What is Motorcycle Antifreeze?

You may hear experts recommending using antifreeze if you live in extremely cold weather. Now the question arises, what is motorcycle antifreeze, and how is it different from coolant? Here’s the answer.

Motorcycle antifreeze is one of the components of the motorbike coolant added purposely to lower and raise the freezing point and boiling point of fluids circulating in your motorbike. Antifreeze prevents the fluid from freezing if the external temperature exceeds zero; it also prevents the fluid from boiling if your engine temperature reaches around 212 F. 

Let’s look at what it means and what you can do about it. 

While writing this post, I leave no stone unturned so you can know everything about motorbike antifreeze. 

What is Motorcycle Antifreeze? 

Undoubtedly the coolant is crucial for your motorbike. Still, experts always recommend knowing what antifreeze is and looking at the antifreeze ingredients in your motorbike coolant list. 

Antifreeze is the component in the motorbike coolant; it ensures that fluid circulating in your motorbike doesn’t freeze in extreme weather. At the same time, it doesn’t boil if your motorbike engine overheats. 

How is Motorcycle Antifreeze Different from Coolant? 

So far, you understand what motorcycle antifreeze is; now the questions arise, how it’s different from motorcycle coolant. 

Motorcycle coolant is made from antifreeze and water in the ratio of 50:50 to ensure it doesn’t freeze or boil when circulating in your motorbike. 

Ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are two common types of antifreeze that you can easily find on the market. And out of this, propylene glycol is considered better as it’s less toxic than ethylene glycol. 

Experts always recommend avoiding both types of antifreeze as it may cause engine corrosion or may cause temporary engine malfunction. 

Is Motorcycle Antifreeze the Same as Car Antifreeze? 

So far, you understand what antifreeze is for motorcycles; now the question arises, is motorcycle antifreeze the same as car antifreeze? 

Motorcycle antifreeze isn’t the same as car antifreeze because some ingredients present in car antifreeze can make your motorbike engine malfunction. 

For example, some car antifreeze contains silicates that can corrode magnesium and aluminum parts in your motorbike engine.

In simpler words, you shouldn’t use car antifreeze for your motorbike without checking the ingredients. Let’s see some ingredients you should see while using car antifreeze for your motorbike. 

Some Constituents Which You Should Check While Choosing Antifreeze?

Most riders don’t see ingredients on car antifreeze boxes before using them on their motorbike. The question arises: What are some ingredients you should check while using car antifreeze on your motorbike? 

Although you shouldn’t use car antifreeze for your motorbike, if you ever don’t have many options, you should see below the ingredients in the antifreeze. 

Ethylene glycol and silicates are the most important ingredients you should check when choosing antifreeze. 

Ethylene glycol cools your motorbike engine, and without Glycol, the antifreeze would be useless. Silicates can corrode your motorbike engine parts made from aluminum and magnesium. 

Not all car antifreeze meet the above requirements, and that’s why industry experts recommend using and sticking to one type of antifreeze for better performance and saving money that would otherwise waste on engine maintenance. 

How to Choose the Best Antifreeze for Your Motorbike?

Choosing the best antifreeze for your motorbike is a skill that every rider should learn, and in this section, you’ll learn some best ways to choose antifreeze. 

The first ingredient you should see in the antifreeze is ethylene glycol; it’s responsible for making your motorbike engine cool and avoiding overheating. Or the best you can choose is antifreeze with propylene glycol, as it’s even better than ethylene glycol. 

Another advantage of using propylene glycol is that it’s non-toxic, making it safe for use if you have kids and pets. Antifreeze containing ethylene glycol has a different color than propylene glycol. Experts always recommend avoiding mixing two types of coolants together. 

Can You Mix Motorcycle Antifreeze With Car Antifreeze? 

So far, you understand some ingredients which you should check before using the car antifreeze on your motorbike. Now the question arises, can you mix motorcycle antifreeze with car antifreeze? 

According to industry experts, both types of antifreeze have different ingredients making it unsafe to mix them. Using mixed antifreeze in your motorbike can also make the motorbike engine malfunction.

Even if you’re changing motorbike antifreeze with another brand, you should ensure your motorbike doesn’t contain traces of old antifreeze, as mixing them together may cause technical problems.  

And that’s why experts always recommend sticking one type of motorbike antifreeze for a lifetime and never mixing two types of antifreeze. 

How Does Motorcycle Antifreeze Work? 

So far you understand what the need for motorcycle antifreeze is? Now the real question is, how does motorcycle antifreeze work? 

Motorcycle antifreeze is made from the heat-absorbing molecular formula, specially made to absorb heat when flowing from the engine. 

When flowing from the engine, the antifreeze absorbs almost all energy. It carries it to the radiator, which dissipates the motorbike heat into the atmosphere. 

And this is how a motorbike antifreeze protects your precious engine from malfunctioning and overheating. 

Also, read my previous post where I discussed why your motorbike engine gets overheated and what you can do to cool down the motorbike engine, CLICK HERE to read.

Can You Use Water in Place of Motorbike Antifreeze? 

So far, you understand what motorbike antifreeze is; now the question is can you use water instead of motorbike antifreeze? 

According to industry experts, using water as a motorbike antifreeze is an injustice that you can do with your motorbike. 

When overheard, your motorbike can reach over 230 F temperature making water in your engine converts into steam. 

And steam has expansion properties that can puncture inner pipes in your motorbike engine. 

That’s why experts always recommend never using water in the place of motorbike antifreeze. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Final Verdict: 

What is motorcycle antifreeze? Motorcycle antifreeze is one of the components of the motorbike coolant added purposely to lower and raise the freezing point and boiling point of fluids circulating in your motorbike. 

Antifreeze also prevents the fluid from freezing if the external temperature exceeds zero; it also prevents the fluid from boiling if your engine temperature reaches around 212 F. 

Here are Some of My Favorite Riding Gears: 

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it helpful as you build your riding journey successfully, here are some riding gears I use as a rider that I hope you’ll also find helpful.

These are affiliate links, so I’ll earn a commission if you decide to use any of them. But in all honesty, these are the same riding gears that I use and recommend to everyone, even my own family.

Motorbike Riding Pants:

For getting started, I like Scorpion EXO Covert Jeans for men (check the latest price on Amazon.com) and Indigo Protective Riding Jeans for women (check the latest price on Tobacco Motorwear).

These riding pants are comfortable so you can use these pants in summer, and these pants have a lot of space for using knee guards. 

Motorbike Riding Helmet:

Throughout my riding life, I used several helmets, and almost all helmets protect your head well. Still, I personally prefer YM- 929 Yema helmets as it comes with Bluetooth and aerodynamic ABS shells (check the latest price on Amazon.com).

And suppose you want an eye-appealing and yet effective helmet. In that case, you can go with Icon Airform Sacrosanct Helmet (check the latest price on Revzilla). 

Motorbike Riding Jacket:

Jackets are crucial to protect your upper body. Honestly, every rider has a dream to have an affordable yet best riding jacket. And that’s why I personally recommend the Alpinestars T faster motorbike jacket because of the protection and comfort it offers (check the latest price on Amazon.com). 

Motorbike Riding Gloves:

Almost all riding gloves perform well by protecting your hands from sunburn and cool nights. And if you’re a serious rider, then you should go with Alpinestars SMX-1 Air v2 Glove, which is lightweight and offers you excellent protection. (check the latest price on Revzilla).