use the hydrogen peroxide, it dissolves the insect's exoskeleton, then rinse with plain water from your hose. Do not get clever and use any of the "big hoses" at work, just a normal garden type hose and a soft brush, as the bugs will be dissolved.

Next time, ride when there are no bugs. :haha: In Fresno and the foothills. :haha: Through the farm country in the San Joaquin Valley. :haha: And watch out for those bees, they can be killer, you know! :haha: