These are pretty popular with the orange crowd and are now being made for Gas Gas 2Ts.
http://www.bulletproofdesigns.com/gasgasguards.htm
http://www.bulletproofdesigns.com/gasgasguards.htm
Billet radiator guards
- Thread starter Dave
- Start date
SpeedyManiac
New member
I think they're $189.99 US. My next bike is getting a custom pair of those for it. Every bike needs a little bling.
GMP
Active member
They do look nice but forget about bling for a minute. What do you see that makes these potentially inferior to the flatland guard? No tie back to the head stay, no side coverage, and judging by the hole placement they sit much closer to the radiators, which hurts airflow and provides less room for front impact damage.
For less than $100 you get a set of Flatlands, add TWO sets of GP braces for $60, adding an upper shroud mount.
For less $$ this is the most bulletproof radiator protection setup you can get. I crashed hard enough last week to flex the right shroud to the point of breaking the brake fluid resevoir. The side of the Flatland guard was bent toward the rad only about 3mm in the center between the GP braces, they did their job. The shroud was fine, the rubber isolator I use for the upper mount separated and was eaisly and cheaply replaced.
For less than $100 you get a set of Flatlands, add TWO sets of GP braces for $60, adding an upper shroud mount.
For less $$ this is the most bulletproof radiator protection setup you can get. I crashed hard enough last week to flex the right shroud to the point of breaking the brake fluid resevoir. The side of the Flatland guard was bent toward the rad only about 3mm in the center between the GP braces, they did their job. The shroud was fine, the rubber isolator I use for the upper mount separated and was eaisly and cheaply replaced.
GMP said:
Glenn,
I have damaged both radiators on my '01 XC300 using precisely the set up you describe. I have since changed to using a combination of 2 GP braces and radiator brace angled back at about 45 degrees to give true triangulation. The angled braces I hand made years ago for my ’01 XC300 are much like the CRD braces I put on my ’06 EC300. I can say based on my long term crash testing on my ’01 XC300, the set up with GP braces and an angled radiator brace is significantly stronger than the GP braces and Flatland guard combination.
I also run the stock radiator louvers, which do a far better job than a radiator guard at keeping mud out of the radiator. We have mud for about 9 months out of the year. Mud is a big cooling inhibitor when it gets in the radiator.
Here is the set up on my ’06 EC300 with modified CRD braces and GP braces…
Attachments
GMP
Active member
Eric,
Completely agree that a 45 deg. rear mount would be best. Perhaps I'll modify the Flatlands in the future. We have a fair amount of mud, but rocks and sticks are the biggest concern. Most of the potential damage is done by slow speed tipover type falls in technical rock sections, where you run out of leg. This is of the side impact varity, that the GP braces do a great job on. In south NJ, the briars and sticks go to work, plastic louvers litter the trails in a south jersey enduro. The Flatlands have that nice margin between them and the front of the radiator. Once I had a baseball size rock kicked up by a rider in front of me hit the guard square in the front. It bent the guard in about 1", but the rad was untouched. They can clog with mud, but most of it clogs the guard not the radiator, at least not to the point of ever causing me a problem. The GG has excellent cooling capicity, unlike my previous KTMs.
Do you use an upper shroud mount? This saves plastic for sure.
Completely agree that a 45 deg. rear mount would be best. Perhaps I'll modify the Flatlands in the future. We have a fair amount of mud, but rocks and sticks are the biggest concern. Most of the potential damage is done by slow speed tipover type falls in technical rock sections, where you run out of leg. This is of the side impact varity, that the GP braces do a great job on. In south NJ, the briars and sticks go to work, plastic louvers litter the trails in a south jersey enduro. The Flatlands have that nice margin between them and the front of the radiator. Once I had a baseball size rock kicked up by a rider in front of me hit the guard square in the front. It bent the guard in about 1", but the rad was untouched. They can clog with mud, but most of it clogs the guard not the radiator, at least not to the point of ever causing me a problem. The GG has excellent cooling capicity, unlike my previous KTMs.
Do you use an upper shroud mount? This saves plastic for sure.
GMP said:
Our mud consistency tends to splatter right through the guards and onto the radiator.
I cut off the upper shroud mount so I could run the top GP brace. I zip tie the shroud to the brace, so the shroud doesn't pull out if I catch a branch on it or my boot on it. The ruts are so deep in places I sometimes catch the top inside of the shrouds with my boots.
GMP
Active member
Eric,
I'll try and find the photo I posted on the Smackover site some time ago. I use an equivalent of the lower pipe mount vibration isolator, but get them much cheaper from an industrial supplier. I'll get the part#. Male end into the GP brace with loctite. Cut the tit off the shroud, and drill an M6 clearance hole. Use a wide head M6 bolt(I use aluminum helmet visor bolts) to bolt the shroud to the isolator. This works very well, really stiffens things up and pulls the front edges of the shrouds in slightly. The rubber isolator flexes so the plastic doesn't crack, but is still strong. Only broke one in the past year, in a pretty severe crash two weeks ago.
I'll try and find the photo I posted on the Smackover site some time ago. I use an equivalent of the lower pipe mount vibration isolator, but get them much cheaper from an industrial supplier. I'll get the part#. Male end into the GP brace with loctite. Cut the tit off the shroud, and drill an M6 clearance hole. Use a wide head M6 bolt(I use aluminum helmet visor bolts) to bolt the shroud to the isolator. This works very well, really stiffens things up and pulls the front edges of the shrouds in slightly. The rubber isolator flexes so the plastic doesn't crack, but is still strong. Only broke one in the past year, in a pretty severe crash two weeks ago.
SpeedyManiac
New member
Do the bikes not come stock with a metal brace running from the outside of the radiators backwards following the shroud to the frame? My bike has custom aluminum braces bolted to the frame around the rads plus a metal support bolted to the radiator running back to the frame at about a 30 degree angle with the frame. I'll post pics when I strip my bike down this week for race prep.
SpeedyManiac
New member
I looked again and it's custom. I have an aluminum bar (3/4 of a rectangle outlining the radiator) bolted to the frame down tube, then another bar bolts to the brace and runs back on the frame. I'll post pics on Saturday maybe. It's definitely sturdy.
d2w
New member
Hi,
Could one of you with the GP Rad Braces please post a pic of the unit, or provide some dimensions of it? I'd like to see if it would work *with* my existing billet guards.
Added strength would be good.
I despise the little held-nut mechanism for the lower shroud mount.
Specifically:
1) How long are the male threads which attach to the frame (since the billet guards are quite thick in that area)?
2) How do you screw the braces in in the first place? Is there a flat which you can grab with a wrench?
3) How long is the tubular part of the brace?
Regards.
Dale
Could one of you with the GP Rad Braces please post a pic of the unit, or provide some dimensions of it? I'd like to see if it would work *with* my existing billet guards.
Added strength would be good.
I despise the little held-nut mechanism for the lower shroud mount.
Specifically:
1) How long are the male threads which attach to the frame (since the billet guards are quite thick in that area)?
2) How do you screw the braces in in the first place? Is there a flat which you can grab with a wrench?
3) How long is the tubular part of the brace?
Regards.
Dale
radiator guards
Both Gmp and Erik are on to something here! I have been thinking on the same lines. I have a gas gas '05 fse 450 and added a 2.8 gal. gas tank. The Clark tank came with good strong metal shroud screw inserts imbedded in the tanks plastic. Remedied the shroud screws pulling out. But my plastic shrouds do stick out too far with the larger tank. I ordered and installed the LTR gp braces for the bottom of my radiators and was told that I didn't have the right model bike to accept the gp's on top. But I figured I could just cut the tit down a bit on each shroud and was wondering how to tie it all together. I like the idea of a rubber bumper, and drilling and bolting shroud to radiator. Could u guys be more specific and maybe post some pics? Thanks, Bob
Both Gmp and Erik are on to something here! I have been thinking on the same lines. I have a gas gas '05 fse 450 and added a 2.8 gal. gas tank. The Clark tank came with good strong metal shroud screw inserts imbedded in the tanks plastic. Remedied the shroud screws pulling out. But my plastic shrouds do stick out too far with the larger tank. I ordered and installed the LTR gp braces for the bottom of my radiators and was told that I didn't have the right model bike to accept the gp's on top. But I figured I could just cut the tit down a bit on each shroud and was wondering how to tie it all together. I like the idea of a rubber bumper, and drilling and bolting shroud to radiator. Could u guys be more specific and maybe post some pics? Thanks, Bob
Last edited:
d2w said:
1) 0.80-0.82 inches for the modified CRD brace set up I run, which does not have any added metal part on the inside. You would need to add the the thickness of the guard mount to the thread length.
2) Since I run the stock louvers, I just use pliers on the rounded part, since I can access it in front of the radiator. If you run a radiator guard, then it gets more challenging.
3) 4.90 inches long provides minimal clearance between the brace and the radiator. I now use GP braces that are 5.10 inches to provide more clearance between my modified CRD brace and the radiator to provide a bit more room for brace deformation/deflection on impact. You would need to shorten these lengths correspondingly by the thickness of the inner guard mount, since it offsets the brace out.
Here is a good thread to address your side impact concerns.
http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=192810
This post is a little biased because I build the BPD rad guards. The reason I started building them is because I crushed all the stamped guards.
I don't need a tie back to the head stay. My guards are cut from solid billet. They don't flex or bend. I have tested them for 5 years. I have yet to have a side impact failure.
As for airflow. My guards will dissipate the heat off the radiator and flow much more air then a flatland guard. I don't have any bracing that runs behind the radiators. This bracing only reduces airflow and makes your installs and maintenance more time consuming and tests your patience.
I also offer the best customer service out there. If you don't like my product I will give you a refund. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
If you still have questions or concerns check out my testimonials page on my web site: www.bulletproofdesigns.com
Thanks,
Nate Scott
816-695-3784
I don't need a tie back to the head stay. My guards are cut from solid billet. They don't flex or bend. I have tested them for 5 years. I have yet to have a side impact failure.
As for airflow. My guards will dissipate the heat off the radiator and flow much more air then a flatland guard. I don't have any bracing that runs behind the radiators. This bracing only reduces airflow and makes your installs and maintenance more time consuming and tests your patience.
I also offer the best customer service out there. If you don't like my product I will give you a refund. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
If you still have questions or concerns check out my testimonials page on my web site: www.bulletproofdesigns.com
Thanks,
Nate Scott
816-695-3784
