In North Carolina's infinite wisdom, sometimes when they "repave" secondary roads they just put down tar and spread rock over the  tar.... Well just to let you know some way two small rocks about the size of a pencil eraser found their way into my right side fan. I was running the bike in the shop at idle and the fans didnt come on at the usual temp, and the temp kept climbing. I shut the bike down and took a long wooden dowel and tried to move the fan. It moved but was really tight. I kept messing with it and then heard two clicks under the bike and the fan freed right up..... looking under the bike I found the two rocks, That must have been a lucky shot to make it thru all the other crap and end up in the fan. Anyway replaced the 15a fan fuse and all is good. Just wanted to let you guys know.

Scary stuff- sounds like you were lucky you didn't have a punctured radiator or at least a destroyed fan!

Radiator guard was the 2nd thing I bought for my bike.

Radiator guard was the 2nd thing I bought for my bike.

We (in CO) too have the same Tar/gravel b.s. as well, and I've been hit many a time by small rocks. The rad guard was a necessity because after only a couple thousand miles my radiator looked like it had been hit by a claymore.

65,000 miles, KiPass has been my radiator guard.

I heard rocks hitting not only in Colorado but while off-roading in the desert too (Moab/Valley of Fire/Phoenix)

- seen this before , and it can happen whether or not you have a rad guard.

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Radiator guard was the 2nd thing I bought for my bike.

Not seeing how a radiator guard would have prevented this.

+1.  Very little chance of a rock/pebble coming through the rad that could jam one of the fans without holing the rad.  I'm wondering, Roland, do you have a fender extender?

Not seeing how a radiator guard would have prevented this.

True, just protects it better from everything else. 

Not seeing how a radiator guard would have prevented this.

Reading this in print, it comes across kinda snotty. Sorry bout that. Not My intention.

Not seeing how a radiator guard would have prevented this.

Reading this in print, it comes across kinda snotty. Sorry bout that. Not My intention.

You're right though. The rocks couldn't have come through the radiator, rather from the side.

I wonder if it's possible for debris to fling up and over the radiator, and drop into the fan from behind? If that is the case, a fender extender has some preventive merit.

I would think more from under but I'm thinking the same thing about the extender.

  I had the same thing happen to my 2007 Bandit. I do have a fender extender on but the bike isn't full faired so the small rock got lodged between the fan and radiator.
 I didn't think this would happen to a fully faired bike.
 Certainly good information.
 Thank you Roland.
 Brent

No fender extender or rad. guard.... Nothing went thru the rad. It had to have hit and bounced off the header pipe and went up to get into the fan. DAMIFINO but I guess kpass protected me from anything really bad happening. 
Just wanted to let you guys know how weird the world can be.

No fender extender or rad. guard.... Nothing went thru the rad. It had to have hit and bounced off the header pipe and went up to get into the fan. DAMIFINO but I guess kpass protected me from anything really bad happening. 
Just wanted to let you guys know how weird the world can be.

The front wheel can kick up all kinds of debris.  I'm beginning to think the fender extender is more of a protective device than the rad protector.