S4r rad protector

[Lee1980]

Finally made one, similar to nattys but silver and i wedged it between the ends instead of taking off the fans to bolt on:D:D

4 zip ties secure the corners incase it works loose, seen someone else use them on a rad to as theyre nylon hope they dont melt:o:o:o.

I like it what u think? Im also thinking of some trim to finish off the top and bottom of the mesh. If anyone else attempts it wear gloves to as my hands are cut to ribbons:lol::lol::lol:

Got some smaller diamond mesh for the oilcooler to do tommorow:bouncy::bouncy:

[Paul996]

Lee

Looks good, where did you get the mesh.
Might give it a go to protect the rad;)

[Lee1980]

B&Q is your friend 25x50 cm sheets i think or they have big ones, i got one bigger diamond for the rad and a smaller diamond for the cooler which u will see tommorow once my fingers have healed:D:D

I made it wedge between slot in ends of rad just cut till it went in, and held with zip ties plan to do same with cooler:D

[Albie]

Must just nip out to B&Q :D

[Lee1980]

And heres the oil cooler ,

Remember kids wear gloves as i have about 10 cuts now :lol::lol::lol:

[Lee1980]

and heres them both, in one pic

[LesPaul]

Not the best pic but here's mine, did it a couple of months ago :)

Darren

[Mr C]

What have you tie rapped it too?

[Lee1980]

On the rad it is wedged wetween the ends and held at each corner with a tie by passing it thru the gap between the last fin and the rad ends.

On the oil cooler is simply wedged in not fallen out yet:lol::lol:

[berto]

:P Looks good Lee just a wee question....did you have it on your front tyre cos you don't seem to be bothering the edge of the tyre(s****** s******)no offence!!

[Lee1980]

Thanks Berto for the praise, atleast mine aint pink and glittery:lol::lol::lol:

I prefer to keep it upright to;)

[Nattyboy]

Dont worry lee..we'll sort those chicken strips out up the fosse way on the way to donny sunday...:devil::D

Nat

[Lee1980]

Hehe the back ones near the edge, the front never seems to go over as far:o:o

[Paul996]

Looks like I need to take a trip to B&Q:)

Time i let my son learn how to cut diamond wire :devil:

[Nattyboy]

Quick note guys...you can only get this gear at B&Q WAREHOUSE..not the normal peasant version..!!!

Nat

[Lee1980]

yeah true Nat the gold was just to much bling for me:bouncy::bouncy:

[Lee1980]

Originally posted by Paul996
Looks like I need to take a trip to B&Q:)

Time i let my son learn how to cut diamond wire :devil:


Hehe i woudnt even i cut myself to ribbons got about 12 cuts and 2 blisters:lol::lol::lol:

All worth it:D

[Nattyboy]

Found a pukka product to finish our rad covers off..anodised screen trim for Halfords - £4.49 !!! Really good quality shiny bling in choice of black, chrome or red..and its even pre glued so you just puch it on.

So go on...I havent copyrighted it ... yet :lol: Poor picture but it really does finish the job off nicely

Nat

[Nattyboy]

Even had enough left over to bling the front mudguard up and get rid of that cacky rubber strip..!!:lol:

Nat

[Lee1980]

Excellet Nat will have to pop down and get me some, think i go for black to :D:D

Pukka!!!!

[Nattyboy]

Thats another beer you owe me my young apprentice...:lol:

Nat

[Rod]

Nattyboy, thinking of doing the same to the whale like rad on my yet to arrive S4RS and its equally gargantuan oil cooler. Is the strip available in a silver finish? Also interestingly you have attached the mesh to the rad using the fan retention mushroom head bolts. I think that look s really neat and only my fastidiousness makes me appreciate it even more. Is there enough reach on the bolts to allow for the added thickness of the mesh? I am not too keen on the use of tie wraps as they often distort the fins and I am a fussy barsteward. Lastly do B & Q do the mesh with a smaller hole pitch. I had one of those Australian made radguards on my 999 and the mesh was exactly the same hole size as that in the pics of yours. It stopped a lot of damage to the core but it ended up trapping a sh*t load of muck and bullets to the rad. Only problem I have now is a neat way of attaching the mesh to the oil cooler, given that I now know the one on the rad can be done with the fan bolts. Any help would be appreciated. Lastly what did you use to cut the mesh with. Will tin snips work is the gauge of the wire too thick for that.

[Simon Reed]

Try these out,all in stock !,for all Ducatis.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8038442330&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1 (http://)


[Edited on 22-2-2006 by Simon Reed]

[Nattyboy]

Originally posted by Rod
Nattyboy, thinking of doing the same to the whale like rad on my yet to arrive S4RS and its equally gargantuan oil cooler. Is the strip available in a silver finish? Also interestingly you have attached the mesh to the rad using the fan retention mushroom head bolts. I think that look s really neat and only my fastidiousness makes me appreciate it even more. Is there enough reach on the bolts to allow for the added thickness of the mesh? I am not too keen on the use of tie wraps as they often distort the fins and I am a fussy barsteward. Lastly do B & Q do the mesh with a smaller hole pitch. I had one of those Australian made radguards on my 999 and the mesh was exactly the same hole size as that in the pics of yours. It stopped a lot of damage to the core but it ended up trapping a sh*t load of muck and bullets to the rad. Only problem I have now is a neat way of attaching the mesh to the oil cooler, given that I now know the one on the rad can be done with the fan bolts. Any help would be appreciated. Lastly what did you use to cut the mesh with. Will tin snips work is the gauge of the wire too thick for that.

Hi mate

Thanks for the comments ! Yep - bolts long enough and mesh is available in silver, and in a smaller mesh size from memory. Easily workable with scissors.

Cheers
Nat

[Rod]

Thanks Nattyboy, I will be taking a trip to B & Q shortly!

[TORTUGA]

Yeah, nice one, keep tarting it up for Italian fest next month.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Simon Reed
Try these out,all in stock !,for all Ducatis.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8038442330&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1 (http://)


[Edited on 22-2-2006 by Simon Reed]

Link not working Simon, can you post it up again.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Nattyboy
Found a pukka product to finish our rad covers off..anodised screen trim for Halfords - £4.49 !!! Really good quality shiny bling in choice of black, chrome or red..and its even pre glued so you just puch it on.

So go on...I havent copyrighted it ... yet :lol: Poor picture but it really does finish the job off nicely

Nat

Nat, does this product have a particular name at all. Had a sniff around Halfords but could not find any. Maybe I was wandering around the wrong section! I generally steer clear of the car section anyway as it is usually full of all the boy racer Carlos Fandango "shi%e which just seems a bit pointless. Any clues mate.

Rod

[Nattyboy]

Rod - theres a specific bike bits section mate

[Simon Reed]

Try this !

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8045515889&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

[Edited on 9-3-2006 by Simon Reed]

[Edited on 9-3-2006 by Simon Reed]

[Rod]

Originally posted by Nattyboy
Rod - theres a specific bike bits section mate

Nat, thanks I eventually found it after three trips to different branches of Halfords. Was basically looking for the wrong stuff and eventually found it. Eureka! Oxford Products "Screen Trim" in black. One question though. Got the mesh from B & Q but it says it is ordinary drawn steel mesh, just the same stuff as in your pics. Is it treated or did you have yours anodised/galvanised & if not have you just left it as is? Is it corroded at all since you fitted it? If untreated I figured I would get it anodised or at least zinc plated to stop it rusting. I was hoping to find a local company that would maybe stick it in as part of a bigger job lot to keep the evils of corrosion at bay and the price down.

[Edited on 11-3-2006 by Rod]

[Rod]

Nat, Doh! Just re-read your post where you mention the "screen trim". That will teach me to read through 'em properly next time eh?

[Lee1980]

Rod mine was plain steel so is now rusty lol i plan to paint it once summer gets here. just rub it down and paint silver with some high temp paint.:roll::roll:

I think the mesh on them both has saved a lot of damage to the fins so well worth it in the long run even if it is brown now;)

[Rod]

I thought mine might go down that road if left untreated, so thanks for the info. I think I will get the bugger anodised and then I can fit and forget it. No luck finding a local company to do it so looks like a trip to Erith is in order. I used a company called Star Anodising and they were very efficient and cheap, which is nice. Failing that I will get it galvanised.

[Lee1980]

yep only took about 2 wet trips to get it brown lol I wish i wouldve painted mine now first or coated it with something.

I really think as standard there should be a cover of some sort not so bad on a sports bike as the fairing hides the rad a lot so you cant notice it so much, on the new s4rs the oil cooler looks to nice to to get wet even!!

[Rod]

Originally posted by Lee1980
yep only took about 2 wet trips to get it brown lol I wish i wouldve painted mine now first or coated it with something.

I really think as standard there should be a cover of some sort not so bad on a sports bike as the fairing hides the rad a lot so you cant notice it so much, on the new s4rs the oil cooler looks to nice to to get wet even!!

Well I have decided to get it powder coated after it's cut and shaped to fit both the rad and oil cooler. Found a fantastic local company who a friend of mine recommended today and they seem to be very reasonable when it comes to prices. Check out their website on www.aerocoat.net

They can even coat in flip colours and chrome effect finishes! I'm just getting the mesh done in silver in an effort to make it look discreet.

[Rod]

OK went a bit overboard with mine and got the mesh grilles silver nickel plated and decided to cover both front and rear faces. Looks good now it's done and covers that oh so vulnerable oil cooler.

[Edited on 28-4-2006 by Rod]

[Lee1980]

Very nice rod I dont get why on both S4r and S4rs there is no protection as standard both are so vunerable to bent fins from stones etc.

how u finding the S4rs? love those radials mmmmmm

[Rod]

You got that right! The fins as such are extremely soft and even brushing your hand over them or a sponge when you wash the bike will distort them. I had loads of problems on my old 748 and even had an oil cooler go on me due to a stone piercing one of the fluid carrying channels. I decided it was not worth the risk and brought my bike back from the dealers in a van before I fitted the protectors.

In answer to your question, I am still running it in (300 miles on the clock so far) so taking it easy to start with but at the max 6000 rpm which I am limited to for now, it is nudging over the ton and obviously has bags more to go. I believe the redline is at around 10000 rpm. Acceleration is spectacular and the bloody thing pulls like a train. Much more fun than my 999 was as the power is so much more useable and tractable and where you want it rather than at licence losing speeds the whole time, which in the real world is where most of us need it. Just waiting for the first service then I am binning those awful exhaust and that hideous cat. Only thing I want to do now is apply some sort of protective coat to the fork legs which are subject to stone chips. I have some tecnosel clear film which is probably what will work best, as it's resilient to all except giant boulders hitting it. As for the brakes, two fingers is all it takes to have you bury your face in the clocks unless you are very gentle with them. A lot of people say it is overbraked for the bike but I am used to similar setups on my 998, 999 so I can't say I have noticed it.

[Lee1980]

Sounds awesome Rod, I know if the RS was avaliable when i got mine for the extra money it wouldve been well worth it over the S4R.

At the moe just not different enough and im only not happy with mine cause of fuelling issue due to dodgy tps see thread further down, dont think mine has been right for a long time!!! I cant imagine the brakes and engine be ing much more powerful, mine gets me in enough trouble as it is!

We need more pics to, to drool over :lol::lol:
We just jealous:D:D