Checking coolant level

This is absolutely ridiculous to think you have to go to these lengths to check coolant on the beast!

I wouldnt have thought it that bad,its just a matter of having the light in the right place.Taking the bearclaw off to have a proper look becomes 2nd nature after a few goes
I think a sight glass would be asking for trouble,the coolant bottle gets pretty hot when the fans on and things are likely to loosen up.
 
If I were to do that that then I think that I would get some clear tube, put suitable sized holes in the top and bottom of the front side of the overflow tank, insert each end of the hose in the holes and use silicon sealant to attach and seal them. The tube would be placed so that it is visible at the front end of the bearclaw. As long as the insert points are strong then you would have an easy to see level indicator. The overflow tank is not subject to great internal pressure, but there is some heat that needs to be considered.

I hadn't thought of that, water seeks it's own level kinda thing. I think I can get some heat resistant hard plastic tubing bent into a "C" shape, then use JB weld to affix.
 
I wouldnt have thought it that bad,its just a matter of having the light in the right place.Taking the bearclaw off to have a proper look becomes 2nd nature after a few goes
I think a sight glass would be asking for trouble,the coolant bottle gets pretty hot when the fans on and things are likely to loosen up.
Sorry, guys, I gotta plead stupid. Why would you have to remove the bear claw?? I had a First 200 Standard and now have a 2010 Roadster. One of the things I liked about the Standard, and holds true for the Roadster, was the ease of checking coolant level when on the road. Just a quick glance. Maybe Triumph installed different tanks between these 2 models? Weird, I tell ya.
 
Sorry, guys, I gotta plead stupid. Why would you have to remove the bear claw?? I had a First 200 Standard and now have a 2010 Roadster. One of the things I liked about the Standard, and holds true for the Roadster, was the ease of checking coolant level when on the road. Just a quick glance. Maybe Triumph installed different tanks between these 2 models? Weird, I tell ya.

Went to the dealer today and looked at the Roadster on the floor.......med gray tank, just like my 05. Here's the kicker, had the 3 Triumph techs all of whom I consider good to very good ( 6-10 years experience each) check the coolant level on the Roadster on the show room floor. I have 3 techs and get 3 different answers. My premise for starting this thread is that this shouldn't be rocket science (no pun intended) . I shouldn't have to park the ride with the right light shining on the tank, I shouldn't have to jiggle the bike to catch a glimpse of motion just to check the coolant level. When this all started, I wonder , if I hadn't checked the coolant level after the tech told me it was full when it was actually almost bare bones dry, this could have been a serious problem on my 1200 mile ride the next day! Anyway, enough already. Thanks for your input.
 
Sorry, guys, I gotta plead stupid. Why would you have to remove the bear claw??.

I only did it once or twice, but when ever the BC comes off for other reasons I check the coolant . I think there must be some inconsistencies in the coolant tank colour or thickness because mine was difficult to read even with my best reading glasses on.Tried it inside the garage and outside in the sun.
However ,since putting the Toyota red coolant in ,it is easier to see.
 
I only did it once or twice, but when ever the BC comes off for other reasons I check the coolant . I think there must be some inconsistencies in the coolant tank colour or thickness because mine was difficult to read even with my best reading glasses on.Tried it inside the garage and outside in the sun.
However ,since putting the Toyota red coolant in ,it is easier to see.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I don't think all Rocket coolant tanks are created equal. I've looked at other R3 tanks of same as well as different years and found that there is quite a bit of difference in opacity between them which would explain why not all R3 captains have experienced the issue at hand.
 
Why not jut cut in a tee on the rad to tank line and run a piece of clear tubing up to the overflow and tee it in again. Sight glass accomplished with no concern about drilling holes and getting them to seal properly.
 
Why not jut cut in a tee on the rad to tank line and run a piece of clear tubing up to the overflow and tee it in again. Sight glass accomplished with no concern about drilling holes and getting them to seal properly.

I'm not sure, interesting though. You've still created 2 additional points of weakness , meaning "t'ing" off 2 different specialty hoses. The smaller one shouldn't a prob, the larger may be an issue, not sure I'm going to have to think this one out. I'm hoping to get my R3 out of the shop some time this week, it's in for bad relay and ignition switch.
 
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