7602 Radiator Guards

[Tessier]

I figured I would start adding some value to this forum and post my first product review for my 2011 TE310. So far I have ordered a skid plate from Uptite Husky, Radiator guards from 7602 racing and a steering dampner from GPR. The first to arrive was 7602 so prop's to you on quick shipping and friendly phone support! I intend to use this bike for Turkey Run's and general trail riding and am coming off a 2003 WR250F which was a great bike for me. Before that I had a DRZ400E which IMHO was an overweight under powered tank that was always breaking down when I was racing hair scrambles.

First things first I started by removing some of the junk.

But then I put back the end that goes on the gas cap. I am assuming you need it to keep the tank pressurized for the EFI but that's just my guess. While I am at it with the questions I saw someone seal the hole the charcoal filter hose enters with a screw. Anyone know what size screw was used? (Answer: it's an M5 X 5-10mm will work) Maybe someone can clarify.

Then I took this out.

Which was in the exhaust were the header meets the slip on.

Now we finally are at the 7602 Radiator guard install. First things first. Remove almost all the plastic off the bike. Radiator shrouds, side number plates, front fender pull it all off. FYI your also going to need to do a full flush of coolant so be prepared. When I called up and order the guards they made mention that they needed to modify ones they had in house to fit my bike. I though no big deal and they arrived quickly to my door. Overall they looked good, except the in house modifications which looked very homemade, but no biggie. One thing you'll notice is they fit really, really tight to the radiator. so tight you have to pull them apart to get them over the radiators. They will interfere with the tabs at the bottom of the radiator but they will make it over them see below and be prepared with a nice flat blade screw driver to gently persuade them.

I had to pull them on and off several times so I got good at this. Next thing I noticed is they don't fit.

You can see the interference where the guards hits the radiator and the holes won't line up. Off they came and to the Dremmel we went. A few modification and back on like a glove they went. When you get everything back on put the hose clamps on backwards from how you took them off. For whatever reason the screw end was dropped down just waiting to get snagged.

Now that they are on I realized I forgot to mount the radiator fan DAM IT! back off and on they go again. Now finally we are good and they are mounted and the install is complete.

What are my thoughts? One thing I don't like is how close all the cables come to them. I added some 3M adhesive padding but need to do a little work on that as you can see.

Overall I like them when compared to the flatland racing ones on my WR and the Devol ones on my DRZ. They look like they will hold up better then the others but I do think they could be better, so what would I change. Well i'd make them so you don't need to modify them first off! Next I would like to see the rear mount change to add more support so make it act more like a brace when it mounts to the rear mounting hole. I also might play around and see if I can add a spacer between the two of them to tie them both together to act as one member.

Next up is the Skid plate or Dampner which ever arrives first, hopefully we have more luck on those.

 

[HUSKYnXJnWI]

Looks nice, I'd just try to get those hoses/wires cleaned up so they are above the radiator/guards- they look like they are going to get cut soon. One looks like the coolant overflow and it looks pinched. You may have to put some washers between the rad and the frame to add some space if you can't get them cleanly above the radiator/guards. I'd also get some wiring loom protectant of some sort at that area to protect the wires- some wrap with electrical tape- I use a nylon sheath that has velcro- adds a clean look and protects my wiring. I purchased that from CompetitionProducts.

As far as the vacume nipple- I unsrewed the brass nipple and sized it up- I think it was an M5 sized bolt- and I cut that to the same length as the brass nipple's threads. Cleaned up the bolt and used a very small amount of rtv sealant on the bolt- but not any that would be pushed into the intake (slight coating of threads but leave the tip of the bolt clean).

 

[Tessier]

This is what the final completed install look's like. Overall I am happy with them and would do it again they really seam to build a cage around the radiator that will hopefully results in many happy miles of trail riding with no radiator issues!

And finally here is a picture of the bolt I used to seal up the hold from removing the charcoal canister.

Purchased at Home Depot its a 5MM X 10MM long. It was a little long so I added a flat and a lock washer as well as the original orange seal material from the old one. The great thing about it is that it has a 10MM head which match's lots of other fasteners on the bike.

 

[OlderHuskyRider]

But then I put back the end that goes on the gas cap. I am assuming you need it to keep the tank pressurized for the EFI but that's just my guess.

At least on my bike, the EFI does not require a pressurized tank, the tank MAY have been pressurized as a part of the canister set-up (to keep fumes pushed to the canister, my canister was removed before I got my bike), but with the canister removed, the tank probably just needs a normal vent.

 

[Xcuvator]

Thanks for the nice write up. I have a set for my 610 sitting on the bench, waiting for a rainy day install. I know now to be patient.

 

[HUSKYnXJnWI]

At least on my bike, the EFI does not require a pressurized tank, the tank MAY have been pressurized as a part of the canister set-up (to keep fumes pushed to the canister, my canister was removed before I got my bike), but with the canister removed, the tank probably just needs a normal vent.

Yea, You definately don't want the tank presurized positive or negative. Avoid one way valves- (some might work and not cause problems/ but usually do) use a straight hose/vent line instead (Freflow works)

 

[vintageveloce]

Tessier,
Great writeup. I'm putting these same braces on my TE250 right now.Your are right on the dremelling being necessary. And it does come tight to some of the wiring, I may round the edges some on my brace to help with that.

I weighed them!
Each brace weighs 1 pound 1.7 oz, and the guard adds 5.8 oz, for a total of 1 pound 7.5 oz per side.
So for both sides thats 2 pounds 15 oz. Say 3 pounds. ;-)
Heavier than I'd like but protection does add weight.
Carl

 

[Tessier]

Tessier,
Great writeup. I'm putting these same braces on my TE250 right now.Your are right on the dremelling being necessary. And it does come tight to some of the wiring, I may round the edges some on my brace to help with that.

That's interesting I though they didn't fit because there was a differences between the TE250 and TE310 radiators and the braces I got were meant for a TE250. I would have loved to have seen the rear mounting point look like the old fat guy racing ones for added strength, or had gotten the old fat guy racing ones but with the 7602 racing radiator guard.

FYI I also mounted the radiator guard portion different that 7602 say's too. I put the guard in front of the cross bars so that if something truly impact's them it would need to push there the cross bar and the guard before contacting the radiator. They recommend putting the guard behind the cross bar but they the only thing holding it in place is the head of the screw. May be minor but just wanted to mention.

 

[vintageveloce]

FYI I also mounted the radiator guard portion different that 7602 say's too. I put the guard in front of the cross bars so that if something truly impact's them it would need to push there the cross bar and the guard before contacting the radiator. They recommend putting the guard behind the cross bar but they the only thing holding it in place is the head of the screw. May be minor but just wanted to mention.

Actually, my directions must be different from yours, as they say to put the guards on just as you did. There is a photograph with the instructions that show the guard in front all three crossbars. Also, there is no way the guard would fit on the inside of the crossbars (between the crossbars and the radiator). I'll note this is different than how the guards are shown on the 7602 website, but there is no way they would fit that way. (Are you sure of what your directions said to mount the guard in back?) So I just followed the directions and it came out like your install.

 

[vintageveloce]

Oh, another note on the install. 7602 provides some longer bolts to mount the radiator with the added thickness of the guards. I found the bolts a bit too long and bottomed in some of the bolt holes! I ended up needing two additional washers to shim some of the bolts out. You might want to check this...

 

[Tessier]

I guess I just assumed I installed them wrong based on the pictures they show on there website and the pictures that are shown on there add from this forum. I didn't even try to install them as they showed because I liked how I did it first so I kept them on that way. I didn't need to use the bolts that came with them. I used my original bolts you can see the new ones on the floor sitting on the bag they came in.

 

[CARL REHATCHEK]

Maybe Husky is having some differences in tolorances as we used the 7602 racing units(guards and front covers on our 2010 TE 250 and it was one of the cleanest and fastest installs.. I believe I slide ours up from the bottom instead of trying to open them over the radiator and damaging fins. We also had a tight wiring harness on the 1st unit and then the 2nd bike the harness was alot thinner on the left upper side.

We since then went to a KTM 250 XC and did the same set up with Clays Orange anodized units with the same clean fitting results and awesome service...

No overheating and no more bent radiators.. Hope you guys enjoy yours as much as we enjoy ours.. Chow, Carl

 

[Colo moto]

FYI I also mounted the radiator guard portion different that 7602 say's too. I put the guard in front of the cross bars so that if something truly impact's them it would need to push there the cross bar and the guard before contacting the radiator. They recommend putting the guard behind the cross bar but they the only thing holding it in place is the head of the screw. May be minor but just wanted to mention.

The old design had the guard mounted from the rear of the brace rods as pictured on the website. The new design has them in the front the way they are in the instructions, and the way you mounted them. I just haven't updated the website with a pic of the current design. Our older design also had the rear mounting tabs similar to to the picture you posted but with only one rear mounting tab the brace is much more prone to twisting in a crash.

 

[vintageveloce]

Id be careful with that wiring harness. I just put the left radiator on the bike and ended up carefully rounding the guards edges.
I also wrapped a couple extra layers of electrical tape around the harness and used spiral wrap around the smaller lines.
and most importantly, I routed the harness OVER the radiator cross over tube to keep it from being crushed.
Ill post a photo later if I get a chance.
C

 

[vintageveloce]

A couple pics of my attempts to carefully arrange and protect the wiring. Note the spiral wrap and that I ran the big harness over the radiator crossover tube so that is is less pinched. But is does still get squished too much on the back side of the radiator. I used a couple extra wraps of electrical tape attempting to better protect that.

 

[Tessier]

I noticed the clamp on the top of the radiator did you add that? If so what size was it. Mine has a non reusable hose clamp that is used to tie the two side together. I don't like it because it offers not serviceability and was a pain to work around. I'll be digging back in this weekend as I install a GPR dampener so I'll have a chance to correct so issues I don't like.

 

[vintageveloce]

Yes, I didn't think the original crimp type clamp was reusable so I picked up some replacements. Sorry I don't know the size... they were just the smallest my HW store had on the shelf.

 

[vintageveloce]

Another thing about these 7602 Radiator Guards. They do make it so the radiators are a bit further apart from each other on the bike. So you have to stretch the lower hose to reach between them. I have some concern that might lead to hose failure. You can see the sharp bend below, due to the stretched hose, at the hose clamp.
I really don't I really don't like that and may end up getting aftermarket hoses to rectify the issue.

 

[Colo moto]

Another thing about these 7602 Radiator Guards. They do make it so the radiators are a bit further apart from each other on the bike.

Pretty much any brace that mounts between the rads and the frame is going to do this. We do our best to design these as best as possible, but we are still putting something on the motorcycle that wasn't there originally from the factory so there are gonna be small issues that just can't be avoided. I've never seen a hose fail from any brand of rad brace being installed so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Thanks for the input.

 

[McKay]

Just put a set on my 449 two days ago, they fit very well and I didnt have to any dremeling at all. They are a pain to put on but once they are lined up its a very nice system.