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Is it a wise move to fit a guard to the oil cooler radiator to protect it from stone damage? If so, what are the front runners in terms of quality, fit, finish and general good looks?

Thanks

David

I just ordered one from Wunderlich...looked good and another member liked it.

I believe it is a very good idea to protect the oil cooler from debris strikes, particularly given its location. I have one on my bike, but cannot recall the brand. It is not a Wunderlich.... Touratech maybe. It does the job.... so far.

Edit: Nope not a Touratech either. Both the Wunderlich and Touratech look beefier than mine any way.

I also ordered one from Wunderlich. I think the protection is a good idea and Wunderlich products are top-notch.

SteelD wrote:Is it a wise move to fit a guard to the oil cooler radiator to protect it from stone damage?

In my experience a radiator guard has not been needed, mine to this day is undamaged even with thousands of miles off tarmac.
The fender protects it, and a street tire could never pick up a rock and carry it up to the radiator IMO.
Fitting anything in front the radiator restricts airflow, even if just a small amount. I'd rather my bike was cooling the most it can, but that's just me.

Joe is pretty much the acid test.. If he can't destroy it, it can't be destroyed.

That said - I made one for about $2 from some perf-aluminum sheeting. If the noobs want to search back to the early days of this forum there are details.

I had to fabricate one back in 2007 ("glued" a piece of expanded mesh to the back of my cooler shroud) - and mine has had a hit or two.

I'd say you're more at risk from loose small gravel on sealed roads than in the adventure land of Joe (all hail!) - on our Aussie backroads we often get a spray from passing trucks, shooting low across the road or even quite high (lost a few windscreens in my time). Trucks and trailers "drag" gravel onto the sealed surface on corners, and then another vehicle picks it up and shoots it out.

Higher radiators / coolers are probably at more risk (had to trailer a mate's FJR on the Snowy Mountains Highway - a fast, sealed road)

... anyway, mine is simply peace of mind insurance based on experience in the Australian bush, where a failure can be well out of mobile phone coverage and over 100km from help.

Caroanbill wrote: ... anyway, mine is simply peace of mind insurance based on experience in the Australian bush, where a failure can be well out of mobile phone coverage and over 100km from help.

Now that makes sense, luckily I haven't had this problem in the US.
I'm surely not judging anyone, just sharing my experience to date.

Lost Rider wrote: Now that makes sense, luckily I haven't had this problem in the US.
I'm surely not judging anyone, just sharing my experience to date.

Agreed! I don't think taking a sizeable rock at low speed (ie your usual adventures or my nightmares!) is such an issue. No real energy (no velocity = no momentum) and larger imact area generally means a big "bang" but no damage (in my 4WD experience). It's small gravel flung at significant open road speed (speed 'flung' out + speed of bike hit) with a tight impact area that do the damage I've seen. You wouldn't think a thumbnail-sized gravel piece would penetrate an FJR radiator, but it did - coolant all over the place!

I had an interesting dent in my mesh cooler screen a couple fo years ago (no pic) - enough to replace it, thankfully no scar on the oil cooler tubes. Yet absolutely no recollection of the impact - think it happened on the Kidman Way with a stone flung from a road train .. I was doing ... ummm .. err .. starts with a "2" (metric bike)

Thanks guys. I am tempted to fit the Wunderlich oil cooler guard as insurance more than anything. I was also thinking of a Fenda Extenda as well to stop things being thrown into the cooler but probably won't for three reasons 1) A bolt-on piece of black plastic isn't going to look too good on an Apple Red Metallic fender, 2) I think that the spinning wheel generates an air current that is pushed through the cooler rather like spray coming off a tyre on a wet road and an extenda may reduce the effectiveness of the cooling (much more so than a guard), and 3) there don't seem to be many extendas listed for the 2011/2012 model - even the Wunderlich site says theirs is for pre-2011 bikes.

David

Welcome aboard, David!

See this thread for a couple of DIY oil cooler screens:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=21833&p=191555&hil ... er#p191555

Save your farkle money for something you can't do yourself.

Bruce

I first made one of stainless mesh because I did find some dented fins, presumably from pebbles and stuff like that. Eventually I got the Wunderlich. I still collect asphalt chips in the cooler but no more damage.

Lost Rider wrote:

Caroanbill wrote: ... anyway, mine is simply peace of mind insurance based on experience in the Australian bush, where a failure can be well out of mobile phone coverage and over 100km from help.

Now that makes sense, luckily I haven't had this problem in the US.
I'm surely not judging anyone, just sharing my experience to date.

+1. 60k km on my bike so far, 95% of it on paved roads, some of it at high speed. Only minor markings on the oilcooler from impacting pebbles, lots of dead bugs trapped in the mesh though

But conditions vary and I don't begrudge anyone increased feelings of security. My own personal opinion, based on my experience, is that its not needed.