Radiator Cages

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PEB

New member
For you engineer types reading this. How much benifit would I gain by bracing my homebrew radiator cages back to the subframe that runs around the tank? I am looking for a little triangulation to keep the whole assembaly from bending back. I have thought of welding a small tab to the subframe, using a hose clamp or drilling through the subframe and using a small diameter bolt to connect my triangulation to the front subframe. Any thoughts?

Paul


I should just buy some premade units but I always seem to have way more time than money.
 

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im trying to figure out a bracket setup so i can bolt on a set of Works Connection style radiator braces , im thinking about something that will clamp to the frame in front of the fuel tank , it sucks because theres no mounting points to bolt anything to. Using the subframe mounts would work but you'd have to use a long mount which might be flimsy .
 
I am thinking about mounting to the small hoop the tank sits in no the actaull rear subframe. I had thought about a bracket arond the frame or even a block nestled between the motor mounts. None of those options provides any triangulation.
 
i have an idea that will work ill get a pic to you tomorrow when my girls around, i dont know how to crop my pics to post them
 
Paul,

On my '01 XC300 I had GP radiator braces and Flatland radiator guards. Even with the GP braces, the Flatland guards crumpled from side impacts, allowing my radiators to be significantly deformed.

I installed modified CRD radiator braces on my '06 EC300 to provide triangulation in conjunction with GP radiator braces - see images. I added an extra plate on the brace along the side of the radiator. After 2 1/2 years of thrashing my '06 EC300 the radiators are in fine shape.

I also made some triangulated braces out of sheet aluminum similar to the CRD braces for my '01 XC300.
 

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Here is a pic of the nice Meca braces. 4mm thick aluminum and crossed braces all the way across in the back. These are for the 07-09 bikes but the 06 and earlier are similar. Go Fasters will have some soon. Big coin though.

Here is a link to a pic of 99-06 braces. http://www.mecasystem.fr/produit-338-g1459-arceaux-de-protection-radiateur-125-200-250-300-am-99-a-05-gas-gas.html


view899.jpg
 
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On my 01 EC200 I have a custom rad brace setup (no frontal puncture protection). It's braced back to the frame (the brace is hidden behind the rad shroud) and the triangulation is GREAT. These suckers are bomb proof.

For bought units, those mecasystem ones look good. My personal choice is the Force Accessories guards out of Australia. They're awesome (though a bit of a pain to install).
 
Mine are modified Flatlands, with a total side thickness of 5mm that is supported by the GP braces top and bottom. Its tough to acheive the optimum triangulation considering the space. I whipped up the head stay mount as I was in a hurry to ride, so far has been bulletproof, but more trianulation would be nice. If you have time to kill while you heal, design a brace that is TIG welded to the frame like speedy describes for additional support to a good set of guards and GP braces. I will probably do this eventually when I strip the bike to the frame for major service.
 
Glen, What does the mount you fabbed up look like? For the brace to the rear of the radiators I have been thinking of a aluminum rod that runs from one side all the way to the other. I think I will probably go with a hose clamp around the tank subframe to hold my triagulated brace in place. It will rest against the frame where it meets the tank subframe. I'll Take some pics tonight and post them if I can figure it out.

Paul
 
Thet look nice however they don't appear to triangulate back to the frame which is what I am after. I also don't understand why the Scorpion and Mecca systems have the plate that mounts betweent the radiators and the frame other than perhaps a place to attach the GP style braces.
 
Glen that looks nice. Perhaps I should copy your idea, how thick are your new motor mounts? Or what do you think about just a strut from side to side not secured in the middle? I added some pics to the original message of what I have done so far. I plan on using a hose clamp where my finger is pointing in the first pic and trimming at the black lines on the leading edge. I have close to 1/4 crumple room ( though I'm pretty sure they won't crumple) between the cage and radiator. The last pic shows how the previous owner beefed up the older style radiators. After reading about how thick of materials others have used I am wondering if my 1/8 stuff is beefy enough.

Thanks to all.
 
Paul,

My new head stays are made from some 3/16" 6061 plate I had. The sides of my Flatlands (approx 1/8") are overlaid with an additional 1/8"+ 6061 plate with a bend around the front edge for strength. This is screwed to the sides of the Flatlands, and the ends of the GP braces. The original Flatland mount was cut off and relocated back and up to match the new head stay mount. So now you have at least 1/4" total tied to the frame through the GP braces, with at least a 1/4" clearance to the side of the rad. I also drill and mount my shrouds at the top to the top brace with a rubber isolator (same as front pipe mount), so the shroud can flex a bit in a hit and not rip out or bend the rad tab. Its quite strong. One rad took a baseball size rock kicked up by the bike in front, dinged the Flatland grill in some but NO bending rearward. You can get more radical and make head stays with the mounts farther back, but then plug access and flex become issues. All you can expect to do is eliminate/minimize low speed tipover damage, there is nothing of practical weight/size that will keep the rad from getting wrecked in a warp speed encounter with a tree. I got one of the first '07s, and had limited rad guard options at the time, so I did what I had to do. IMO the '07+ rads are cheesy and weak compared to the older rads, and I would not even ride the bike without protection as I have no nice place to fall here. Frontal protection is also a must as I have proven several times.

As far as tying the rear mounts together with no support, thats how the Flatlands were mounted on my nephews 125 GG by the previous owner, as there is no head stay like the bigger bikes. Not the best solution, I just have no time to fix it.

Now, to figure out how to build a clavicle/shoulder cage.;)
 
Glen, I have decided to chance frontal impact by leavinh the stock louvers inplace. They do have an upper and lower brace behind them. I installed the guard last night with just the front two GP braces and the triangulated back hoseclamped to the tank subframe. The unit is very stout as I can move the whole bike far before I get any deflection. I agree about the radiators on the newer bike, they look very flimsy unlike the beefed up older style on my bike. I like my bike more and more but still have got only a couple min. on it. However the shoulder is coming along nicely and I return to work this Friday. About another month before I take the bike out and flog it. On the subject of shoulder cages I hav er been looking at hockey gear, it looks beefier than my Thor Impact rig.

Paul
 
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