Low Cost Rad Guard (& I mean lowww)

[Sparti]

Not sure if this has already done the rounds so sorry if it has.

Might be of interest to anyone who does not want to cough up the extortionate amount of dough some companies ask for.

Let me know what you think... as if i have to prompt you...

Low Cost Radiator Guard

[Curmudgeon]

I'm not inclined to get a radiator guard, as I don't think they're necessary, but that looks better than the aftermarket options I've seen!

[Captain_Rat]

"I don't think they're necessary"? That's the equivalent of saying "Watch this!" right before you do something really stupid. You'd better do your anti-superstition dance, or whatever it is that saves you from certain doom, before your radiator pays the price this weekend.

Capt.

[Curmudgeon]

Despite looking vulnerable, radiators seem quite resistant to meaningful damage from stones, etc. I think damage is very rare, but let's see: Everyone who has had a radiator or oil cooler leak as a result of a small flying object (which would have been blocked by a radiator guard), please respond here.

[gr8shandini]

The article itself explained why the radiator can withstand a fair amount of abuse: the first 1/2 inch or so of it's thickness is just cooling fin. You'd have to kick up a serious piece of junk at some serious speed in order for something to bust through all that metal and puncture the actual lines that carry the coolant.

That said, I'll bet that radiator can really start to look like hell if you're constantly riding over gravel and other debris. I'm not sure that an open mesh like that will do much about that, though.

[TRISPEED]

Mikes Grilles in the UK make nice grilles for the oil cooler and radiator. Check them out.

[lromoda]

Anyone make a good tire protector? :-D

[CanyonChaser]

I agree that the radiator would have to take a serious impact to actually damage the radiator, but I was inspired to do that mod because something big enough made a sizeable gouge; Plus look at the discoloration from rubbish flying off the tire, running up the center of the rad; nasty!



Then a few weeks later, my buddy hit a bird that managed to tweak the front of the radiator a bit. I figured a bit of expanded metal would just help out a bit, just in case. Plus it prevents snarfs in the cooling fins.

Cheers,
dp

PS, I can't believe the word -C R A P- is on the vulgarity filter list... sheesh..

[Geof3]

I look at it from two perspectives... One, piece of mind knowing my Rad has one more layer of pro... Two, the rad/oil cooler look MUCH better. I have Mikes... Cheap, look good, effective and with a PC coating, durable.

[gr8shandini]

I will say that I like the look with the Mike's grille. However, how's the quality up close? From their pictures, it looks like just a piece of mesh with some plastic "railroad track" around the edges. And they seem pricey to me. If that's all there is to them, I think I might try to make a set on my own.