E.Marquez

While I doubt these radiators are being used by too many "Racing" motorcycles. That is their name, Honda VTR "racing Radiators made by the Chinese company of GPI Radiators and marketed under other brand names as well. CHR Racing is one.
Commonly seen on Ebay.
Advertised as direct replacement, they are anything but.
Other members have posted some of the issues so I was prepared for the temp switch that does not transfer over, requiring a replacement item. The Aftermarket radiators use a different size temp sender then OEM, its a M14 x 1.5. I am using a Standard Motor Products TS288 Temp Sender/Sensor set at 195.8deg f. That is a two wire sender, vs the OEM 1 wire. Easy fix, just make a ground wire for one terminal and run it to a nearby ground point..

I had read the fan does not fit the mounts....but to make it fit absolutely correct, it’s not as simple as making a bracket, or at least on the ones I got.
The fan shroud is designed to fit flush to the radiator body for an "air tight" fit.. Without modification of the fan and radiator mount, the resulting gap would have compromised air flow though the radiator core.




That simply was not possible with these aftermarket radiators just making an adapter bracket to "move" the mounting holes. I had to alter two of the fan mount tabs and cut off the "L" part of a third. Clearance the fan in a few places, clearance the third tab. Cut a slot in the fan tab so it fit over and locked in place the third mounting point, and then safety wired the third tab to the fan. I now have a fan that fits without distortion; it is flush and sealed to the face of the radiator for maximum air draw though the core. And it is held tight so as to not rub holes in the plastic or aluminum for many miles to come.




The frame to radiators mounts did not locate the radiator in a manner the hoses would fit, nor would the radiator fit under the body work without putting a lot of pressure on the plastics. So mounting tabs and how mounted (rubber insulators did not fit as designed) had to be reworked.




I noticed a broken body work screw boss from the deer strike last year, so repairing that now, will get body work back on tomorrow and take a pic...But I did test fit, and the body work fits now, it did not at first.

The thicker core and header tanks mean the hose pipes are not the same spacing as with OEM radiator .
The frame to radiator mounts did not locate the radiator in a manner the hoses would fit, nor would the radiator fit under the body work without putting a lot of pressure on the plastics. So mounting tabs and how mounted (rubber insulators did not fit as designed) had to be reworked. Some light trimming and my silicone hoses fit again.
I noticed one rub spot on the hoses from this past year of riding. Seems the body work edge was rubbing the hose. Just cosmetic damage to the hose so repaired with clear silicone adhesive, then hot formed a piece of Kydex to make a guard for the hose.

Bald Eagle

Hey E. Marquez
Question I have is, does the Super Hawk have cooling issues with the standard Radiators? I am getting my bike ready for Track Days (Tony's or Fishtail) and would my bike need this for an upgrade, because from what I can see, there is a lot of adjustments that need to be done. From the pictures, one of them shows the bottom radiator hose look's like it is very close to the exhaust, but maybe it is a bad angle perception.
Can you give me your opinion....my eyes are open.

E.Marquez

My street going VTR in Texas summer heat, can get to be a cooling concern if I get stuck in traffic..That really is the only time it s a concern.
That said, the over all temps can come down 30deg and Id be happier over all.

At speed (track) I dont think its much of an issue ..
Many folks cite "The Moriwaki Bike" as the standard of "best" not really the ace in my opinion as a lot has been developed since that bike was campaigned, but the point is, it was a great working package proven, and yes probable the best at the time.

So, if it worked on Moriwaki bike it should work for you..


Stock VTR rads and the lower hose just tucked in behind the header. And old school rubber hoses at that.


And the same clearances with mine

smokinjoe73

Erik you finally came on board with the Chinese racing rads. Nice.
I found these to cool much better but yes they are not a plug n play option.
Did you have trouble sourcing a fan switch? Mine didn't come with one and it was a different size to the stocker.

E.Marquez

Ive had them for about 2 years now on the shelf..... But as temps are only a real issue about 1 ride a year its not been a priority.

Correct, the rads came with a threaded bung for a switch, and yes the OEM one did not fit.
No real issue sourcing one, just looking in the catalog and picked one of the correct thread and temp range. It is a two wire, which i actually prefer, as that way you can seal the threads and not rely on just the gasket. It was a simple fix to add the ground wire. I'll look and see if i still have the part box and post a part number...

smokinjoe73

Oh and what silicone tube kit are you running?

E.Marquez

My thought is: hoses, shape will be the only issue likely in that will they be formed correctly. After that, they either leak on install or do not. My only concern was clamps, as cheap clamps are not what you want for reliability overall on a coolant system and with silicone hoses the clamps need to be made for that material.

I took a chance and went with off shore copies of the SAMCO kit... but I did use real SAMCO clamps made for silicone hose.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Honda-V...item2a9ea7a606

Company is CMS, but Id guess all the off shore copies come from just a few sources and are rebranded.

I've been using CMS as a cheaper option to SAMCO for about 3 years now. Have installed this "brand" of hoses on a few dozen bikes now with no observed issues. Have had issues with pattern silicone hose's from other suppliers, in that the formed shape did not match the stock hoses being replaced.... One kit I was provided for a 2012 WR450 this week, was way off, by luck the owner mis ordered and had two sets shipped of the same $12 hose kit..and I was able to use hoses from both kits to outfit one bike.