Should I get radiator protector covers

alesupper

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Hi All

I am planning my first multi-day tour in Europe next year and I want to avoid technical issues as much as possible. I have ordered a Stop 'n Go Pocket Tyre Plugger Kit and also a Rocky Creek 12v pocket pump, but I am also thing about getting some radiator protector covers

Are these a good idea?
 
I've only known of 1 GS'er who holed a rad, and that was down to bad luck.
Personally I live with the built in plastic guard, and that's been fine so far
 
NeilDD said:
I've only known of 1 GS'er who holed a rad, and that was down to bad luck.
Personally I live with the built in plastic guard, and that's been fine so far
Click to expand...

I am at work right now so I can not check, but I am pretty sure that my 1250 does not have any plastic guards in front of the rads?
 
Have you ever felt the need for radiator protection while riding in this country ?

Unless you're planning an off-road trip, conditions won't be any different over there.
 
Some variants ie Rallye versions, have purposeful plastic honeycomb guards fitted as standard ( I believe). The standard GS/GSA bikes radiators are unprotected and you could dent the matrix with a fingernail. A holed radiator, admittedly a rare occurrence is a show stopper. I fit Evotech guards to my bikes: they fit well and are easy to clean and offer the protection needed.
Alan R
 
Alan R said:
A holed radiator, admittedly a rare occurrence is a show stopper. I fit Evotech guards to my bikes: they fit well and are easy to clean and offer the protection needed.
Alan R
Click to expand...

That is my thinking Alan. It might be rare, but it is sod's law that it would happen whilst touring with mates abroad. I will take a look at the Evotechs. Thanks
 
AS with most things bike related the choice/risk is yours and like everything else if you have it you probably wont need it - Like travel insurance- if you dont have it you can almost bet safely that you will need it

Lots of people say they have never known anyone with a holed radiator or that it never happens

It does - i know someone on here that it has happened to and i also know that he now fits rad guards when he gets a new bike

Takes ya chances etc
 
More useful than a radiator guard, will be knowing how to use the puncture repair kit. Rather than learning how to use it in the porting rain or blazing sun. Trust me, on that.

PS That does not mean puncturing your tyre deliberately, to find out.
 
I’d get one. I lost 2 days out of my holiday after picking up a small hole in the radiator of my 1190 KTM going between the fuel pumps and the cafe in a Hungarian service area.

How did I know it was between the pumps and the cafe? There was no puddle at the pumps but there was a fairly substantial one by the time I’d grabbed a sandwich then walked back to eat it by the bike :blast

For what they cost and the impact it can have if you hole a radiator it’s a cheap safety blanket.
 
AndyB_11 said:
I’d get one. I lost 2 days out of my holiday after picking up a small hole in the radiator of my 1190 KTM going between the fuel pumps and the cafe in a Hungarian service area.

How did I know it was between the pumps and the cafe? There was no puddle at the pumps but there was a fairly substantial one by the time I’d grabbed a sandwich then walked back to eat it by the bike :blast

For what they cost and the impact it can have if you hole a radiator it’s a cheap safety blanket.
Click to expand...

What he said.

This type of question always reminds me of something that happend to me when I was younger and had my nice shiny new mountain bike. My friends commented how it didn't have a derailer guard, and I retorted that you don't need one becuase how many derailers have you known to snap?? They scoffed, I scoffed back - we went out riding in the woods, I hit a largish branch which caused it to launch itself into the air hitting and snapping my deralier.....I had a long walk home!

Moral of the story, these things do happen and you can stop it from happening and for the price of some guards (even the ones on aliexpress), it is worth it.
 
Ultimately it comes down to cost.

If you can afford it get all the protection you can.
If i was going on a long journey, i would.
 
icedfusion said:
This type of question always reminds me of something that happend to me when I was younger and had my nice shiny new mountain bike. My friends commented how it didn't have a derailer guard, and I retorted that you don't need one becuase how many derailers have you known to snap?? They scoffed, I scoffed back - we went out riding in the woods, I hit a largish branch which caused it to launch itself into the air hitting and snapping my deralier.....I had a long walk home!
Click to expand...

AMAZING coincidence.

I don't think that I have ever fitted a derailleur guard before, BUT I fitted one this morning, to the little mountain bike that I was putting together - Grandson's Christmas present. :cool:

Back on track. Fitting circa 50 quid rad' guards, to a bike that costs God knows how much these days, is a no brainer.
 
Wapping said:
PS That does not mean puncturing your tyre deliberately, to find out.
Click to expand...

I learnt puncturing my neighbours' tyres.



To respond to OP's original request (assuming you are doing road riding): no. Very rare occurrence.
If you fancy them: by all means, buy them.


That is my thinking Alan. It might be rare, but it is sod's law that it would happen whilst touring with mates abroad
Click to expand...

They do have mechanics, spare parts, in Europe.
 
They do have mechanics and spares in Europe, they do have fully booked workshops as well.

I was lucky because after going and buying a consolation beer from the cafe I sat down and found a KTM dealer about 30 minutes down the motorway I was travelling on so off I went and arrived about 30 minutes before they shut for the evening. Even luckier for me they spoke English so I asked nicely and they asked the mechanic nicely if he’d stop over to see how bad it was for a cash in hand payment from me.

I left him at it and got a taxi to a nearby hotel then returned in the morning to be told he couldn’t repair it with any degree of certainty but they could get a new radiator express delivered in two days and they could get me a radiator guard while they were doing it if I wanted one :D

Two days later the radiator arrived and because the workshop was fully booked up the same mechanic worked his lunch break then started again after his normal hours had finished and I had the bike back by 7pm. The radiator, guard and delivery charges were less than a radiator would have cost me back home and when I offered to pay the mechanic the rate the shop would have charged me he laughed and asked for the equivalent of about £20 so I gave him all the Hungarian currency I had (about £40) and we were both very happy.

The downside was that as I rode away I realised I’d need to visit a cash point but I’d got away with what could have been the end of my holiday.
 
they do have fully booked workshops as well
Click to expand...

True – I found myself going from mechanic to mechanic in August (not for a radiator).
As someone said above, the risk incidence is the same as riding in the UK and how much risk (of something like what happened to you) one might want to accept.

BTW, helped a friend fit guards very similar to those on his GS and they pretty much sucked (don't fit properly).
Double check that you are buying a pair that are properly machined/shaped.
 
Chaps, have in mind this is the OP’s first jaunt away. So he’ll maybe be the same as Karl Heinz from Stuttgart who, even as we speak, is typing on HUNGSer.com that, despit riding miles in Germany, is off to England with six mates this year….. and should be fit radiator guards?
 
Wapping said:
Chaps, have in mind this is the OP’s first jaunt away. So he’ll maybe be the same as Karl Heinz from Stuttgart who, even as we speak, is typing on HUNGSer.com that, despit riding miles in Germany, is off to England with six mates this year….. and should be fit radiator guards?
Click to expand...

Well the obvious answer to that question is buy an air cooled bike.

The question should really be why don’t manufacturers fit the radiator guards they sell in their parts catalogue :nenau
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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