radiator discussion
 

just wondering everyones take on why Honda chose to put dual side mounted radiators on the shawk rather than a single larger forward facing radiator?

It seems to me that a larger forward facing radi would cool the bike more effectively. i know the fairing was designed to create a low pressure zone over the radis and pull air through from the inside but it just doesn't seem comparable to the rush of air at 65mph being forced through a forward facing radi. let me know your thoughts. as always thanks for the input, opinions, and advice.

Do you own a Hawk? I have to ask because if you did, and ever actually looked at the bike you would realize that with where the front head/cyl block/ oil cooler/ header/ frame/ front wheel sit, there is no possible way to fit a large front mount radiator in that space. Also if you did a SEARCH before asking questions you will have seen that some of us have attempted to mount up large front mount radiators and failed. The only radiator that can be mounted in that area is a smaller radiator, which cuts down largely on the cooling properties of it. And IF you could mount one up that would fit, there would be no room between the header and the radiator for a fan to fit which would be useless for a street bike. So in the case of the hawk, the front mount radiator wouldn't cool the bike as efficiently as a the side mounts do. The search function is your friend.

It's because of the V twin. The front cylinder sticks forward much more and would be in the way of a full frontal radiator. So they mount them both on the sides. If you think about it you have that 60mph wind coming into the center of the fairing. It has to go somewhere so it goes out both sides. You also probably get a bit more cooling to the front cylinder with the wind beating directly on it where you don't get that so much on an I4 with the radiator in the front. I have heard of and seen some pics of people who have put a small radiator across the front where the cross over pipe between the radiators goes.