Jump to content

UNABIKER RAD GUARD REVIEW

By 35racer,
in WR400F/426F/450F

 Share

Recommended Posts

Contributor

35racer

Posted
Posted

UNABIKER Radiator Guards

Written by: Tony Iannarelli (Tony@TonysTrackDays.com) ~ November 2004

I recently purchased an "almost new" Yamaha WR450F. It had a few hundred street miles - never crashed and never seen dirt. Having owned an air-cooled XR400 before this, one of the first things I was worried about on the new bike were the radiators getting damaged and leaving me stranded.

Radiator guards seemed like the wise solution and based on some positive comments on this board, I went with the UNABIKER brand. Below are some of my thoughts.

FINISH - A+

This one is easy... EXCELLENT! There's really not much more to say. The parts have a beautiful finish and reflect a professionally made product.

FIT - B

My first recommendation is to label the parts LEFT or RIGHT with a sticker. Sure, with a little trial and error you can determine which pieces go where - but why put your customers through that? Take the extra 20 seconds to stick a pre-made label on each part.

Once I determined which pieces go where, I proceeded to actually start the installation. The front portion of each guard went on very easily, and used the stock radiator mounting points. The back piece is a little more tricky, but not too bad. It uses the stock GAS TANK mounting bolt on each side.

The back and front portions wrap around the outside edge of the radiator and have holes that are supposed to line up with pre-existing holes in your radiator.

In my case, the parts did not accurately line up and discussions with UNABIKER and other owners have convinced me that I got a "less than perfect" pair. UNABIKER is sending me a replacement set that I have full confidence will fit perfectly. I will update this section as soon as the other set arrives.

FUNCTION - A+

I haven't tested it yet, but the Unabiker radiator guard looks like it will provide excellent protection. I gave it the old "bang" test after it was all together and it was definitely very solid. It appears that it will effectively transfer any impact to the frame of the bike.

CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATIONS

This is a high-quality part and UNABIKER has definitely stood behind his product to ensure my satisfaction. With the new sets arrival, I am certain it will get an A+ rating in all categories.

MINOR SUGGESTIONS TO UNABIKER:

- Drill 2 additional holes to match all the radiator holes. These "alignment" holes allow the user to easily line up the "bolt" holes. This will assist even when the bend is not perfect.

- Attach the nuts/bolt bag to the guards. Do not loosely put them in the box as they might get missed and thrown away... like I did. ?

Purchase Info

www.unabiker.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 47
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • 6

  • 5

  • 8

  • 4

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

unabiker
unabiker

I'm on it. The way I look at it, if you ain't happy, I ain't happy. Thanks for giving me a chance to make sure you love your Unabikers! ?

Rising Star

unabiker

Posted
Posted

Tony,

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll add 2 more holes on the outter flanges as you're suggesting. I'll also check the angles on the flanges that were fighting you.

The guards should have came with a baggie of hardware. Not sure what happened there. There is a hardware kit on the way to you.

Thanks again for the constructive critiscisim. These are exactly the things I need to hear so I can make sure I'm putting out the best stuff.

Brian

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Contributor

35racer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

OK on the hardware bag. That makes me feel better.

With the quality of the parts, it did seem odd that no hardware was included. I looked on the directions and didn't see mention of "included hardware" so assumed they were not intended to be included.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Contributor

35racer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The hardware issue has been addressed and I removed that from my review.

Maybe Unabiker can explain how the bends are made? Is it possible for 2 of us to get slightly different bends to the outer angles?

I'm in Massachusetts, so showing you the fit on my bike is probably not an option. But I assure you I tried all the usual methods of making stuff line up... such as not tightening the other bolts to give some "play".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rising Star

unabiker

Posted
Posted

Tony,

We bend these on a manual sheet metal break. It is done by hand, so there is the possiblity of some slight variation between sets.

I'd be happy to go over to the Yamaha shop this afternoon to fit up a set, then send them to you if you would like.

Just say the word. ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Contributor

35racer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I actually would like that.

And my reason is this.

Right now, if I have to take off my tank, I will need to take off the radiator guard bolts.

Because the outer bolts are under so much pressure to get the ends to fit, the gas tank mounting bolt is under pressure.

There is no hurry, but I would certainly like to swap them with a fresh set at your convenience.

This is EXCELLENT customer service and is exactly why I like to do business with board members!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Enthusiast

sigurd

Posted
Posted

Hello all,

I just finished putting my radiator guards on my 2005 WR450F and they fit perfect. No problems whatsoever. It took me about a half hour. I'm very happy with zero complaints. Thanks for the awesome product!!

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Contributor

35racer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

OK... important update.

Seeing how responsible Unabiker is being (and again, how high quality the part is), I felt compelled to go home and rummage through my trash one more time for the nuts and bolts.

This time, I actually took all the crumpled packing paper and flattened it out. Sure enough... buried in the folds of the packing paper was the small baggie.

So I want to apologize for that.

Two things I would suggest to prevent this:

1 - tape or zip tie the bag to one of the guards.

2 - make a note on the instructions that say the nuts/bolts are included.

Now... having found the bolts, I see they are much thinner in diameter than the actual holes. The ones you supply are actually the same as the ones I ended up using.

If I was using the thinner diameter bolts from the start, it would have reduced my install time. However, I must say, even with these bolts there is still a lot of force needed to line up the holes... which you are addressing by sending new guards.

I'll adjust my initial review in a moment to reflect this, but wanted to make sure this info got out as soon as I had it.

Unlike some of our politicians... I like to quickly and publicly apologize when I'm at fault. ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Contributor

35racer

Posted
  • Author
Posted

In looking at the Rooster guard... it appears that they do not offer the same level of protection from a side-impact that the UNABIKER does.

The Unabiker wraps around the radiators and mount to the frame.

If you hit the outside of the rad, the force is transferred to the frame and not the rads.

That said... assuming my new pair of Unabikers line up correctly, I would estimate total install being about 20 minutes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veteran

oldbones

Posted
Posted

Ok, don't want to steal Unabikers thunder, and have never used his product, so I have no opinion on it.

But, in defense of the Rooster guards, the latest designs DO wrap around, and incorporate braces as well to add rigidity to the whole package.

YZF450-rad-menu.jpg

My PERSONAL opintion, is that these are the absolute best guards on the market.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Reply with:

ThumperTalk

Register a new account Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...
Terms of Use
Copyright
Privacy Policy