BarryBeemer Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Anyone have any thoughts on how to remove all the little critters that get lodged between the radiator fins? I wish there was a removable "pre-filter" that could be soaked, brushed, blown out. How critical is the cleanliness of the radiator fins when it comes to efficiency in cooling, etc. Is it worth the effort? I've heard of some people using a hand held clothes steamer to soften the crud up reverse flush them out with a hose from the back side. Any thoughts? Link to comment
Selden Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Remove, not so much. Prevent, pick up some Black roll gutter guard from Home Depot. At $2.48, you can't beat the price. It's inconspicuous, and does a good job of keeping crap from clogging the cooling fins. Link to comment
Stephen H Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I have done over 20k miles on my RTW and just hose the radiator from the front, each time I wash the bike ... most of the "Critters" are fried up and just flow on through and on to the ground ... I also scratch the front of the radiator with my finger to dislodge the stubborn ones .... I also squirt water back through the other direction to move any others (its not easy with the fan, but I just hose through it) ... I was stopped in traffic at 80 degrees the other day ... and have never had overheating issues Link to comment
Guest Kakugo Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Treat the radiators as those of any water cooled bike: hose them down, soak them in the same detergent you use to wash the bike, then hose them down again. The Wethead radiators are much better designed and positioned than those on sone Wdge K bikes (which got clogged by road crud) and the oil cooler on the SP2 (which despite a mesh "guard" got clobbered by road debris). No need for extra cares. Link to comment
AndyS Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I can't comment on the Wethead, but the oil cooler on my RT gets bugged and all I do is hose it down, wash the bike and then blast a hose in the reverse direction which ejects said bugs. Can that be done on the Wethead? Link to comment
mountainmann Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Large insects will leave a big dent in the fins from impact. The fins in the dented area are bent over and don't allow air to flow. I noticed that small rocks also tend to embed in the radiator fins. No one seems to make a decent radiator guard for the WC RT. The radiators are embedded behind a lot plastic fins and channels. I'm trying to figure out some way of installing some fine plastic screening to protect the radiators. I don't have a design worked out yet. The RTs were off the road for the rear shock problem all last summer when the bugs were flying. We may hear more about this problem this year as riding season gets underway. Link to comment
Guest Kakugo Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Large insects will leave a big dent in the fins from impact. The fins in the dented area are bent over and don't allow air to flow. I noticed that small rocks also tend to embed in the radiator fins. No one seems to make a decent radiator guard for the WC RT. The radiators are embedded behind a lot plastic fins and channels. I'm trying to figure out some way of installing some fine plastic screening to protect the radiators. I don't have a design worked out yet. I did exactly the same for my Kawasaki. I used some 5mm galvanized steel mesh I had laying about held in place with radiator fan strap ties (they come with spacers which are great not to have the mesh in direct contact with the radiator). You probably can use a finer mesh but my concern is it could clog easily. As you can imagine it involved removing the bodywork: very much like on the RT-LC it was a pig of a job, better left for the coldest part of Winter. Link to comment
The Rocketman Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I got one of these Wunderlich Oil Cooler Guards on my Hexhead. Do they make something similar for the radiator? http://www.wunderlichamerica.com/motorcycle/8500149-168.html Link to comment
Larsman Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I tend to ignore the issue of bugs. I'll straighten the fins a little if mashed over but otherwise move on and let heat, wind, and rain do it's thing. None of my vehicles have overheated in 35 years and there are plenty of bugs in Virginia. Edit: I just remembered I had a '67 Ford Fairlane once with myriad radiator issues so I'll amend my statement to "Most of my...". Link to comment
Dave Stephens Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Remove, not so much. Prevent, pick up some Black roll gutter guard from Home Depot. At $2.48, you can't beat the price. It's inconspicuous, and does a good job of keeping crap from clogging the cooling fins. Would you mind posting a photo of this product on your bike? Thanks! Link to comment
Tri750 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 It's pretty much a non-issue, but of the bugs bug you, Simple Green very much dissolves insects if you spray it on and let it soak, then reverse flush. Link to comment
Jim VonBaden Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 There are a few guys on ADVRider that have used coarse synthetic foam to cover their radiators. Jim Link to comment
Selden Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Would you mind posting a photo of this product on your bike? Thanks! This has been in place for about 6 years (about 50,000 miles ago). Because the plastic mesh is flexible, no bodywork had to be removed; I just slipped it in. My main desire was to protect fins from damage by flying pebbles. I have not hosed the cooler in over a year. Link to comment
1LIFE2LIVE Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Excellent = thanks for posting Link to comment
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