Guard needed for oil cooler

[fulcrum]

Hi everyone,

On the last group ride I was on, one of the guys on a new gixxer had a stone through his radiator (nice green muck all over the engine). We managed to get him going again until the next gas station, but it got me thinking.

I'm going to order a radiator guard for my wifes SV650S so that it is less likely to happen to her (a stainless steel mesh screen in case you are wondering what it is). But does the oil cooler on the Kat need something similar? I assume it is made of tougher stuff than a normal liquid cooled radiator, but I might be wrong.

This seems to be something that is not as uncommon as I first thought. Basically the stones are normally flung up by the bike in front (especially if they have sticky tires). I've been whacked by a few stones in the helmet and shoulders etc. Should I be worried about my bike?

Thanks for any info.

[Black_peter]

Wow, how did you get your bud going again after a radiator puncture?????

I'm thinking about that too as I'm going naked and that exposes more of the cooler.

I'm going to say the cooler on the kat is tougher then the Aluminum (right??) cooler on the Gixxer.
I find it interesting that the OEM guys have spent the time and money tucking the exhaust under the seat when it is the radiator that really belongs there. I would think a mesh mod over the fairing would be effective in protecting the cooler and wouldn't interfere with the air flow.
In fact it might even look cool as $h!t!!

[The CyberPoet]

I think it's rare to have a cooler taken out by stone damage, but anything is possible. In 20 years of riding, I have yet to have a radiator or oil cooler on a bike punctured... And the oil cooler on the Kat is even smaller than a standard radiator, so the risk is lower. That said, I suppose you could try to come up with a gaurd, but I'd be somewhat concerned about how much it might interfere with air flow -- expecially if it protects against smaller stones (gravel)...

Maybe you just need to back off the rear tire of the rider in front of you a bit more for safety's sake in general (?). If he went down, would you be able to avoid it?

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[SlipKid]

Gutterguard may be a useful material to work with.

[SweetLou]

Awwwww, just take it off, you don't really need it.

[Mojoe]

In 20 years of riding, I have yet to have a radiator or oil cooler on a bike punctured

same here.....it has just never happened. Come to think of it, I do not personally know anyone else this has happened to.

[fulcrum]

Wow, how did you get your bud going again after a radiator puncture?????

Nothing like a set of needlenose pliers and everyones water supplies. We just crushed it together. Made a mess of the radiator, but we were in the middle of nowhere. Just needed to get him to civilization. Once there he bought some radiator putty goo that you pop on and wait for it to set.

Was good for the rest of the day. We were about 80-100kms from a repair place and 50km from a gas station when it happened. Worst possible place

It might just be the crap roads here with gravel on the edges. Do you guys get hit by stones flung from the bike in front? And yep... stacks of room between me and the bike in front. I hate sitting right on someones tail. I have enough problem worrying about what I'm doing to have to react to them doing something odd right in front of me. I leave a much bigger gap than I do when driving my car. Normally these stones are flung up when doing speeds at or over 160km/h (100mph). This is on long straights (getting from one set of twisties to another). Even if the stone has lost a bunch of momentum, when you smack into one at high speed it can still punch a hole in a radiator.

I now have more tools on my bike than before (realised how under prepared I was), so I might just leave it at that for mine. Still getting the guard for the wifes SV though.

Thanks guys

[The CyberPoet]

Do you guys get hit by stones flung from the bike in front?

I don't... but I do get hit sometimes by gravel and construction stones that fall out of construction haulers and then get flung up by cars & pick-ups on the road... Changing lanes usually resolves that. If I'm getting hit by stones, I'm changing how far back I am

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Mojoe]

Normally these stones are flung up when doing speeds at or over 160km/h (100mph). This is on long straights (getting from one set of twisties to another).

I am not in the habit of doing that speed any place where there are stones. maybe the odd stone once in a while....a few pebbles maybe....but to punch a hole in my rad from a stone at that speed would have to be a fluke thing.

[SweetLou]

We get sandblasted here. Right at the begining of spring, you get sandblasted from the sand left on the roads from the winter. Any part of skin it can get to, it will.

[dark169]

Something as simple as metal window bug screen. Its a trick to keep the grasshoppers out of the rad, as in some parts they can get so bad your car can over heat as the bugs block most of hte rad =O

I've never seen a rad puncture but I know a couple people who've had it happen, I dont think its very likely but when it does happen it sucks.

[2K5GSX600F]

I would think that some metal mesh like some use on the side fairings fit into the front scoop would work to keep most things large enough to damage and would not restrict air at all.

[Black_peter]

I would think that some metal mesh like some use on the side fairings fit into the front scoop would work to keep most things large enough to damage and would not restrict air at all.

I agree, I bet it would look cool too

[The CyberPoet]

I stumbled across this while catching some stuff from Britian on eBay.co.uk and thought it might make a good starting point for you:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10534&item=7980567267&rd=1

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Spedee]

There is always chrome ones on EBay for the Suzuki Bandit. I believe there the same.