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Hi guys,

New to the forum here (and a new CRF250L owner) hoping to gain some knowledge on what might be causing my bike to overheat.

I laid it down last week on its left side, where the radiator is, really not hard at all though, but in a rocky area. Noticed some coolant leakage but brushed it off when I was done riding. Went to ride last night and after 5 minutes going up the mountain the dash showed a high temperature light on the dash. I looked down and noticed blue coolant on the bottom of the radiator only, specifically from the left side of the radiator, right where impact would have been when I dropped the bike. Not dripping, but slowly oozing around the bottom of the radiator. Noticed some sluggish acceleration too (hoping these symptoms help).

In the photo, I've circled exactly where I am seeing the coolant.

What do you all think is the cause? Did I crack the radiator? I looked for a hose leak and didnt really see one. Any other ideas?

All information and help would be much appreciated!

Welcome to the site !!

The first thing i would check is the radiator hose going to the the bottom of the radiator shown in the pic , it looks to me to be a bit down on the pipe , from looking at other hose connections in a Google search , they seem to be higher , not saying that is the issue , but its a possibility just because if it is slid down , it would be loose enough that when the radiator is under pressure when up to operating temp , the hose could seep or even squirt up to the radiator where your seeing the fluid , see if it twists on the pipe and/or if the hose clamp is tight

Otherwise i would try to flex the radiator by grabbing it by the lower tank , and see if you notice any seepage (do this when the bike is warmed up with the fluid topped off and so there is pressure in the tank) , as it could have been damaged along the seam of the tank , or where the core attaches to the tank , as i can't see any real obvious physical damage in your picture (is the radiator twisted at all ?? ) , what you might do is take it to your local radiator shop and have them pressure test it , this will bring out any leak it may have , and then you can either have them repair it , or buy a new radiator (you can get one here or at your local dealer) , but i would start with the hose connection first , then go from there , as i have seen some really smashed and twisted radiators that do not leak ,, so its possible that in the crash/fall , it got caught and pulled the tank away from the core without obvious damage , but enough to compromise the soldered connections

Hope that helped

Jim Dirt, thank you so much for helping me out!

Few more questions: So you are saying in the bottom left corner of the picture, the soldered connection right there could have been pulled apart? That might make sense as that is where i see the coolant drips from or oozes from, but I thought that may be only because that is the side of the kick stand and gravity is pulling the fluid in that direction.

I will check the hoses per your suggestion and tighten them down if loose. I did notice that when I squeezed the bottom hose, I did see some fluid ooze out. That shouldn't happen right? Ill try to tighten more if i can.

Any one else with ideas please feel free to chime in! This is great help. Much appreciated.

Clean the entire area and run the bike. Watch very carefully and you will see a leak show if there is one. If it is only happening after the bike has sat statically then and when you squeeze the lower hose it is a clamp issue and an easy to resolve problem.

Jim Dirt, thank you so much for helping me out!

Few more questions: So you are saying in the bottom left corner of the picture, the soldered connection right there could have been pulled apart? That might make sense as that is where i see the coolant drips from or oozes from, but I thought that may be only because that is the side of the kick stand and gravity is pulling the fluid in that direction.
Basically where the thin tubes meet the bottom tank , where you have it circled

I will check the hoses per your suggestion and tighten them down if loose. I did notice that when I squeezed the bottom hose, I did see some fluid ooze out. That shouldn't happen right? Ill try to tighten more if i can.
No it should not leak ANY fluid when you squeeze it , that is a indication that the hose and/or hose clamp is loose

Any one else with ideas please feel free to chime in! This is great help. Much appreciated.

What Neil suggested about cleaning/washing the bike off and drying it to make sure there is no coolant left over , so you will be able to confirm where the actual leak is , is also a excellent suggestion to narrow down the leak location

To follow up here...

My radiator was cracked pretty bad behind the fan, i couldnt see it without taking the fan off.

Got a new one instead of messing with repair. Fixed her up tonight.

Thanks for the help folks!

Glad to hear you got it resolved !!