Chinese copy of the Yamaha Mesh radiator guard review

[REDHORSECA]

I was looking to get the Yamaha metal mesh radiator guard and I was looking on eBay to purchase one. I clicked on one that I thought was a Yamaha part, but the price was so low.

 

I fine out it's basically a Chinese copy of the Yamaha mesh guard. So, I thought I would gamble and see if it was worth saving about $110 over the Yamaha part. It was about $43 with California tax and free shipping from China.

 

It was shipped 9/14 from China and it was delivered to me in California 9/21.

 

I don't have experience with the Yamaha BW3‑E24D0‑V0‑00 mesh metal radiator guard, so I can't do a complete comparison.

 

 

I believe the one I got from eBay is nearly a direct copy, with some small differences. Red square highlights the major differences that I can tell.

 

I like that the frame of the guard does not cover any of the radiator fins and the side wings of the radiator guard bolt onto the T700 radiator side plastics with the factory 4 of the 6 plastic rivets. The mesh completely covers the radiator fins.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't recall if it came with instruction, I don't think it did. I basically opened the box right away as the box was crushed and I opened it to check for damages. There was none. Only a small plastic bag with some bolts and washers taped to the rad guard.

 

1. You basically remove the plastic radiator side plastics off the bike, unplugging the front turn signals from the factory electrical connectors.
2. Remove two lower bolts securing the plastic radiator guard.
3. Clipping off some zip ties.
4. You have two plastic clips securing the brake line and ABS sensor wiring at the top of the rad guard that need to be popped off from behind.
5. Then you slide the plastic rad guard from left to the right side of the bike on top of the radiator. There is a rubber bushing that just slides out from a metal stud on top of the radiator.
6. Remove the rubber bushing from the plastic rad guard and install it on the same location on the metal mesh rad guard.
7. Slide the rad guard from the right side to left onto that metal stud on top of the radiator.
8. The radiator comes with two bolts and four washers. I stacked the washers onto the bolt and secured the bottom of the mesh rad guard onto the bottom of the radiator.
9. Secure the brake lines back onto the top of the rad guard if applicable. I didn't have to do this step as I was in the process of installing the Camel High Fender kit which includes three new SS braided brake lines that go to the brake line distribution block and directly to each front brake calipers.

 

 

Comments:

 

One of the mounting holes didn't align up perfectly with the factory locations and panels when it was mounted to the bike. It was off by maybe 1/8"  inch. But, with it being thin powder coated sheet metal, it would bend to meet up to the lower mounting spot on the radiator with some persuasion. 

 

The metal side wings of the radiator guard had to be 'bended' with one hand meet up with the T7 side plastic radiator panels, so that you could pop in those OEM plastic rivets with your other hand. Luckily the plastic rivets are easy to use, they just press in. It made for a taught fit with the radiator wings, they won't be flapping in the wind. You only used 4 of the 6 original plastic rivets, the Yamaha branded one looks to be the same.

 

The other thing is the top tabs with the small holes, to me they look to be too big of a hole for the factory brake line plastic clips to pop in. Since I was doing Camel's high fender kit and wasn't using the factory front brake lines anymore. The Camel kit comes with new SS braided brake lines that don't use those plastic clips again, it didn't mater in my case.

 

I guess it's up to the buyer if a minor issues I had are worth $110 dollar difference in costs. $160 for the Yamaha vs. $40 for the China copy.

[REDHORSECA]

Comparison of the original T700 plastic rad guard to this eBay mesh radiator guard.

 

Close up of the front.

 

Close up of the back side of rad guard. Some small rivets and spot welding to secure mesh to the frame.

 

Left side (bike's) of the rad guard wing. This bolts onto the left radiator plastic shroud/wing with the OEM plastic rivets.

 

Right (bike's) of the rad guard wing. This bolts onto the right radiator plastic shroud/wing with the OEM plastic rivets.

 

Rubber bushing from the factory plastic rad guard installed onto the eBay mesh rad guard.

 

Upper/top mounting position with the rubber bushing and metal stud on top of radiator.

 

Brake Line plastic clip locations.

 

To me the holes seemed slightly oversized for the plastic clips. Not sure, I didn't use these mounting points for my install. I guess you could always try some zip ties.

 

Lower (bike) right side mounting positions. I had to use some channel locks to bend the sheet metal for better alignment. Also had to use some hand force to get the holes to align up for screwing in the bolt.

 

Finally bolted on with some persuasion.

 

 

Lower (bike's) Right side mounting location. Make sure these metal nut clips are oriented in this fashion. There is a stud on the radiator for the clip, so it doesn't spin on you.

 

This went on easy.

[CoreCass]

had the same guard..  must say im not impressed and i am ordering new ones. [supposedly mt07 ones should fit. not sure jet]

 

just a pity tough.

[loneranger700]

53 minutes ago, CoreCass said:

had the same guard..  must say im not impressed and i am ordering new ones. [supposedly mt07 ones should fit. not sure jet]

 

just a pity tough.

Wait why did you not like it? I've been considering pulling the trigger on this guard, but the craftsmanship in the photos is iffy for me.

 

---

 

Thanks for the write up btw!

[CoreCass]

19 minutes ago, loneranger700 said:

Wait why did you not like it? I've been considering pulling the trigger on this guard, but the craftsmanship in the photos is iffy for me.

 

---

 

Thanks for the write up btw!

as its showing the bothem part of my radiator. not to say the hole's dont aline and some bending required like @REDHORSECA shows. brake line clips wont work whit this guard. toug you can put a shim behind the hole and make it fit.  the lower part not covering is what breaks if for me.

[loneranger700]

Oh, yeah. I saw that too. I too was a bit concerned how it doesn't shield the rad anymore, thanks for the picture. It's pretty obvious now

[Matth]

I wouldn’t buy anything from China considering the current situation !

[Obi-Wan]

The Yamaha one is made in the Netherlands.  I definitely think it’s a bit over priced. For that price it should include new clips as I messed one up till I figured them out. 

[REDHORSECA]

 

For me personally, I'm not concerned about this lower radiator tank section being exposed. I was concerned about the radiator fins getting damaged by pebbles from my high mounted front fender.

 

Right side (bike's) rad guard plastic riveted to side rad wing plastic. Two OEM plastic rivets used.

 

Left side (bike's) rad guard plastic riveted to side rad wing plastic. Two OEM plastic rivets used.

 

Before I mounted my Acerbis supermoto front fender to the Camel high fender kit and the AS crash guard. My Yamaha GYTR front LED indicators with DRL feature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beaker]

Hi, I'm new to the forum, hence the late reply to this post. I recently purchased the same Chinese radiator guard from Ebay for a fraction of the cost of the genuine Yamaha upgrade. Tbh, I was not happy with the reduced surface area of the mesh compared to the genuine Yamaha one, as it covered more of the side radiator fins, my concern was it may cause over heating problems, so I sent it back. I then purchased the genuine Yamaha radiator guard, yes great looking product and fitted well, but in my personal opinion, the mesh is very flimsy and offers very little protection from branches and stones when out on a trail.  Whereas the Chinese version had a much stronger mesh (I should have kept it), probably steel rather than flimsy aluminium. I'm very disappointed in Yamaha, they could do better, rather than producing bling, why not offer proper protection for the radiator, especially at the price they charge!!!!  

[Landshark]

3 hours ago, Beaker said:

Hi, I'm new to the forum, hence the late reply to this post. I recently purchased the same Chinese radiator guard from Ebay for a fraction of the cost of the genuine Yamaha upgrade. Tbh, I was not happy with the reduced surface area of the mesh compared to the genuine Yamaha one, as it covered more of the side radiator fins, my concern was it may cause over heating problems, so I sent it back. I then purchased the genuine Yamaha radiator guard, yes great looking product and fitted well, but in my personal opinion, the mesh is very flimsy and offers very little protection from branches and stones when out on a trail.  Whereas the Chinese version had a much stronger mesh (I should have kept it), probably steel rather than flimsy aluminium. I'm very disappointed in Yamaha, they could do better, rather than producing bling, why not offer proper protection for the radiator, especially at the price they charge!!!!  

Firstly, welcome to the tenere700.net forum @Beaker.  Post often and enjoy.

Thanks for bringing this up.  I looked at the rad guard from Yamaha and thought it was just bling as well so I wasn't interested.  Proper aluminum protection is what's required.  I'll be looking into this during the winter months.  Maybe I'll come up with something better.  I wonder if the mesh it came with can be removed and a piece of expanded metal put in place?

[Beaker]

Touratech  make a laser cut rad guard, which is fractionally cheaper than the genuine Yamaha one, again looks great, but their disclaimer states,

 

"Note: The radiator cover can cause the engine to overheat under extreme conditions with high outside temperatures and an extreme engine load.

Please watch your water temperature gauge". 

 

Very useful bling again! 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Beaker

[TimeMachine]

I still think the Yamaha radiator guard is the best for the reasons noted in this thread. It is well made, has the biggest opening and is also lighter than the stock plastic guard by a little. 

 

Fitment is important because every time you remove the large side covers on the bike (and that will be often) you are going to undo and redo those plastic push clips. It would get tiresome if they dont align with the holes.

 

I agree the mesh on the Yamaha guard is quite light being aluminium, but haven't had any problems with mine for the last 19000 kilometres. Some months back I purchased a panel of titanium mesh for a different project, and this is stupidly strong. I figure I could use some of that if the current mesh gets damaged or proves not strong enough.

 

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/303788936976?hash=item46bb3b4f10:g:UEAAAOSwIelcdw3I&frcectupt=true

  

[Dakuwaqa8]

On 10/5/2020 at 12:17 PM, REDHORSECA said:

I was looking to get the Yamaha metal mesh radiator guard and I was looking on eBay to purchase one. I clicked on one that I thought was a Yamaha part, but the price was so low.

 

I fine out it's basically a Chinese copy of the Yamaha mesh guard. So, I thought I would gamble and see if it was worth saving about $110 over the Yamaha part. It was about $43 with California tax and free shipping from China.

 

It was shipped 9/14 from China and it was delivered to me in California 9/21.

 

I don't have experience with the Yamaha BW3‑E24D0‑V0‑00 mesh metal radiator guard, so I can't do a complete comparison.

 

 

I believe the one I got from eBay is nearly a direct copy, with some small differences. Red square highlights the major differences that I can tell.

 

I like that the frame of the guard does not cover any of the radiator fins and the side wings of the radiator guard bolt onto the T700 radiator side plastics with the factory 4 of the 6 plastic rivets. The mesh completely covers the radiator fins.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't recall if it came with instruction, I don't think it did. I basically opened the box right away as the box was crushed and I opened it to check for damages. There was none. Only a small plastic bag with some bolts and washers taped to the rad guard.

 

1. You basically remove the plastic radiator side plastics off the bike, unplugging the front turn signals from the factory electrical connectors.
2. Remove two lower bolts securing the plastic radiator guard.
3. Clipping off some zip ties.
4. You have two plastic clips securing the brake line and ABS sensor wiring at the top of the rad guard that need to be popped off from behind.
5. Then you slide the plastic rad guard from left to the right side of the bike on top of the radiator. There is a rubber bushing that just slides out from a metal stud on top of the radiator.
6. Remove the rubber bushing from the plastic rad guard and install it on the same location on the metal mesh rad guard.
7. Slide the rad guard from the right side to left onto that metal stud on top of the radiator.
8. The radiator comes with two bolts and four washers. I stacked the washers onto the bolt and secured the bottom of the mesh rad guard onto the bottom of the radiator.
9. Secure the brake lines back onto the top of the rad guard if applicable. I didn't have to do this step as I was in the process of installing the Camel High Fender kit which includes three new SS braided brake lines that go to the brake line distribution block and directly to each front brake calipers.

 

 

Comments:

 

One of the mounting holes didn't align up perfectly with the factory locations and panels when it was mounted to the bike. It was off by maybe 1/8"  inch. But, with it being thin powder coated sheet metal, it would bend to meet up to the lower mounting spot on the radiator with some persuasion. 

 

The metal side wings of the radiator guard had to be 'bended' with one hand meet up with the T7 side plastic radiator panels, so that you could pop in those OEM plastic rivets with your other hand. Luckily the plastic rivets are easy to use, they just press in. It made for a taught fit with the radiator wings, they won't be flapping in the wind. You only used 4 of the 6 original plastic rivets, the Yamaha branded one looks to be the same.

 

The other thing is the top tabs with the small holes, to me they look to be too big of a hole for the factory brake line plastic clips to pop in. Since I was doing Camel's high fender kit and wasn't using the factory front brake lines anymore. The Camel kit comes with new SS braided brake lines that don't use those plastic clips again, it didn't mater in my case.

 

I guess it's up to the buyer if a minor issues I had are worth $110 dollar difference in costs. $160 for the Yamaha vs. $40 for the China copy.

 

Hey, thanks for the review.  Im planning to buy also a chinese radiator guard from Aliexpress. How is the guard doing so far?

 

[BADDANDY]

I combined 3 rad guards into one. I reused the stock lower, cut the grill out of the Aluminum Chinese surround, and these sandwich the Aluminum Chinese grill.  Vert strong and light for under $100.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by BADDANDY

[REDHORSECA]

12 hours ago, Dakuwaqa8 said:

 

Hey, thanks for the review.  Im planning to buy also a chinese radiator guard from Aliexpress. How is the guard doing so far?

 

Working great thus far. It's taken hits from rocks and doing it's job protecting the rad.

 

No significant damage to the guard.

 

I'll take a picture during daylight hours if I can see any of the rock/pebble impacts.

[JohnfromDP]

Do you think the aftermarket guard is flowing more air; ie...bike running cooler

Thanks

[Rekiem]

On 12/23/2021 at 1:26 PM, DuncMan said:

I just made one using the stock fin cover. £10 all in and 20 mins work.

 

 

Interesting! Great job. I will do It as well. A cheap and easy job. Great small stones protection.