Metal radiator grilles touching radiators. Any issues? Thx

My buddy did a custom radiator guard on his ZX10. Eventually it caused holes in the radiator. I guess from the vibration and the contact it was making with the radiator.

Might be a risk keeping it on there.

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys. Yeah, I didn't like that it was touching the finned area, so removed it. What I noticed is it wasn't properly shaped, so after painstakingly bending it litle by little all over, including bending the mounting tabs (that were forcing the grille into the radiator), and mounting it back and forth, it now sits about 1 to 2mm off the finned area, and also clears the coolant reservoir. The only place the grille is touching is the vertical seams between the finned area and the solid sides. That should be fine, but will check it once hot, to make sure it's not touching. When it's installed, the shape changes, so it's a back and forth. Can't leave it perfectly, but it's close enough now. The oil one is not making contact anywhere on the radiator; just at the 3 mounting points, so no need to mess with that one. What I liked about these grilles is they're super strong, so nothing will get past it larger than the holes. Pleased with the end result. Will make sure to put a review on Amazon for others who might buy it. Fit is meant to be perfect, meaning no adaptation needed other than having to reshape it to the exact contour of the bike yourself. Not a huge deal. Thanks again for all your help. By the way, just finished installing the Grab-On MC-401 grips (just like grip-puppies, but the exact size), and they fit like factory. The grip-puppies can't look like factory because they're 5" long, so 3/4" over the size of our grips. Therefore, you have to run them up the curved part of the grips, and maybe leave a bit hanging on the barend side. Not the look this OCD guy would tolerate, so wanted to share my precise-fit grips. I've had those before, and never needed replacement. It was a breeze to install them, compared to what I was expecting. The trick was lots of spray. Hope this helps.

Finally, just wanted to comment how fantastic my Graves slip-on looks (without the decal), and how absolutely fantastic it sounds. Just incredible. Can't believe both being straight-thru how much the sound changed. Fit is absolutely perfect, and without decal, looks OEM. MUCH deeper sound now, just the way I wanted it; sounds better than any bike I've heard before, including Aprilia V4s. Awesome. And it was one of the cheapest, and absolutely the best finish of any, since there's a very solid bracket (instead of an ugly band) to support it, and no freaking springs either. Will take some photos one of these days (not a photo guy. Ha ha). The only negative is it took massive persuasion to insert it the last 1/2", but other than that, perfect fit and looks.

Did my research before buying, but found no other alternative, so no indication these grilles would have contact issues. Oh well. I've always been a function before form guy. Finally finished the installation job with zero contact on the finned area, which is the important area. Had to push and pull on each of the 4 mounting points to shape the grille to avoid contact in the finned area, and now have a consistent 1.5 to 2mm gap everywhere... but still have to check it when hot. If somebody else had started this thread, and I was reading it now, I'd go with the Evotechs without a doubt. Even if they work out at the end, not worth the effort to make them fit properly. That's also why I ordered Pazzo levers, Vagabond tail tidy, etc. More expensive, but worth the difference since they fit and work better (and many times they look better too). Didn't think radiator grilles would be an issue, but they were. Lesson learned .

I wouldn't want a grille touching the plastic reservoir constantly, even when AL heats up less than steel. The grilles I bought at Amazon cost the same as the Evotechs, and I like them better... but as you probably read, I had to bend them precisely into shape, and they don't touch anywhere after that. If I were you, I'd bend them carefully so they clear the reservoir. Shouldn't be an issue to do that. Good luck.

Yup. you never want two parts on your motorcycle touching eachother without them being fastened together to form one part.