The "Cold" Truth About Motorcycle Coolants

Absolutely not.
 

The only difference between automotive green antifreeze and motorcycle specific antifreeze is the inclusion of phosphate and silicates. Motorcycle coolants no longer contain phosphate or silicates traditionally used to inhibit rust.  These additives were said to promote water pump seal damage in motorcycles. However, I have never seen evidence of this.
 

You see, hard water that contains high amounts of calcium and magnesium can react with phosphates in the additive package to form sediment and scale. Regular tap water in the US isn't as hard as the tap water in Europe. This is why the European vehicle manufacturers use coolants that contain no phosphates. Tap water in North America does contain calcium, but isn’t as hard as European tap water, so phosphates are considered all right to use here.
 

You can purchase Prestone Extended Life antifreeze 5/150 which is orange in color; it is phosphate and silicate free. You can also use Texaco brand, and mix with distilled water. I have been using this for quite some time in my bikes. I LIKE TO GO 60% DISTILLED WATER 40% ANTIFREEZE. I still believe you can use regular green antifreeze, but I do recommend distilled water just to be safe. You could also go with distilled water and the extended life coolant and cover everything.
 

So let's see. If you purchased motorcycle coolant at $5.00 quart, a gallon would be $20.00, but remember it is half water so you would have to buy 2 gallons of motorcycle coolant which is $40.00 COMPARED TO A GALLON OF PRESTONE EXTENDED LIFE WHICH HAS NO WATER IN IT AT $6.00 A GALLON. You would, however, have to purchase a gallon of distilled water, which runs about $0.79.
 

Don't get me wrong on this, I am not cheap when it comes to my bikes, trust me, but there are products out there that are just a marketing ploy. Take all of these so-called Hi Performance Coolants.  These products do not make your bike run any cooler.  I have tested these products using a Ray-Tek temp gun.  Head temperature, cylinder temperature, and radiator temperature were all recorded using regular antifreeze with distilled water, then a high performance coolant, and then again with a popular brand coolant additive.  Same bike, same rider, same number of laps all on the same day.  In all three trials, the motor didn't run any cooler.  Technically, all these "hi performance" products offer is a higher boiling point, so you could essentially be running at extreme temperatures and not be aware of it.

You have nothing to gain by using motorcycle coolants or high performance coolants.

Keith LoCastro