Radiator repair recommendation

[dern]

Can anyone recommend a company to repair a radiator for me. I've emailed Mercia but wondered if there was anyone else that I could contact.

I'm based in Newbury, Berks but happy to post the radiator for a repair.

The bike is a 2014 ktm 1190 adventure and the leak is bang centre of the rear. Can't see any damage from the front and the leak is slow.

Thanks

Mark

[Rubin215]

Have you tried any of the proprietary leak sealers?

I've used Bars and K-Seal before with pretty good results.

[dern]

I haven't as I have another bike I can use so there's no rush and would prefer to do a permanent repair. Thanks

[mad4amanda]

wouldn't use sealants in a bike just get it out and get it repaired Aaron rads in Croydon used to be good?

[dibblecorse]

Www.berkshireradiators.co.uk in Caversham round the corner from me, my neighbour used them on a BMW bike rad, worth a look as just down the M4

[Rubin215]

mad4amanda said:

wouldn't use sealants in a bike just get it out and get it repaired Aaron rads in Croydon used to be good?

Why not?

Also, why not give a £15 sealant a try instead of the hassle of draining down the engine, dropping out the rad and paying big bucks for a repair?

[dern]

dibblecorse said:

Www.berkshireradiators.co.uk in Caversham round the corner from me, my neighbour used them on a BMW bike rad, worth a look as just down the M4

Nice one, thanks. I'll get in touch with them.

[dern]

Rubin215 said:

Why not?

Also, why not give a £15 sealant a try instead of the hassle of draining down the engine, dropping out the rad and paying big bucks for a repair?

If I need the bike I might have given one a go (I do have some barrs in the garage for emergencies) but as I don't I won't use them. There is a very small chance of blocking a waterway or fouling the thermostat but it's very tiny. However, the main risk to me is that if the problem is caused by corrosion then it's only a matter of time before it fails again and that might not happen on my drive.

[dern]

mad4amanda said:

wouldn't use sealants in a bike just get it out and get it repaired Aaron rads in Croydon used to be good?

I'll drop them a line, thanks.

[Birky_41]

These glued mine when I put 2 holes in and it worked fine

Colchester based do postage etc 01206 799559

[Dog Star]

Anyone got a price on these? I need a new radiator on a 1999 R1 (4XV) and local places are quoting 300 to do a recore.

I really can't afford that kind of money, not when I can get some Chinese copy for £80 or less.

[dern]

Dog Star said:

Anyone got a price on these? I need a new radiator on a 1999 R1 (4XV) and local places are quoting 300 to do a recore.

I really can't afford that kind of money, not when I can get some Chinese copy for £80 or less.

I'll let you know what quotes I get later today hopefully.

I recently replaced a radiator in a blackbird that with a chinese copy from ebay and in that instance the fit was good and the bike ran perfectly on it. I don't really want to do this on this bike because the chinese copies are roughly the same price as the quotes you're getting for a recore once you factor in customs but the chinese stuff doesn't have to be crap by any stretch.

[dern]

Birky_41 said:

These glued mine when I put 2 holes in and it worked fine

Colchester based do postage etc 01206 799559

Nice one, thanks. I've dropped them an email this morning.

[Dog Star]

dern said:

the chinese copies are roughly the same price as the quotes you're getting for a recore once you factor in customs

Surely you'd just get one that's dispatched from the uk?

[dern]

Dog Star said:

Surely you'd just get one that's dispatched from the uk?

That was the problem I found last night... in the case of the blackbird I did just that but for the ktm the only ones listed were sent from China.

[Dog Star]

dern said:

That was the problem I found last night... in the case of the blackbird I did just that but for the ktm the only ones listed were sent from China.

I've had loads of stuff from China and never had customs - or anything for that matter. Is this a common thing?

[dern]

Dog Star said:

I've had loads of stuff from China and never had customs - or anything for that matter. Is this a common thing?

The only thing I've had it charged on was a full fairing set that cost me £215 and the customs charge was £35. There's a load of info on here... https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-...

[EagleMoto4-2]

I would advise against Chinese copies that you can find on eBay. Seen some stories on YouTube about fitment, but also a colleague of mine recently replaced his rad which was a Chinese copy and found that most of the matrix had crumbled away, presumably from metal fatigue with the constant heating and cooling cycles over the years (funnily enough another Blackbird owner).

[dern]

The summary so far is that the repair (recore) will cost virtually the same as a new rad. No one seems that keen on repairing it in any other way.

What I've done is ordered some marine jbweld and will take the rad off at the weekend, find the leak and repair myself if possible. Otherwise I'll have to buy a new one at £420. Ouch.