Anybody tried one of these radiator guards on a 3G VF750C?

[Sledge Hammer]

I came across this radiator guard which looks like it would go a long way towards making the radiator less of an obvious eyesore on the 3rd Generation Magna abd wondered if anybody has tried one or knows somebody who has one and has an opinion yea or nay about it. Thanks in advance...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390043279389&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=

[tmds3]

Looks good, my only problem is shipping from Hong Kong, have had bad luck in the past with a seller there.

Neutral feedback rating   grill fit ok but the inner section is poorly chromed. not completely satiafied.   
fswiseman ( 4 )   May-04-09 11:18
    *
      Reply by kakahealthcare (May-11-09 05:51):
      Did you get inner section is Chromed even OEM product????

   Magna VF750 750 Radiator Grill Cover Chromed 1994 -2008 (#390043279389)   US $78.99   View Item

What someone who purchased it thought

[Sledge Hammer]

Good catch, David. I saw the backrest, saddlebag gaurd, and decal comments, but I missed the one I was after. Thanks! Looks like that's a bit pricey to be anything less than perfect.

[Greg Cothern]

Buy one send it to me and I will install it on my Project 96 and provide you with a full technical write up and review on it!

[Chokse]

It says in the seller's ad on Ebay that "if you want good quality, buy OEM parts".  If the seller's advertisement tells you that it is poor quality, that should be a pretty big warning.  Just my two cents.

[lragan]

I have seen a pic somewhere with a chrome radiator cover installed -- to me, it merely calls attention to the ugliest feature of the bike.  I prefer black.

I have heard, but don't know if it is true, that the reason HD was so long going to water cooled was one of the founders, or their family hated the look of the radiator so much...

[Sledge Hammer]

Buy one send it to me and I will install it on my Project 96 and provide you with a full technical write up and review on it!

Whatta pal! 

[Jim8208]

I have seen a pic somewhere with a chrome radiator cover installed -- to me, it merely calls attention to the ugliest feature of the bike.  I prefer black.

I have heard, but don't know if it is true, that the reason HD was so long going to water cooled was one of the founders, or their family hated the look of the radiator so much...

+1

[Sledge Hammer]

I have seen a pic somewhere with a chrome radiator cover installed -- to me, it merely calls attention to the ugliest feature of the bike.  I prefer black.

I have heard, but don't know if it is true, that the reason HD was so long going to water cooled was one of the founders, or their family hated the look of the radiator so much...

Y'know, it gradually dawned on me that there's a reason the radiator is black and that putting a nice, chrome-plated insulator around it might interfere some with its ability to shed heat effectively. I seem to recall from my pitiful grasp of physics that the color for the optimum absorption of heat is also the optimum color for radiation of heat, and that would be black. Duh.

[lragan]

Mike, you are right, as usual, about radiated cooling. 

I have not done the analysis, but suspect that most of the cooling from the "radiator" is actually due to convection, which depends on air flow.  Putting a cover over the radiator doesn't help the airflow either, so you probably get hurt two ways. 

Even so, unless you are in a lot of stop and go traffic, the net effect would probably be to run the fan a bit more.  I think my fan has only run once or twice since I have owned the bike.  The cooling system seems quite adequate, which is a good thing.