How is the fiberglass screen gonna protect your radiator from taking a hit?
It's pretty darn tough man. So far, in over 2 decades of protecting every car and bike, never a hole in it. Removing bug carcasses is a breeze with a tooth brush (and even easier with water, but I avoid spraying my bikes with water unless caught in rain and a mess). Besides, on the bike, you're very unlikely to get hit by a rock... although it's certainly possible. The main reason is to protect radiator from bugs (yes, those suckers definitely bend the fins), but also for the piece of mind of knowing with 99%+ probability I'm not going to get stranded by a pierced radiator. Keep in mind ANY radiator cover has bigger holes (and wider metal) than the small fiberglass screening, so chances of a small rock going cleanly thru them is larger than with my approach. But as long as you have something, it's better than nothing. And again, yet another case of to each his own
. Finally, with all the sports cars I've owned which gives you the precise coolant temperature (not buffered, like most cars and bikes), never ran any hotter, even in the intense TX summer heat. Attached are photos of what I had to do with my newest toy (now I have TWO 2015 GTRs
), since it's a royal PITA to remove the bumper to do it from behind the grille. I could remove the upper one, but not the lower one. Spent some time with the cutting, but ended up perfect. And nothing gets past the bumper. Just have to be careful with the safety wire on the lower one; that's why I like doing it from the inside, where running a toothbrush doesn't affect anything (I just have to do it carefully).