Radiator Guards and Things to Look Out For

[pistole]

- just want to give a heads-up to those using radiator guards on the GTR

- on mine (a 2012 GTR) , i installed a BEOWULF rad-guard (aluminium job , held at the top with two hooks and at the bottom by the existing rad bracket).

- my mechanic noticed that the guard was contacting the radiator itself and was already leaving wear marks on the radiator's fins. He mentioned that he has seen guards which have worn through radiators and resulted in leaks (and also leaks which have occurred when small rocks get trapped between the guard and the radiator).

- he took off the guard , fashioned four rubber bungs (the sort that look like tear drops) to keep the guard a useful distance away from the radiator and didn't bother with the useless pair of hooks at the top and instead used zip-ties there.

- much better job and there is a nice gap now between the guard and the rad.

cheers and hope this helps someone here.

.

[Winston Smith]

Really surprised at that.

My (v.1) Beowulf rad guard was a superb fit, never touched anywhere and had sufficient space for any detritus to fall through.

[doebag]

Really surprised at that.

My (v.1) Beowulf rad guard was a superb fit, never touched anywhere and had sufficient space for any detritus to fall through.

Ooh, hark at you 

[Gonome]

Really surprised at that.

My (v.1) Beowulf rad guard was a superb fit, never touched anywhere and had sufficient space for any detritus to fall through.

+1, never had any problems with mine.

[Barry7]

My Beowulf guard managed to rub through the rad in two places, I had to remove and repair the rad, and make better brackets to keep the guard away.

I was going to write this up for you all, but totally forgot, thanks pistole for waking up the brain cell................................

[O.C.]

No probs with mine......................errmmmm, I'll check it tomorrow just to be sure 

[2kwacks]

will check mine again tommorow, but it would only rub on the rad if there was movement, when I fitted my rad I pushed 2 of thoses self tapping little brackets/fasteners "you know the ones I mean" they use them to hold all sorts of light weight plastics in place on cars! I just pushed pushed the clips so they slid under over rad seam and the guard seam to hold the guard tight against the radiator had the beowulf rad guard on since the bike was new and have removed it a few times to clean the radiator and never seen any signs of rubbing on the radiator.

[Winston Smith]

will check mine again tommorow, but it would only rub on the rad if there was movement, when I fitted my rad I pushed 2 of thoses self tapping little brackets/fasteners "you know the ones I mean" they use them to hold all sorts of light weight plastics in place on cars! I just pushed pushed the clips so they slid under over rad seam and the guard seam to hold the guard tight against the radiator had the beowulf rad guard on since the bike was new and have removed it a few times to clean the radiator and never seen any signs of rubbing on the radiator.

[2kwacks]

just a thought the rad cover will only rub on the radiator if there's movement. I fitted the beowulf cover which the bottom secures on the bottom "off centre" standard radiator securing bolt, and the 2 clips on top of the rad cover secures over the top of the radiator on both sides. but found there was still slight movement most likley would not do any arm but to be on the safe side I pushed 2 clips over the seem of the rad cover and the seem of the radiator on both bottom corners which hold the guard tight againts the radiator. here is a pic of the type of clips I used they are normally used to "self tap" the under engine tray on cars they slide in the between body and the cover allowing the self tapper screw to secure the cover!! here is a pic of the clips I've used so you can see the type and a pic of them in place on the radiator on my bike. I've just painted them black so there less noticeable just an idea if your concerned about the cover rubbing on the radiator. the second pic is looking at the back bottom of the radiator through the fairing fins to show how they secure! theses clips have been in place since I fitted the rad guard on the bike from new, simple idea that works

[keith]

THINK YOU MAY NEED A GUARD FOR YOUR EXHAUST PIPES  ASWELL 2KWACKS TO KEEP THEM CLEAN !!!THEY NEED A GOOD POLISH

[2kwacks]

THINK YOU MAY NEED A GUARD FOR YOUR EXHAUST PIPES  ASWELL 2KWACKS TO KEEP THEM CLEAN !!!THEY NEED A GOOD POLISH

the exhust pipes get a good clean once a month, you just seen them in between cleaning besides that's a bit picky me thinks

[pistole]

just a thought the rad cover will only rub on the radiator if there's movement. I fitted the beowulf cover which the bottom secures on the bottom "off centre" standard radiator securing bolt, and the 2 clips on top of the rad cover secures over the top of the radiator on both sides. but found there was still slight movement

- mine was both loose and rubbing.

- i would not buy another beowulf item.

.

[2kwacks]

- mine was both loose and rubbing.

- i would not buy another beowulf item.

.

I've got a r&g rad guard on my zx6r and I would say it was of better quality and design so is a better fit. but that woundn't guarantee it would be the same for all bikes. radiators are rubber mounted so the radiator on one particulary model bike may be in a slightly different position than on the next bike so some slight adjustment to the shape of the radiator guard may be required to get a better fit. mine was a good fit but there was slight movement which good vibrate and cause rubbing, so I just eliminated the movement by keeping the radiator guard tight againts the radiator using the clips as showed in my previous post. like all after market accessories there not allways a excact fit. beowulf most likely have used one model gtr1400 to make a template, so the chances of any other gtr radiator being precisely in the same postiton is unlikely. the radiator guards are only thin, so easier enough to adjust by bending to make a better fit. any looseness can be eliminated by using the same method than I did I don't like the idea of using anything rubber to keep the radiator guard away from the radiator the radiator gets very hot and rubber tends to melt, which could block the fins which won't help the coolant process. 

[Lonewolf]

I also have the R & G rad guard, seems to do the job nicely.

[tommytool]

I've the R&G also. No complaints but I will have a go at getting another fixing point at the bottom. Mine does flap a bit.