Was all ready to do a trip with the lads from up North around the East Coast in the weekend leaving Friday from Auckland for Opotiki.
Thought I would take the Kwak for a spin on Thursday afternoon to make sure everything was ok for the trip and while going through some road works around Wellsford (of which there are shitloads at the moment) a stray stone punctured the radiator. Good one - what crap timing.
It was a small puncture and I didn't notice it until I got home when the sweet smell of coolant over the headers became obvious. Luckily it was all mostly motorway riding as I don't bear to think what would have happened had coolant splashed over the front tyre before I hooned into a corner. Thankfully there was still a bit of coolant left and the temp stayed steady on the trip back. A panicked call to Mt Eden confirmed that the cost of a new radiator was $1,200.00 or so. Ouch! Thankfully the hole was small enough to be repaired. Ended up costing $55 to have it done properly at Pukekohe Radiators (who Mt Eden also apparently use).
Unfortunately I couldn't have it repaired before the trip so my trip on the bike was a write off. However, not to let the team down, I followed in a cage, much to the amusement of the others who found it very convenient to load up the car with gear. However, I didn't really mind, and still managed to have a great weekend, even if we didn't end up doing the Coast ride because of the weather (not that I would have done it in a car anyway).
So the moral of the story is get a radiator guard!! Have ordered one from R&G as I am too lazy to make my own.
I suppose radiator guards are like crash protectors. Most people order them when it is too late
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Originally Posted by James Deuce
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