Author Topic: Aftermarket radiators  (Read 12922 times)

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Offline Camstyn

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Aftermarket radiators
« on: October 31, 2016, 01:14:27 PM »
Has anyone tried the cheap Chinese radiators on ebay? I had a set for my Husqvarna and they fit well, but I've heard stories of them not even remotely fitting for some other makes/models. Has anyone tried them for the KX5?

I just picked up a 99 and the rads are mangled.

Offline Foxx4Beaver

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2016, 08:45:39 PM »
there's a bunch of threads on aftermarket rads on here, just do a search.

Mylers make some really good rads too...

https://www.motorcycleradiators.com/
Excuse me, ma'am...but you've got extremely nice legs!!!...what time do they open???                                                                                                               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8tCgN3aryQ

Offline jhvh

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2016, 12:45:06 AM »
I have some cheap rads on my k5, I found that the radiator mounting brackets kept breaking, usually just top and bottom, just recently I tore the bike down for a rebuild and found another 3 brackets cracked through, (I had only one bracket welded previously) no issues with blowouts or coolant leaks. For the price they are worth it, not sure how old mine are as they came with the bike but 2-3 years for $100 rads ain't too bad.

Offline Camstyn

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2016, 07:09:58 AM »
I did do a search before posting, maybe I missed something but didn't find the info I was looking for.

I ordered a set, we'll see I guess. If they line up with everything and don't leak then I'll be satisfied for what I paid.

Offline jhvh

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2016, 11:35:05 AM »
on my mine the only fitment issue was radiator shrouds, where the squeeze tabs mount the
radiator, the holes were a little too big. PO just gunked them in place with some sealer, I'm hoping they've improved on that cause I'm not fixing my rads again. Cost too much!

Offline sandblaster

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2016, 03:36:47 PM »
My experience is all over the place.
years ago I tried a set and none of the holes lined up and were all the wrong size.
I sent the company prints so that they could fix their issues but others had some of the same issue.
Recently a customer of mine bought some and they fit good.
Mine all suffered from broken mount welds.
Re-welded them and no issues.
On the cooling side they take a little longer to warm up then the stock rads.
But over all cooling efficiency is the same.
If you have some time there is some good info in this thread on cooling in general.

http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=295

Some have gone to amazing lengths to get additional cooling  8-)
The four stroke engine: That's one stroke for producing power and three for wearing the engine out.

Offline manco

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #6 on: November 04, 2016, 08:35:43 AM »
Since my original post I bought and installed a set of Chinese radiators on my KX500. The installation issue of the Chinese radiators I found is the radiator mounting tabs and hose barbs don't line up with the frame mounting tabs and the bike in general. There are three solutions I found to adapting the Chinese radiators to a KX500: Adapters can be fabricated to bolt things together, tabs on the radiators can be cut off and re-welded or the mounts on the frame can be moved.

Searching this forum and Google will come up with bolt on adapter and cut off/re-weld tabs solutions. I don't recall finding any frame mods on the net up till I current KX500 build when I opted to move the frame tabs and used welded adapters to match the Chinese radiators. The solution of modding the frame mounts worked out for me as I had the means to fab/weld steel and some of the frames tabs on my project already needed to be removed for repair.

Here are some more notes on mounting the Chinese rads to a KX500:

When adapting the radiators be sure to check fitment in relation to the radiators, frame, engine, muffler, gas tank and radiator shrouds. It would be possible to fit the rads to the frame and not realized the mounting could interfere with other components besides the frame. Its a pain to check fitment with all components but worth the effort. Some of the mounting holes may line up when holding the rads to the frame. If using those existing mounts that do seem to line up its till a good idea to check overall fitment. The rads just barely fit so if they are mounted a little off hoses may not fit well, rads rub into the gas tank, ect. can occur.

The Chinese radiator hoses are generic and come in random pieces that need to be cut to fit. I spent an hour one night lining things up to make the Chinese hoses work. There was no hose long enough to reach from the top right rad to the water pump though. My solution was to buy an aluminum splice to connect two hoses to make that one long hose. When the time came to actually mount the hoses dammed if I could figure out again what needed to be cut where to make things work and splice a long hose together for the right side. In the end I said screw it and ordered an OEM hose for the right side rad to water pump.

Water hose outlets on the rads need to be moved or modded to fit the KX500. All the hoses outs fits on my project except the upper left hose that goes at 90 degrees into the cylinder head needed modifying. The hose just barely fit but the radiator hose mount interfered with the flow of water to some extent. Moving the mounts differently probably would have eliminated this problem but I am not sure. My solution was to notch the left radiator hose mount at its output to allow water to flow freely through the fitting, into the hose and on to the head while still leaving a good amount of metal to attach the hose to on the rad hose barb.

The radiator mounts that hold the radiator fin/guards in place were not bent right on the rads I bought. The angle was wrong and the distance between the mounts left the fins loosely attached. There are a few solutions to this I thought of, the mounts could be moved, the fins wired on or small bolts to hold the fins on. I decided not to mess with the mounts for the fins. I just made quick clips out of a wire that goes through the fins on the outside mounts and wraps around the fins/mounts.
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Offline justreal

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2016, 11:08:42 AM »
 sounds like a real PIA

Offline manco

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2016, 07:32:58 AM »
sounds like a real PIA

The Chinese radiators are a PIA. At under $100 a set they are affordable though so it offsets the PIA. The OEM radiators may be easy to install but they are a pain in the wallet at $700 a set for new.  :-P
"Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.”
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Offline KXDINO

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2016, 09:03:32 AM »
if you take in account the time to take them somewhere to get them in shape , then pay for the repairs , then pick them up again , and because most of them are different in size in one way or another why bother , unless they fit perfect first time go oem , i got a few sitting in the shelf that will never be used because there to far out.

Offline sandblaster

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #10 on: November 19, 2016, 10:10:26 AM »
We will be testing some Myler rads out next weekend.
If Sean Collier doesn't boil them over on his lean machine I will order a set for myself  :-D

https://www.motorcycleradiators.com/
The four stroke engine: That's one stroke for producing power and three for wearing the engine out.

Offline Johnnyafrica

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #11 on: November 19, 2016, 12:56:54 PM »
We will be testing some Myler rads out next weekend.
If Sean Collier doesn't boil them over on his lean machine I will order a set for myself  :-D

https://www.motorcycleradiators.com/

Mylers are the go to folks...just got some Chinese Rads...they didn't line up well at all.
I may just make the effort & Tig on new brackets & re-aligh the hose outlets.

Offline FL_Sharpshooter

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #12 on: November 19, 2016, 11:37:04 PM »
We will be testing some Myler rads out next weekend.
If Sean Collier doesn't boil them over on his lean machine I will order a set for myself  :-D

https://www.motorcycleradiators.com/
Mylers modified my stock kx450 radiators to fit my KX500AF SH routing. Good people to deal with.

Offline Camstyn

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #13 on: November 20, 2016, 10:41:30 AM »
We will be testing some Myler rads out next weekend.
If Sean Collier doesn't boil them over on his lean machine I will order a set for myself  :-D

https://www.motorcycleradiators.com/

Have you mounted them up yet? How is the fit and finish compared to stock? On their website it looks like every other chinese radiator but hopefully Myler is ensuring that there are no fitment issues.

Offline sandblaster

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Re: Aftermarket radiators
« Reply #14 on: November 20, 2016, 12:38:11 PM »
Won't know till late next week.
The four stroke engine: That's one stroke for producing power and three for wearing the engine out.