I am getting very concerned about how close my radiator hose is the the front exhaust header. Checking other bikes I see about a 5mm clearance at the closest point, on mine after a ride it is within 1mm. Does anybody else have a similar hot clearance. The hose does have the possibility of being pushed further on the radiator boss but the clip is a fixed type and would need to be replaced with a jubilee clip.
Front header close to cooling hose
Patkin
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Mine is not aligned that way, but my bike has a 1/4" gap that doesn't change whether hot or cold, 10,000 miles and zero melting/burning issues, so I've never tried to adjust it.
Decided to see what the factory service manual says about it, and there is no mention of orienting the hose mark to the casting. It only states that the mark on the hose is for proper clamp positioning.
It's been interesting all the different answers that people seem to be getting from HD on this issue. Someone said they changed out the hose with one 1" shorter but there is only 1 part number from HD. My dealership told me that Headquarters told them there is no new hose and that they have been finding bikes with "improper routing and not being seated properly". I don't think I've seen anyone post they have been told that so it can be added to the mix. Guess will just have to see when they replace the hose. Mine definitely got worse with mileage, first 1500 it didn't seem to move or get to close, next 1500 noticed the distance decreasing at the end of the ride, last 400 very close to contact and burn.
I agree, there are different answers and/ or situations all over the board. IMHO, this is just a horse-shit design. I would be very interested to find out if there were any issues related to all the bikes they sent out to the desert for the demo rides. If you look at all the factory demo rides around the country at the time of the unveiling (Spring-ish of 2021), there had to be some issues found.
As for me, no matter what they do to fix it, I will still put some sort of extra protection on either the header or the hose, hell, maybe both.
Did I learn something? Yup. Learned what order to take things off to access the cooling system. At the end of the day, as I add aux lighting, and accessories, it has made me more familiar with it. I'm trying really hard to see this in a positive light. But, I'm struggling.
As for me, no matter what they do to fix it, I will still put some sort of extra protection on either the header or the hose, hell, maybe both.
Did I learn something? Yup. Learned what order to take things off to access the cooling system. At the end of the day, as I add aux lighting, and accessories, it has made me more familiar with it. I'm trying really hard to see this in a positive light. But, I'm struggling.
I'd love to hear a "what were they thinking" discussion with the engineers at HD. The problem with this design is so obvious it's almost funny. Plus the fix is so trivial that I don't understand why HD doesn't have a service bulletin out to correct this. It's probably 15 minutes work for them and $2 in parts. How many melted hoses and p'd off customers does it take to break even?
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Since they don't seem to want to release a spec on the distance between pipe and hose, a well known issue, my guess is it would mean changing the hose on half the bikes made and they don't want to take the hit--especially because they won't be able to source new hoses very quick. However, this seems to be a problem that gets worse over time and miles so there is no running away from it.
The only problem I see with shorting the hose is it rub’s the bottom of the radiator pretty good so that’s going to be a problem also it needs to be shorter and a little different bend .I put a zip tie on mine too pull it away for now
Hi Folks,
reached 11K kilometers in about 3 months and my radiator hose started melting... HD cannot ignore the problem and they should come back with an official solution for it.
I am worried because, this happened during the coldest months of the year here in Cyprus. Cannot imagine what it will be from June till October when temperatures goes up to 45 degrees Celsius.
Today I checked at the local HD dealer, as for previous posts, no new hose part numbers not even on 2022 models. Weird!
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reached 11K kilometers in about 3 months and my radiator hose started melting... HD cannot ignore the problem and they should come back with an official solution for it.
I am worried because, this happened during the coldest months of the year here in Cyprus. Cannot imagine what it will be from June till October when temperatures goes up to 45 degrees Celsius.
Today I checked at the local HD dealer, as for previous posts, no new hose part numbers not even on 2022 models. Weird!
Decided to inspect my coolant hose installation just to see if it was done correctly. I've had the same 1/4" gap at the header since new with no melting issue, but if an improvement could be made, why not.
The hose was not pushed on completely and the clamp was not installed per spec. Removed the factory clamp, slid the hose up, installed new clamp. Only leaked a few drops of coolant and widened the gap to 1/2".
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The hose was not pushed on completely and the clamp was not installed per spec. Removed the factory clamp, slid the hose up, installed new clamp. Only leaked a few drops of coolant and widened the gap to 1/2".
Thanks @Knobbin,Decided to inspect my coolant hose installation just to see if it was done correctly. I've had the same 1/4" gap at the header since new with no melting issue, but if an improvement could be made, why not.
The hose was not pushed on completely and the clamp was not installed per spec. Removed the factory clamp, slid the hose up, installed new clamp. Only leaked a few drops of coolant and widened the gap to 1/2".
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On Monday I'll tell HD about your findings and I'll see if they agree to proceed with the same solution.
Cheers
Hi @Knobbin,
today I did the second service on my PanAm. I told them about your solution and they agreed and did the same.
Now their only concern is about what is happening when the cooling system is under pressure. How many kilometers did you do after you clamped the hose in the new position? Did you notice if the hose, in the meantime, slided back and is now closer to the exhaust pipe?
Cheers,
Alberto
today I did the second service on my PanAm. I told them about your solution and they agreed and did the same.
Now their only concern is about what is happening when the cooling system is under pressure. How many kilometers did you do after you clamped the hose in the new position? Did you notice if the hose, in the meantime, slided back and is now closer to the exhaust pipe?
Cheers,
Alberto
The hose on my bike has remained in place.
If you have concerns, it might be a good idea to pull the lower fairing and monitor the hose as you warm the bike up during idle and intermittently during and after riding.
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80 Posts
Nice but I meant aluminium tubular section, so that the close proximity would not lead to burning of the rubber. I fear that a metal plate on the rubber will still transmit heat to the hose, albeit perhaps distributed over a wider area.You can always make one yourself.
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24 Posts
I shortened my radiator hose, and added a different hose clamp. The factory hose needs to be cut by about 1/4 in, or to the edge of the original hose clamp, and then fitted with an adjustable hose clamp that can hold the hose in place. I got about an inch more seperation between the exhaust pipe and radiator hose after doing this. I have a new hose coming under warrantee, and will give it this same treatment from day 1.
I did the same, so far so good! Let's see after the summer!
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