well, can't help but ask: is it really necessary to fit a radiator guard? I drive 100% on-road and never in 20 years have had a radiator damage, except once on my Fiat Uno when a duck took off from the side of the road and decided to dive into the front grill in the last second.
I found this piece of kit and was reflecting about getting it or not. Yeah, I know, a radiator costs way more but, what are the chances of anything ever happening?
Please note that I am not judging those who do buy it. It's just that I never felt the need for it and I'm getting cold feet. Thanks!
Martin,
Getting a hole poked in the radiator is a bit of a longshot that is comparable to getting a nail in a tire. You might be able to ride a zillion miles without experiencing either. Then again you could have the opposite experience and find a hole in your radiator or a nail in a tire on successive days. It's a case of "luck of the draw", if you're lucky, you won't ever see a hole or pick up a nail and if luck fails you, then you'll wish you had protected the radiator. Insurance against a nail in a tire does not exist, so you just have to take your chances there.
I personally don't care for the radiator guards but prefer the long fender extender offered by Larry Teows in Canada,
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=128.0. I specify his fender extender because it offers greater protection than the very similar but shorter fender extenders offered by Murph and others. My choice is a bit of a compromise though as the fender extender only protects against objects thrown by your own front tire but not by objects from other vehicles that pass the front tire and reach the sides of the radiator not protected by the tire. Using both is the best insurance because the addition of the fender extender will prevent all the crap thrown up by the front tire when riding in wet or otherwise unsavory conditions from being able to reach the radiator. Without the fender extender this stuff will penetrate the radiator guard and lodge in the radiator even though it is very unlikely to do any damage. Just the same, it's still debris that one would rather not have lodged in the radiator's fins. Another consideration is the fact the radiator will not be as efficient due to the added obstacle the airflow must penetrate. This won't make any difference in cooler weather but I expect the bike will not run as cool when riding at a slower pace within city limits when the weather is hot. This issue was addressed previously by Brian (B.D.F.). This is the main reason I choose to employ only the protection offered by the fender extender as my journeys often take me through the arid and hot southwest. If I do find myself with a punctured radiator then I'll simply use JB Weld to fix it. I've never had occasion to use it on a street bike but have used it with 100% success on numerous motocross radiators.
As a final thought, without protection the radiator is definitely going to be hit by flying debris that may never poke a hole and cause a leak but it will bend the fins and in time become quite unsightly. My own experience has show this to be the case as I purchased my C14 in Kansas and rode it home to Oregon with the radiator exposed to whatever came its way. When I got home I spent a bit of time straightening the numerous bent fins, all of which were in the center behind the tire. My first aftermarket add on was the fender extender and the radiator has experienced no further contact with anything more damaging than insects.
