Bullet Proof Designs Radiator Guards
There are a lot of great guards out there, but I wanted something that would easily fit under the big 25 liter Acerbis tank without chafing, yet still provide excellent bracing in case of side impact. Most of the other aftermarket guards are bent-up 1/8 inch sheet metal, and they wrap around the outside of the radiators, thus adding unwanted thickness to an area that is already tight (especially on the right side of my tank, for some reason). Those guards also can bend in a fall. The Bullet Proof Designs guards are machined from solid aircraft quality 6061 billet aluminum, and they fit inside the mounting ears on the KTM radiators. They are stout as hell yet feather-light, and they also flow a bunch of air. They are available in custom designs and also a black anodized finish. For the RFS they start at US$189, like the plain version I bought.
One downside of this setup is that the radiator cooling fins are now exposed to direct hits from (very) small stones and mud. I think the design would be much better if the slots were cut at a steep angle to absorb some of the energy from incoming shrapnel before it reaches the expensive radiator. Also, mud clogging will be a serious concern - if you race in wet conditions, I don't think you would want to install these!
Caution: If you decide to order a custom design with a logo, be aware that some of the holes are larger around the letters - thus exposing your fins to larger rock strikes.
The parts are beautiful, but it's obvious that they
are machined in a hurry with heavy fast cuts. There is nothing wrong with this -
it saves a lot of expensive machine time - but you can see the roughness on the
sides, back and recessed surfaces. The black thing is a beer bottle insulating
sleeve, I think.... maybe someone can clue me in here.
Close-up of one of the cut-outs.
Front vs back.
The guards would be fairly painless to install,
providing your radiators are virgin. Unfortunately mine have both been tweaked a
few times and they are no longer as square as they used to be, I had to
carefully pry out the outer ears to get enough clearance to tap the guards into
place using a rubber-faced mallet. I found that the inner edges bound up on the
rubber radiator mounting grommets, so I bevelled the leading edges at the inside
holes (as shown on the right side of the pic, compared to an unmodified
guard), and also the leading edges on the outside where they drag against the
inner surface of the radiator ears. This helped the guards to slide into place
without binding. I then tapped the bent-out ears back into position and
installed the hardware.
The alloy pan head, internal hex screws go into the
outside two holes, using blue loctite. I left out the washer on the lower screws
so they wouldn't interfere too much with the shrouds when I install the small
OEM tank. I reused the OEM inner mount bolts and washers, though new ones are
supplied. Two large holes are located roughly in line with the frame holes, but
it takes a long 1/4 drive extension and 8 mm socket to install the bolts. My
Blue Ridge Racing Stage 3 tool kit includes a long extension and sockets, and I
wanted to make sure it would work, so it is pictured in this shot.
CAUTION: If you buy one of these guard sets, plan
on carrying the necessary tools if you venture into the boonies! Also carry a
small extendable pocket magnet since dropping the bolt and washer inside the
guard will otherwise require removing it completely!
The cutouts are for fork clearance.
The right-side Bullet Proof Designs guard lying on
top of the right-side KTM tubular steel guard. The right side of the pic shows
their inner surfaces, which are lined up as they would be installed. The KTM
guards are 3/4 inch wider across the bottom - there is no way I could get the
big Acerbis tank to fit with the KTM guards installed, though others have
reported success.
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Updated Jan 22, 2007 |