Home
Repair And Restoration
CB500X Cheapo Radiator Guard
Fix Date 5 Mar 2019
By Pocketpete
Over the past few weeks I have been torn between keeping my bike or getting a new one. Looking at it my bike's fairly low mileage so why change it...? So after all I think it's staying but I still fancy the interceptor.
If I keep it why not upgrade it a bit? How about some nice fog lights and a new horn as my old one is rusty as hell. Perhaps a Denali air horn? Maybe even some RallyRaid stuff, it will still be cheaper than buying a new bike. Mine's only worth 2.5k in part exchange. Maybe a hugger and Fenda extender as well?
So I have been looking at stuff to buy.
Ren purchased a radiator guard, I found loads on Amazon and Ebay ranging from £7.12 to £90. Hmm it's only a cover. Ok I will order the cheapest one going and if its rubbish I can bin it and get a decent one.
PayPal activated and the guard duly arrived by parcel farce from China in 8 days. Wow
No instructions (well I think there are some but they are in Chinese). The parcel had been opened by customs but all was well. The guard seems reasonably well made and has CB500 printed on it. It comes with 4 x double sided stick on pads which hopefully stop vibration or movement.
It fits! Even my basic skills can manage it. All seems fine it's secure, not moving or rattling so hopefully it will last. I feel quite "Ren" like inside having only spent £7.
Be prepared for several reviews of new bling for my bike over the next few weeks. It's going to be biblical.
If you'd like to share your biblical build then contact ren@bikesandtravels.com
Reader's Comments
CrazyFrog said :-
Nice addition PP. Functional, good looking and amazing value!
08/03/2019 08:50:25 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I gotta admit I'm gutted. He's out-Ren'd me there by quite some margin too. £7, hell even if it rusts slap some hammerite on it, it'll be reet. It'll certainly do the job, it seems to fit just fine and it looks smart. Dagnammit!
08/03/2019 08:54:13 UTC
Upt'North said :-
P.P.looks very smart, and cheap.
Well done mucka.
Next time Aldi/Lidl have outdoor spray paint on offer I would grab a tin of black and consider giving it a good coat before next winter, then it should last for years.
Upt'North.
08/03/2019 09:51:28 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
You could barely make it for that. I made a guard for the Tiger's oil cooler out of expanded alloy mesh and it cost nearly as much and didn't look as good.
China is now doing what the UK did a couple of hundred years ago - mass producing stuff at low cost and selling it all over the world. And much of it is excellent quality (although some is dire - but how can you go wrong with a rad guard?)
08/03/2019 10:06:01 UTC
Borsuk said :-
Looks good, at that price you can`t really go wrong.
Now see if you can find ones for my Himalayan and Interceptor. :-)
08/03/2019 12:05:17 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
Just found a rear rack for sharons bike, strange as my Google search was for light brackets Wont be long before they do a cover for the interceptor seems very popular.
08/03/2019 12:38:07 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
What amazed me more than the ridiculous cheap price was the 8 day delivery. Just how is that possible. I sent a letter the other week to Chester and that took 5 days. Crazy Chinese. I mean just where is Guangxi province. Not exactly round the corner.
I ran the metal identifier from work over it today the mesh is aluminium the side parts are 305 steel which from my chart is a type of stainless steel so the quality seems ok.
08/03/2019 15:40:03 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Blinkin heck! If that's ally n stainless I'll be dumbfounded! I'm tempted to buy 50 and sell 'em here in blighty for £15 apiece.
08/03/2019 15:45:09 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Borsuk would be able to tell us but I can't see how they could get here by ship in 8 days given the overland stuff at the ends.
Some Chinese manufacturers have European warehouses that get over the import duty issue.
PP - I wish I had a metal analyser!
08/03/2019 16:12:31 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
Yes we have a metal tester to sort out the scrap. It gave 104 which is aluminium and 305 which is a type of stainless. Seems sturdy enough. I was a little surprised it was made of two separate metals.
I have a mate in Singapore he says worker in chinese factories often take items home and sell them to add a little extra income which is why so many things now end up on fleabay.
08/03/2019 16:25:50 UTC
Borsuk said :-
China to UK by sea in eight days. Don`t think that will happen in my lifetime. 11000ish Nautical miles, average speed of ~57 knots. Box boats are fast but not that fast and the bunker consumption would be prohibitively expensive, in fact there would be no room for cargo. Most likley came by air, utilising spare hold space on scheduled flights.
08/03/2019 18:20:04 UTC
Borsuk said :-
Been looking for one for the Himalayan on Ebay India, can only see one and that`s from Thailand. I would have thought Ebay India would have droves of them.
08/03/2019 18:27:22 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
https://srcdesign.eu/en/royal-enfield/himalayan/radiator-guard
Only took me two searches to find it as i couldn't spell himalyin
08/03/2019 19:01:27 UTC
Sharon said :-
Ren don't be harsh on yourself. The fact was China hadn't produced any guards for either of our bikes when we bought them. We have had them for two years now.
Pocketpete I gave up looking for a luggage rack for my bike ages ago so yes interesting to see they are finally out there. Interesting.
08/03/2019 19:19:35 UTC
Borsuk said :-
That´s the same one as on Ebay India.
08/03/2019 23:07:36 UTC
Borsuk said :-
OK, I am officially senile. Just had a closer look at some photos of the bike and she comes with a radiator guard as standard. Doohhh. I think the Interceptor does as well.
08/03/2019 23:59:24 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
Senior moment... but the stainless one looks nice. Touch pricey though.
Now where did I leave my hearing aid and teeth.
09/03/2019 07:03:04 UTC
Upt'North said :-
09/03/2019 14:39:01 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
Dont be posting pictures like that. I'm teetering on the edge of buying one and bike porn like that does me no good at all..
09/03/2019 15:46:09 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I'd be looking to make that garage a little more secure before I go sticking another velocipede in there Pocketpete.
09/03/2019 22:55:05 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
F.ancy
A.ccessory
R.eally
K.ool &
L.ikely
E.xpensive
In my case almost certainly not expensive. I'm going for cheap Chinese stuff. New verb learnt though.
10/03/2019 08:06:01 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Well I never! I wonder if that is the reason the word exists or did the word exist and someone has made it into this acronym.
10/03/2019 09:47:52 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
Definition(?) via the link. As PP said.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=farkle...
10/03/2019 12:26:57 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Some of the other definitions are... erm... well... unexpected shall I say.
10/03/2019 18:22:59 UTC
Name
Comment
Add a RELEVANT link (not required)
Upload an image (not required) -
Uploading...
Home
Repair And Restoration