Rad guards

wayneday · Post by **wayneday** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:23 am

Just wondering if anyone knows if the rad guards (not sure what they're called) serve a purpose other than the aesthetic value? I am thinking about removing them on my 76 but want to make sure it will not affect some function. Thanks

SnoBrdr · Post by **SnoBrdr** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:24 am

wayneday wrote:Just wondering if anyone knows if the rad guards (not sure what they're called) serve a purpose other than the aesthetic value? I am thinking about removing them on my 76 but want to make sure it will not affect some function. Thanks

Yes, they help direct air flow.

wayneday · Post by **wayneday** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 12:35 pm

Makes sense, thanks. I live in northern Ontario and we rarely get scorching temps here and I don't spend much time in traffic.......do you think its ok to remove them?

Thanks again!

roadwanderer2 · Post by **roadwanderer2** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 12:40 pm

which guards are you talking about, side, top, bottom?

stuart.

roadwanderer2 · Post by **roadwanderer2** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 12:44 pm

not only do they direct air flow, but they also help keeping stuff like stones, and other road debris out of the radiator fins.

stuart.

wayneday · Post by **wayneday** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 1:15 pm

I was referring to the side (painted) guards that appear to be removed on some of the GL 1000's I've seen. Not a big deal but if they can be removed without hindering anything then I was going to go that route.

roadwanderer2 · Post by **roadwanderer2** » Thu Feb 19, 2015 1:44 pm

well, to that aspect I cant say, but I guess you could try it, but keep your eye on your temp gauge to see if it runs hotter without them on. if it does, I would suggest you reinstall them.

stuart.

Old Fogey · Post by **Old Fogey** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 7:10 pm

Doug runs Cyborg without them, and when we did the summer trip right across country in 106 degrees he had no problems. Well, we had problems with the heat but the bike didn't!

(it looks in the picture that he does, but the rad is moved forward due to the 'poorboy' type alternator.)

roadwanderer2 · Post by **roadwanderer2** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:12 pm

Old Fogey wrote:Doug runs Cyborg without them, and when we did the summer trip right across country in 106 degrees he had no problems. Well, we had problems with the heat but the bike didn't!

(it looks in the picture that he does, but the rad is moved forward due to the 'poorboy' type alternator.)

Doug and Cyborg 1 (Medium).jpg

I remember seeing this bike in a photo from another website.

stuart.

spiralout · Post by **spiralout** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 11:16 am

roadwanderer2 wrote: I remember seeing this bike in a photo from another website.

stuart.

That's Wingovations US guy, OF's American counterpart and his '78

http://ngwclub.com/forum/memberlist.php ... ile&u=7025

Post by **WingAdmin** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 11:20 am

That is one sharp looking bike.

Old Fogey · Post by **Old Fogey** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 11:43 pm

WingAdmin wrote:That is one sharp looking bike.

It is looking even sharper this year with a repaint. Similar colour-scheme but the grey is now metallic. Pics when he gets a camera.

His other one is sharp too. 76 GL1000, monoshocked, rear fuel tank, 1200 engine, since this pic now got full 1200 front end.

roadwanderer2 · Post by **roadwanderer2** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:49 pm

Old Fogey wrote:
WingAdmin wrote:That is one sharp looking bike.
It is looking even sharper this year with a repaint. Similar colour-scheme but the grey is now metallic. Pics when he gets a camera.
His other one is sharp too. 76 GL1000, monoshocked, rear fuel tank, 1200 engine, since this pic now got full 1200 front end.

muffler 3 (Medium).jpg

how did he mono-shock this bike? can it be done to an 1100? nice color combination, tank in the rear looks really nice too.

stuart.

Old Fogey · Post by **Old Fogey** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:01 pm

I could tell you........but then I'd have to kill you!

Seriously, too much to go into in a simple reply. Loads of work and experimenting to get it right. It looks good in the pics, but Doug is never happy; to be honest at that time it was a sort of work in progress, so now it's back in bits to get a proper build.
More pics of both of them when I get over in the summer.

roadwanderer2 · Post by **roadwanderer2** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:09 pm

Old Fogey wrote:I could tell you........but then I'd have to kill you!

Seriously, too much to go into in a simple reply. Loads of work and experimenting to get it right. It looks good in the pics, but Doug is never happy; to be honest at that time it was a sort of work in progress, so now it's back in bits to get a proper build.
More pics of both of them when I get over in the summer.

aw come on man, you can tell me, I promise I wont tell anybody. it'll be our own little secret.

lol.

stuart.

Post by **WingAdmin** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:19 am

Old Fogey wrote:I could tell you........but then I'd have to kill you!

Seriously, too much to go into in a simple reply. Loads of work and experimenting to get it right. It looks good in the pics, but Doug is never happy; to be honest at that time it was a sort of work in progress, so now it's back in bits to get a proper build.
More pics of both of them when I get over in the summer.

I was going to ask the same thing! My thoughts were more along the line of, does the original swingarm have the strength to handle the force of suspension weight (which is normally borne by the shocks mounted to the end), as well as the torsional stiffness (as again, torsion was borne by the original shocks) - the swingarm pivot bearings certainly were not designed for torsion, and I'm sure the swingarm itself doesn't have torsional stiffness designed into it.

Fred Camper · Post by **Fred Camper** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 1:45 pm

I too agree that the Rad Guides help, but are not required. I have not been running them on my 1977.

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