Got done washing the bike and started it up to dry it and notice steam coming from the left radiator. Been dropped to many times and the rad guard is bent to hell. Looked around and can find a new one shipped for $130 or can send it off to get fixed. Only thing is is that im going camping this weekend and Im not sure if ill get it back in time. Now my real question is since its just steaming and not losing fluid can I get afew more rides out of it if im carefull and keep an eye on it and also can any radiator repair shop fix it? Thanks!

run it..i rode once missing a rad cap and yesterday with a blown water pump gasket lol

i smashed up one of my rads not that long ago too i brought it to a local shop who has done numerous rad for me not only bikes but cars and machines too and they had it done by the next day and they gave it a freash coat of silver paint to make it look good. if u are going to go to a local shop just call up first since the rads on these bikes are aluminum and not everyone can weld and work on aluminum rads

Try a local radiator shop and see if they can repair it if it's just a simple crack.

If it's steaming, it's losing coolant....may not be quickly losing coolant, but that steam is coolant escaping.

Can you post a pic of the damage?

Once I noticed it was steaming, I took off the rad. fairing and it looked like it was coming from the top closer to the frame. I didnt do anymore inspecting like take the rad off which ill do tomorrow. The more I think about it maybe it could just have been water from washing the bike but i dout it becuase it was good amount of steam, enought to cause moisture and condensation on the aluminum frame. Ill take it off and see if its leaking then try my luck at the local repair shop.

MYLERS

They know thier stuff and can do a quick turn around. CA to UT not too far...however, you can probably find someone local that can make an acceptable repair.

Degrease the crack, make sure that it's fully clean of anti freeze, I would use laquer thinner to get rid of the semi-greasy antifreeze.

Pick up some JB weld poxy and apply it to the crack, if it's inbetween the fins it may be very difficult to repair.
But if it's not clean at all, the glue will not stick.

Good temp fix, sometimes ends up be a permanent one :D

Do a quick pressure-test by plugging the hose outlets and putting 10 pounds of air into the radiator while holding it under water, like checking a tire for leaks. It would be heck to take it in for repair, only to find that it was just wash water steaming off. My 500's will steam like hell if I fire them up too soon after washing them, as the cooling fins will hide a large quantity of the rinse-water. A small coolant leak will generally not produce too much steam, but raw water from washing expands at a 1,600 to 1 ratio by volume if I remember my college physics correctly.