BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Anyone fitted them? Or more to the point has anyone ever had radiator damage and wished they had fitted them....

In Canada, I had a very small rock puncture 1 of the vertical tubes. Had it fixed locally at a Radiator shop for $80cdn. After that I made my own guards from stainless wire sheet I picked up at the local metal shop. Taped the edges with aluminum tape & then put them in behind the plastic grill in front of the radiator.
Been good for the past 2.5 yrs.{EDIT} I also find they do a great job of stopping bugs getting into the fins of the Rads ( I live were the summer is BUGS).

One of the guys I was with had a small leak caused by a stone in the south of France, he bought something like this https://amazon.co.uk/dp/B004OS8N1W from the French Halfords then got in properly repaired 1500 miles later in the UK, personally I've never bothered with a guard on any of my bikes and would probably never both having seen a couple of people have over heating problems with them fitted

I think their need is dependent on the location of the radiators on the bike.  If debris can be picked up and shot toward the radiator by the front tire, I do a guard.  Otherwise, I don't.


On my XR, the radiator (and oil cooler) is down low and directly behind the front wheel, so going without a guard is a risky decision.  On my FZ, the radiator is behind the front wheel, but up much higher than the XR, so I did not do a guard.

Thanks for your response.

I bought a set of the R&G rad guards on the basis that they’re not ridiculously pricey, weigh nothing and may save me grief one day. I’ve always held a view with motorbikes of ‘What can go wrong will go wrong, at the worse possible time’.

...and now having come to fit them I find that at some time in the past one of the radiators has already had a stone strike, not to the point of a leak but enough to bend the fins.

Steve398 wrote: Thanks for your response.

I bought a set of the R&G rad guards on the basis that they’re not ridiculously pricey, weigh nothing and may save me grief one day. I’ve always held a view with motorbikes of ‘What can go wrong will go wrong, at the worse possible time’.

...and now having come to fit them I find that at some time in the past one of the radiators has already had a stone strike, not to the point of a leak but enough to bend the fins.

I have a 2020 RT. Do you reckon the R&G guards will fit this bike? I've been looking for a suitable set to attach.  Thanks -walt

I would think so, but suggest a quick check with R&G, or perhaps BMW to confirm that the part numbers of the radiators are the same? For what they cost and the time involved, for me, was a no-brainer and one thing less to worry about. There has also been no sign of overheating at all.

Steve398 wrote: I would think so, but suggest a quick check with R&G, or perhaps BMW to confirm that the part numbers of the radiators are the same?

Good idea to check part numbers. So the guards fasten directly to the radiator? If part numbers are the same, it should work. I looked at R&G’s website, and they only show compatibility up to 2019. I’ll give them a call.


Thanks, Steve.
-walt