Triumph D2053 OAT Coolant Alternatives — Analysed in Detail
From March 2021, Triumph changed the recommended coolant from HD4X, a HOAT coolant, to D2053, an “OAT” coolant (more on what these acronyms mean below).
This wasn’t just an update for new motorcycles released in 2021, like the Triumph Trident 660. Triumph also started updating the manuals for other motorcycles currently in production.
The updated maintenance schedules for these motorcycles recommend that you use OAT from certain model numbers onward.
Because OAT coolant has a specific formulation that is distinct from what Triumph used to use/recommend, it’s important to understand what makes it up so you can use a suitable alternative (if you wish).
Of course, you’re welcome to use D2053. But motorcyclists are often looking for more easily accessible alternatives, and that’s why I’m here to present a few.
This site has links from which we earn a commission (which unfortunately nobody can save, not even us). If you appreciate this research work, then please use those links. Thanks.
What is Triumph D2053 OAT Coolant?
Triumph issued a technical bulletin in March 2021 (Bulletin 214, item 214.5) saying that Triupmh was switching from HD4X to D2053 OAT coolant. (See here for more about HD4X, its formulation, and alternatives.)
D2053 would be for all motorcycles released after that point. But Triumph also said that old liquid-cooled motorcycles using HD4X should switch over to D2053.
The core facts about D2053 coolant are:
- D2053 is sold as a 50:50 water / anti-freeze premix. You don’t dilute it further with water.
- It’s orange in colour. Coolant colour is only significant within brands (i.e. orange in one may be equivalent to green in another). But within Triumph, this is distinct from HD4X, which is green.
- Triumph stopped stocking HD4X when stocks were depleted, which means that all bikes have to eventually switch to D2053.
- D2053 is an OAT coolant. The bulletin refers to HD4X as an OAT coolant, too, but in reality, it’s a hybrid OAT (HOAT). See below for what this means.
- You cannot mix HD4X with D2053. You have to drain the system and flush it with distilled water first.
- Part number is T4007771 for a one litre, or T4007777 for a 12 pack.
Let’s look below at what an OAT coolant is, and what some alternatives for D2053 might be.
Which Triumph Motorcycles Take D2053 OAT Coolant?
Per the bulletin, these are the motorcycles that take D2053.
| From VIN AG0784: | From VIN AG2054: |
|---|---|
| Daytona Moto2 765 | Bonneville Bobber (all models) |
| Rocket 3 (all models) | Bonneville Speedmaster |
| Speed Triple (all models) | Bonneville T100 (all models) |
| Street Triple (all models) | Bonneville T120 (all models) |
| Tiger (all models, including XR, XRX, XRT, XCX, XC, XCA) | Scrambler 1200 (all models) |
| Tiger 800 (all models) | Speed Twin |
| Tiger 900 (all models) | Street Cup |
| Street Twin (all models) | |
| Street Scrambler (all models) | |
| Thruxton (all models) | |
| Trident |
Motorcycles launched after 2021, including the Triumph Daytona 660 for example, also take D2053.
What is an “OAT” coolant?
No, it has nothing to do with oats! “OAT” stands for “Organic Acid Technology”. Let’s examine what this means in a coolant. “Organic” doesn’t mean what it usually means in the world of agriculture. In this case, it’s organic in the chemistry sense. The “organic acids” refer to the corrosion inhibitors — more on what those are below.
When we talk about engine coolant, we say “coolant” for shorthand, but we usually mean “a coolant blended with a) anti-freeze/anti-boil and b) corrosion inhibitors”.
The purpose of a coolant, alone, is literally to help cool your engine by conducting heat. The best easily available coolant is water. It’s a good enough coolant that it’s the most commonly used coolant in nuclear reactors! Water both conducts and stores heat well.
Oil is sometimes a coolant, as is air, in air-cooled engines. But when we say a “liquid-cooled engine”, it’s implied we’re talking about a coolant that goes through a dedicated cooling system, separate from lubrication (or just air flowing around the engine).
Even though water is a good coolant, water — even when distilled — has a few drawbacks. Firstly, water will eventually cause your engine to rust. Secondly, if you live somewhere cold, water can freeze and crack your engine. Finally, if there’s a leak in your system and it boils, you’ll get worse heat conduction, and lose all your coolant to steam.
So motorcycle (and car, and truck) water-based coolants have two things in them to make them better than water for general use:
- Anti-freeze/anti-boil, and
- Corrosion inhibitors.
Component 1: Antifreeze (Ethylene Glycol)
By far, the most common form of antifreeze, and the one that all* manufacturers recommend, is ethylene glycol, also technically known as monoethylene glycol.
You may be tempted to think you could use pure ethylene glycol as a coolant. After all, it’s liquid! Unfortunately, ethylene glycol isn’t nearly as good a coolant as water — it doesn’t conduct heat or carry heat as well. But when mixed with water, the mixture performs nearly as well as a coolant, but retains most of the antifreeze / anti-boil properties of ethylene glycol.
The main problem with ethylene glycol is that it’s toxic to animals (and humans), so you can’t dump it as easily. Don’t drink it, either.
The second most popular type of coolant that’s a common aftermarket coolant is propylene glycol. It doesn’t carry heat as well, but it’s non-toxic. It’s commonly used in systems where contamination can be bad news, like food production facilities. It’s also what Evan’s Waterless Coolant is made of.
Nonetheless, every motorcycle manufacturer whose manual I’ve read has recommended an ethylene glycol-based coolant. This includes Triumph D2053.
* I don’t like to say “all”, but I’m unaware of any exceptions. Let me know if you know of any.
Component 2: Corrosion inhibitors
So that’s the antifreeze/anti-boil part — what about corrosion inhibitors?
There are two kinds of corrosion inhibitors:
- Inorganic acid salts: Silicates, phosphates, borates, nitrites, and amines. These are all various compounds that stop rust from forming on the inside of your cooling system. These are good at preventing corrosion, but don’t last long (2-3 years).
- Organic acid salts: proprietary compounds that are unique to each manufacturer, but which are NOT the above. These generally aren’t as effective as preventing corrosion, but last longer (5-10 years).
There are also hybrid OAT (HOAT) coolants. HOAT coolants are coolants with “mostly organic but with some inorganic acid compounds”. These are sometimes referred to as Si-OAT or P-OAT, referring to the fact that they’re OAT coolants, other than the silicates or phosphates they have.
Triumph HD4X was a HOAT coolant; specifically a Si-Oat coolant.
Triumph D2053 is an OAT coolant — it doesn’t contain any organic acid salts. So to replace HD4X with D2053, you could possibly replace it with other equivalent OAT coolants.
The Triumph D2053 OAT Alternatives
With that said, let’s look at a few alternatives to D2053. The below are OAT coolants based on ethylene glycol and water.
You can read the below in detail at your leisure. Don’t blindly trust me, check the facts! But here’s a top-level summary of alternatives to Triumph D2053.
Motorex M3.0
Zerex G30
Penrite Blue OEM
These are all OAT coolants and have the same anti-freeze base.
Option 1: Motorex Coolant M3.0
Motorex is a Swiss company that produces coolants and engine oils (and other things). They’re the brand of fluids recommended by KTM for their motorcycles, so they have some solid branding behind them.
Motorex Coolant M3.0 is their ready-to-use OAT coolant. Here’s what Motorex says about it in the technical data sheet:
- Ready-to-use coolant with an ethylene glycol base
- Mixture %: 50/50
- Silicate-, nitrite-, amine-, borate, and phosphate-free (i.e. free of
Because this is a reputable product made by a manufacturer and recommended for high-end European motorcycles, I feel pretty safe recommending this for any motorcycle.
Option 2: Zerex G30
A good second alternative coolant to Triumph D2053 is Valvoline Zerex G30.
According to Valvoline’s website:
Valvoline ZEREX G30 Antifreeze / Coolant is a premium carboxylate formulation. It incorporates state-of-the-art organic acid technology in an ethylene glycol base for protection of all cooling system metals including aluminum.
Valvoline website
It meets the silicate-free requirements of the Japanese automobile manufacturers and phosphate-free requirements of European automobile manufacturers.
… Contains no phosphates, silicates, borates, nitrates, amines and nitrites
This is the same spec as Triumph D2053 — it’s an OAT coolant with an ethylene glycol base.
Note: Zerex G30 is violet in color. Color of coolant doesn’t matter. The color of a coolant (pink, blue etc.) is only relevant within brands, to distinguish between products. If you feel uncomfortable, flush your system before replacing it with G30.
Option 3: Penrite Blue OEM Coolant
In some geographies (Australia and New Zealand), Penrite products are more easily obtainable.
So Penrite Blue OEM Coolant makes a good candidate alternative to Suzuki Super Long Life Coolant. It has the same spec as an OAT coolant based on ethylene glycol.
According to Penrite’s website:
Penrite Blue OEM coolant is an… ethylene glycol anti-freeze anti-boil coolant.
Penrite website
It uses a technically advanced OAT (Organic Acid Technology) based inhibitor system that is silicate, phosphate, amine, borate, and nitrite free.
The Penrite blue coolant is available as both a concentrate and as a pre-mix product. Because of shipping, it makes more sense to buy it as concentrate.
