- Differences between air-cooled vs. liquid-cooled engines – how they work and pros and cons of each type
- What forced-air cooling is
- What coolant consists of – and whether motorcycle coolant is the same as car coolant
Prefer to get this information in podcast form? Listen to the 30 Minute Motorcycling Podcast episode about air-cooled and liquid-cooled engines:
What’s an air-cooled engine, and how does it work?
Benefits of air-cooled engines
Disadvantages of air-cooled engines
Forced air-cooling
Fake Air-Cooling?
What is liquid cooling?
Benefits of liquid-cooling
Disadvantages of liquid cooling
What is “coolant” and what’s in it?
What is anti-freeze for?
In colder parts of the world (e.g., Canada, Midwestern USA, and Norway), the coolant would freeze during the winter if it was 100% water.
And if the coolant freezes, not only will it not do its job, but it can also cause damage to the engine itself.
Therefore, the anti-freeze lowers the freezing point. A standard mixture of 50% water and 50% anti-freeze has a freezing point of -33 Celcius or -27 Fahrenheit.
However, with a mixture of 60% anti-freeze and 40%, it’s possible to get a freezing point as low as -38 degrees Celcius or -36 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coolant FAQs
Is Motorcycle Coolant The Same as Car Coolant?
Has Your Coolant Gone Brown?
“If your coolant is green, you’ve got a healthy machine. If it’s milkshake brown, you’re in blown head gasket town”