Before I continue with update, another quick remark about the frame. Without a doubt, I'd love to strip the bike down to naked frame, paint it or powder coat. It would be an improvement - it's not perfect! But the engine is not going to be taken apart - this was confirmed today. It's basically not possible for me to remove the engine from the frame in one piece, and the bike is not going to my living room in boxes again!
After all done, the bike will be complete and looking good. Stripping it will be easy in the future - it can be done in a day. When the time comes, I will do that and have the whole frame done. Putting it all back together will be just another day.
Now, let's go to what happened. I flushed the whole cooling system with water. Drained, then rinsed the whole radiator and engine with pressurised water until nothing but crystal clear water was coming out. The overflow reservoir was filty - that was cleaned as well.
After quick cleaning. Looking good, but I will be using another one I have ready. I just want to show that a filthy dark reserve tank can be made into a nice looking.
What next - radiator comes off.
Temperature sensor - not stock, I am not sure yet what exactly it is. I think it came with the aftermarket temperature gauge. And more generously applied silicone!
Lots of rusty colors - they came from tops of the exhaust pipes rusting a bit, and the wind and water blowing this red dust all over.
The fan doesn't look bad, and it was working correctly. The rubber dumpers had metal inserts mounted incorrectly (from the wrong side), but that will be changed.
The radiator is off. The core looks perfect, and it wasn't leaking. Just needs more flushing to make the inside nice and shiny.
The water pump housing looks good and potentially has never been removed. The one clamp was replaced when removing the radiator to install the aftermarket 6-1 exhaust.
The top looks kind of like there might have been a leak - but not necessarily. I will probably remove the housing and seal everything again. It's a quick job - if all goes smooth and the bolts and the housing are not stuck! It will be a good chance to inspect the thermostat and the water pump seals. I haven't seen any oil in the coolant, and any coolant in the oil, so I suspect all is just fine inside.
The exhaust pipes will be cleaned and painted with high temperature paint. Definitely silver.