Flatland radiator guard - great protection, better price

Just picked up the Flatland radiator guard. About $55 shipped, it's
very sturdy and surprisingly light. Made of 1/8" aluminum, it's bent
with one welded seam - NO BOLTS!:

http://flatlandracing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=FR&Product_Code=12-40



Since my radiator was a liiiiitle bit mangled from some encounters with
logs and a few climbs up Daniel Trail at Uwharrie National Forest, I
wasn't sure how easily it would slip on. Completely unfounded; the
Flatland radiator guard stands off the stock radiator a good distance,
while wrapping all the way around it.

The instructions were spot-on, and even had color pics (!!!!) All necessary hardware was
included, no last-minute trips to the hardware store (although I did
add 2 fender washers to better "grab" the upper and lower front
mounting tabs of the plastic shroud).

The back brace (which bolts right to the bike frame) ensures that the
guard will take a d@mn solid hit from the side or rear. One thing I
liked about the Flatland guard versus the Force guard (besides the ~$50
price difference!) is that the rear brace is welded on for much better integral strength. The Force brace is bolted to the rest of the guard, easy for a bolt to come undone, and two bolts is a lot weaker than a welded seam.

One bonus for the Force guard though - it covers the bottom radiator
tank better than the Flatland guard. I'll likely weld a 2" wide strip
of aluminum to the bottom of the Flatland guard to remedy that, but
still..

Overall, very pleased for $55 - wish I'd done it sooner!

Don't get too confident having that on there. My son bent his I have on his WR-250F. He laid it down on a fairly slow get-off and it bent back some. I had to disassemble and bent it back into shape. I suppose the bright side is I wasn't buying a new radiator half for his bike. I do like it overall though - they just aren't indestructible.

Herky

Yep - if something hits at the right angle with the right impact, none of these lightweight guards will hold up 100%. They're designed to take the impact (by crumpling a bit, if need be) instead of the radiator absorbing the blow. So long as the radiator is intact and holding water, I'm very cool with some minor re-bending when I screw up, LOL!

Kinda like handguards - they'll save the levers and your hands in most touch-downs, but hit 'em just right and they'll give some and need to be re-tweaked...

Thanks for the post. I'm still waiting on Unabiker to build a guard for our bikes, but $55 is good insurance until that happens. Thanks BPG!

Saw it for about 40 bux at cyclebuy.com, the skid plate is cheaper too.

matttys wrote:

Thanks for the post. I'm still waiting on Unabiker to build a guard for our bikes, but $55 is good insurance until that happens. Thanks BPG!

Hi Guys,

Check also this one:

http://www.motoward.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2979

Flatland radiator guards looks pretty good. Hopefully Unabiker or even Moose Rcing will come out with armor that is a little more substantial. As it is very important to protect the radiiator is there any need to protect the left side of the bike where the coolant reservoir is located?

I wouldn't bother. The rad's got all the coolant in it and stuff...Even if you rip off the coolant bottle you can still ride to get it home cause it's just an overflow rez.

poindexter wrote:

Flatland radiator guards looks pretty good. Hopefully Unabiker or even Moose Rcing will come out with armor that is a little more substantial. As it is very important to protect the radiiator is there any need to protect the left side of the bike where the coolant reservoir is located?

Last I talked to Unabiker the man (forget the guy's name) said they were really backed up on getting new product out, but they have it on their to-do list. I ended up going with the Flatland guards . . . not as sturdy as the Unabikers on my DRZ, but they should work and the price was right.

poindexter wrote:

Flatland radiator guards looks pretty good. Hopefully Unabiker or even Moose Rcing will come out with armor that is a little more substantial. As it is very important to protect the radiiator is there any need to protect the left side of the bike where the coolant reservoir is located?

If you break this guard you've got more problems than a bent radiator.

I got mine from Dual Sport Armory as part of the package:
http://www.dualsportarmory.com/product_details.php?category_id=124&item_id=569

I had the force guard before, the flatlands is comparably imo.

I still love my Force. Gotta love the bug screen too.

Your absolutely right !!!... If that Flatland radiator guard gets crunched & bent there certainly will be greater things to worry about then just the radiator. Thanks for the responses.

not true.

often falling sideways , even a low speeds, on a well placed rock can do very localized damage, that otherwise does not hurt you or the bike anywhere else. all the force on impact can be focused on radiator area & damage even the strongest guards. i've seen it happen.

even though more $ this is a better design. it uses reinforced crossbars (like the best designs do, such as unabiker) which is key for sideway stregnth. flatlands does not and thus only it only relies on the strenth of the alum. this is why they can sell it cheap.
http://www.forceaccessories.com.au/store2/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=58

skierd wrote:

poindexter wrote:

Flatland radiator guards looks pretty good. Hopefully Unabiker or even Moose Rcing will come out with armor that is a little more substantial. As it is very important to protect the radiiator is there any need to protect the left side of the bike where the coolant reservoir is located?

If you break this guard you've got more problems than a bent radiator.

I got mine from Dual Sport Armory as part of the package:
http://www.dualsportarmory.com/product_details.php?category_id=124&item_id=569

I had the force guard before, the flatlands is comparably imo.

I'm planning to get a Safari tank in a month or two, but wanted to go ahead and put a radiator guard on before getting the tank.

To those who have the Safari Tank... are there any issues with using one of these or the other with the Safari tank? I just don't want a fitment problem when the tank arrives.

Thanks!

Not sure about the FL one, but the Force fits in there like a glove. A few ppl have that setup.

SheWolf wrote:

Not sure about the FL one, but the Force fits in there like a glove. A few ppl have that setup.

...the Flatland looks more stout and appears to be cheaper (all the pricing I found was in Australian dollars though, so I could be wrong since I'm not up on the exchange rate).

I'd just hate to get the Flatland and then have to modify or ditch it when I get the larger tank.

since the force one has the industry standard crossbars (which flatland does not have and is key for sideways blunt force hit strength. flatland has eliminated the 3 cross bars, to save $, and is compensating by using slighly thicker alum.) i'd disagree about the flatland looking more stout. pics (on adv) of the force one fitting just fine w/ safari tanks, where as pics of the flatlander rubbing the tank are seen. basicly you're voting on the flatlander, even though it has 2 strikes against it, soley because it's cheaper. maybe wallmart has an even better deal.

http://www.everydayriding.org/2009/08/wr250r-force-accessories-radiator-guard.html

David Haynes wrote:

SheWolf wrote:

Not sure about the FL one, but the Force fits in there like a glove. A few ppl have that setup.

...the Flatland looks more stout and appears to be cheaper (all the pricing I found was in Australian dollars though, so I could be wrong since I'm not up on the exchange rate).

I'd just hate to get the Flatland and then have to modify or ditch it when I get the larger tank.

David Haynes wrote:

...the Flatland looks more stout and appears to be cheaper (all the pricing I found was in Australian dollars though, so I could be wrong since I'm not up on the exchange rate).

I'd just hate to get the Flatland and then have to modify or ditch it when I get the larger tank.

David: There's some discussion about a 'rubbing' issue with one of the flanges on the Flatland and the Safari, which the poster on pg 4 of the thread suggested he fixed by just bending it in a little. Other guys in the Monster Thread have been saying they're putting 1/4 aluminum spaces fore and aft on the Safari and fixing all fitment issues thusly.

https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/oh-those-sweet-mods-f5/larger-fuel-tank-t83-60.htm

eakins: Don't start name flaming by calling us all Walmart Shoppers (although that would be flattering in many KLR forums). There is a trade off between the two designs. The buyer needs to decide which method makes more sense to them.

As I see it:

Flatlands uses thicker aluminum plate without the three cross-bolts. This would provide less protection to a side-impact (in theory). However, it begs to question, where are the bolts transferring the load; and then only when the impact (if point focused) is in close proximity to the cross-bolts. Thicker plate would provide better puncture protection from the front. Force uses thinner plate and 3 cross members which (previously mentioned theory) would provide better side impact protection, but sacrifices front puncture protection. If the buyer has a Safari, they may not be as worried about side load, and may be more concerned with front puncture.

Buyer choose. But EITHER solution is light years ahead of no radiator protection.

sorry,
not try to flame out anyone.

as far as rad designs, it's all about falling over sideways protection.
99 outta 100 issues is gonna be you dumping the bike sideways, not something hitting the rad from the front. that's the reality of dirtbiking. as such the 3 bar is strongest design bar none. unabiker set the standard w/ their 3 bar and they are the one to match @$105. i see flatlanders for what it is, a compromise to build it at a price point. if/when unabiker makes one for the wrr, i state publicly that theirs is THE only one worth paying for. if flatlander stepped up their design w/ crossbars then they could truely give unabike some competition. until then flatlanders will be a lower choice option.

i do agree that some protection is better than nothing and if the guy is gonna add the additional protection of a safari tank then saving $ on the flatlander works if $ is the deciding issue.

malibu_dan wrote:

David Haynes wrote:

...the Flatland looks more stout and appears to be cheaper (all the pricing I found was in Australian dollars though, so I could be wrong since I'm not up on the exchange rate).

I'd just hate to get the Flatland and then have to modify or ditch it when I get the larger tank.

David: There's some discussion about a 'rubbing' issue with one of the flanges on the Flatland and the Safari, which the poster on pg 4 of the thread suggested he fixed by just bending it in a little. Other guys in the Monster Thread have been saying they're putting 1/4 aluminum spaces fore and aft on the Safari and fixing all fitment issues thusly.

https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/oh-those-sweet-mods-f5/larger-fuel-tank-t83-60.htm

eakins: Don't start name flaming by calling us all Walmart Shoppers (although that would be flattering in many KLR forums). There is a trade off between the two designs. The buyer needs to decide which method makes more sense to them.

As I see it:

Flatlands uses thicker aluminum plate without the three cross-bolts. This would provide less protection to a side-impact (in theory). However, it begs to question, where are the bolts transferring the load; and then only when the impact (if point focused) is in close proximity to the cross-bolts. Thicker plate would provide better puncture protection from the front. Force uses thinner plate and 3 cross members which (previously mentioned theory) would provide better side impact protection, but sacrifices front puncture protection. If the buyer has a Safari, they may not be as worried about side load, and may be more concerned with front puncture.

Buyer choose. But EITHER solution is light years ahead of no radiator protection.

How are these?

http://shop.bulletproofdesigns.com/product.sc?productId=76

Billet is cool, but I don't know how they are braced.

nice find & a different approach (machined vs stamped).
billet can be strong as hell is done right.
pic only shows limited detail though.
can't tell if it's supported at the rear, to prevent fold damage.
other bike show it to only wrap around the front & side of the rad.

edit just read the faq:
http://bulletproofdesigns.com/FAQ.htm
no rear brace as they say it's strong enough w/o.

WRoldman wrote:

How are these?

http://shop.bulletproofdesigns.com/product.sc?productId=76

Billet is cool, but I don't know how they are braced.

from another thread. force & safari

I've taken front and side hits with mine and nothing has been bent. Mind you, I've got screen in behind it so it's got added protection.

eakins wrote:

can't tell if it's supported at the rear, to prevent fold damage.
other bike show it to only wrap around the front & side of the rad.

edit just read the faq:
http://bulletproofdesigns.com/FAQ.htm
no rear brace as they say it's strong enough w/o.

mine came with the BPD guard already installed. it does not have a back brace, although it seems pretty stout.

i'm running it with the safari tank and it fits good.

Hello, I just finished installing the Force radiator guard on my 2008 WR250R. Prior to purchasing I looked at both the Flatland and the Force guards. From the pictures, I perceived that the the Force product was more rugged albeit twice as much money.

I purchased the Force unit and I can tell you that the 3 cross braces and the overall install itself is rugged. The installation left me with the impression that is is well engineered.

I particularly liked having easy access to the bolts which allow you to remove the front panel. This is important to me as I remove it when I clean the air filter. I'm still going to have to Dremel out the corners of the access holes on the new guard a bit as they don't line up as nice as I'd like. Perhaps my install wasn't as good as it could have been?

Which ever you buy, make sure you buy it. I almost damaged my radiator because I procrastinated on this purchase.

Happy Riding....