NT700V Engine Coolant Maintenance: Part 01 - Intro

[@Soundtechguy]

Hello capozzr, Always glad to see others contributing to the library of “how to” videos regarding the NT. If you do things the “right way” there is always a plethora tabs, screws, pins and clips hiding in places the manual conveniently forgets to mention. Videos like yours certainly gives folks an idea what their in for “before” they attempt a procedure and hopefully reduces frustration and lots of broken plastic. LOL I have posted a few myself and from one NT owner to another, I enjoyed watching yours. Nice garage BTW!

[@01Daboo]

Thank you for the videos. Taking off the tupperware is the scariest thing about working on these bikes. Till you've done it once, you don't really understand what holds them on, and I at least, am always afraid I'll break something. The manual just shows a couple screws and says to remove it. A lot of help it is. :D There's one thing you might add. When removing the dash surround, there are two screws on each side that the cowl pockets attach to. If you just keep pulling with those four screws still in (two on each side), you'll break things...assuming you can pull hard enough. Again, thank you for making these videos!

[@capozzir]

Thank you for the nice comment. And Yes those 4 screws (2 on each side) do need to come out. They had been removed as part of getting ready to remove the upper cowling and are covered in the other vids I have. I don't think you can remove the dash surround without removing those side pockets. As you say, trying to do so might cause something to break. The side pockets actually sit on top of the dash surround. I'm pretty sure the service manual indicates that those side pocket fairings must come off before the dash surround. Although not especially useful in describing how to remove the body work, the manual is useful in identifying the order that the panels should be removed (for the most part). ;-) Thanks again!

[@weberaudio]

According to my factory manual, there is another drain bolt in the engine block as well. I’m guessing that there may be an area where old coolant might get trapped? Dunno... but a deeper dig and probably not worth going after. I think as long as you get the vast majority out, your probably in good shape. I bumped into another fellow rider once who said he just pulled the most lowest radiator hose off to dump the fluid. If this was an easier project, I would just do it more often, but yikes! I certainly appreciate your efforts in this video and find it extremely helpful. I will seriously contemplating trimming that plastic flap off with a Dremel tool tho.

[@capozzir]

The additional bolt referenced in the manual for coolant draining is an error. I made the mistake of following the manual initially on this one. That extra bolt has nothing to do with the cooling system. Only one drain bolt exists for the coolant and it is the one at the lowest point of the thermostat housing. I too am not sure why Honda designed the fairing like this. It certainly does add a bit of work to service the coolant.

[@capozzir]

Yes you can alter the body to provide access to the radiator cap. However, I use a tool to pull coolant into the system and avoid air pockets. Altering the fairing does not provide enough room for the tool. So removing the fairing is not unnecessary for me. There are always short cuts to be taken. I am showing how to do it per the service manual. Removing the body work is often intimidating for many and this provides an opportunity to show that other than a little time, removing the fairing is quite doable. Removing the fairing is useful for many other maintenance activities. I hope others find it helpful.

[@davekintz7170]

+capozzir Yes, I agree that you followed the Honda service manual procedure. Your video showing the way of removing the plastic is helpful to many NT owners. However your tool that you used to purge air from the system is not required (as you pointed out). Simply starting the engine and warming it up to the point that the thermostat opens and blimping the throttle to purge air from the system (as per the manual) done's the job. My contention is that Honda did not need to add this unnecessary flap and that simply trimming it does no structural harm (in my opinion). Thanks!

[@davekintz7170]

Thank you for your time and effort in putting this video together. However I agree with Anthony, why would you do all of this unnecessary work? I have a 2010 NT700 and when I removed the fairing pocket you can see the radiator cap under a thin 1/8 inch plastic cover. I felt under the cover to make sure no wiring would be in the way and in less than 5 minutes I trimmed the cover back enough to access the radiator cap and remove it! Doing this saved hours of work and in my opinion does no structural harm to the fairing. If you wish, you can trim the cover from the back side and leave a 3/4 inch portion attached. Then when you replace the coolant, you can simply duct tape the cover back in place (if you feel that removing it will cause a self destruct mode!)

[@dfraserml11]

There is no need to go through whole procedure, if you remove the right side fairing pocket and you will be able to see the plastic cover above the cap, just cut away that little section and you have excellent access to the coolant cap without the need to totally strip down the front end

[@anthonyhodson]

My friend came around with his NT700 to do this, it was an easy enough job once I got the Hot Knife out to cut that tab above the Radiator Plug away. Cheeky Honda putting that labour causing tab in there. If you can think of a purpose for it I'd be interested in why it's there.

[@russellgrasby3489]

The only practical reason that I can think of is that if someone takes the cap off & then they do not place it back on securely then it won't pop off & be lost on the road ... This scenario is highly unlikely & it is ridiculous to make a simple drain/refill coolant such a time consuming procedure .. I'm doing mine the "hard/proper" way now but I will trim the plastic for future coolant changes ... Thanks for the tip +++

[@otheus]

in < 2009 years, the dash cowl has 2 additional screws holding it down; these are accessed under the removable panels which flank the windshield.

[@russellgrasby3489]

Yes ; I was pulling hard on the instrument surround of my 2007 after removing the screws that are mentioned in the video .. It was obviously anchored in two locations . I removed the windscreen & the small removeable panels . This revealed a screw on either side which I removed ; then the dash cowl came of quite easily +++ Many thanks to the maker of this video for getting me to the point where I could figure it out from there +++

[@capozzir]

We all have our way of doing things. I prefer not cutting up my bike but you can of course do just that if so desire. You may want to post a video on how you cut up your bike to speed up you coolant service. That may be helpful to others looking to do the same.

[@russellgrasby3489]

There are another two screws to remove on 2007 model .. Remove windscreen ; remove small panels ;; remove screw on each side ... If you pull the surround as shown in the video it will shatter to bits .. Then you will see the offending anchoring screws attached to your broken bits +++

[@berta1111]

Super. díky

[@01Daboo]

I was able to remove the dash surround by removing those two screws and not pulling the cowl pockets...although I did eventually pull those two.

[@MrDeauville700]

For those with older UK NT700 2006 onwards there are also two screws under the screen mounting strut pockets you need to remove. I was very confused why my 2008 dash was not coming off after just two screws being removed. With the whole side panel off it does give you the chance to clean up the engine a bit and adjust the clutch cable at actuating arm level. May still do the trim flap trick to make it easier to check fluid level if a leak is suspected which can occur if hose clips loosen.

[@weberaudio]

Man.... I’m all about doing things the proper way via manufacturer’s procedure, but this is ridiculous. I think what annoys me the most is that it didn’t have to be this complicated. Honda could have easily prevented all of this especially for a routine maintenance procedure. Ugh 🤦‍♂️

[@pete2109]

Great information mate thank you for taking the time! But what a load of faffing about just to get to the coolent!!🤬🤬🤬🤬 I was going to get one of these bikes now I’m gonna consider my options! 🤬🤔🤔🤔

[@brucecycles464]

I did not go into removing that much for my coolant.