E-bay aluminum rad update.

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5speed
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E-bay aluminum rad update.

#1

Post by 5speed »

so I finally made it to reinstalling the rad..well attempting too.
I had to enlarge 2 of the mounting tab holes on the shroud to get them to line up with the tabs on the rad. Not a big deal though.

Image

I knew the fill neck was going to be an issue due to the manufacturer welding it on straight up instead of at an angle like the factory one. It made it a bit of a struggle to actually get the mounting tabs over the studs on the frame but it is possible.
Issue #1..the clutch cable. Because the fill neck is so tight to the coil..there is no room for the clutch cable to go between them. Stretching it around the other side of the fill neck in my opinion is going to cause your steering to tighten up when you turn left due to the cable binding on the fill neck. I'm going to leave it running over top of the fill neck.
Image
Image

In this picture you can see where the nipple for the over flow hose is positioned.

Image

In this picture you can see it would impact one of the spark plug wires..if you could even get the rad in place with it in the fill neck. I thought about putting a 90 brass fitting in there but as you can see in this picture..there isn't enough room.
I still haven't decided on a fix for this although I'm leaning towards getting a brass nipple, drilling a hole in the fill neck to position the nipple pointing back at the over flow tank, tapping the hole and screwing it in. the only issue is..the protruding threads will interfere with the rad cap..
I think if I cut those threads off it will still leave enough "meat" on the nipple to keep it in place. The neck feels thick enough.


Surprisingly you can get the radiator cap on and off..however when it is on all the way..one of the "ears" is hitting the coil.

Image

Now to the next issue. This is as close as I could get the bottom mounting bolts to the holes in the frame. I think the fix for this is to grind out the bottom part of the upper mounting tab holes to give me the wiggle room to slide the rad up a bit.

[Image

A pic of the back side of the rad. One of the fan mounting bolts on the shroud looks like it's hitting the thermostat housing but it isn't..it's just really close. lol

Image

Hopefully I will have this all finished up tomorrow...

Link to the e-bay seller.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/121982127085

I'm going to e-mail them some of the pics in hopes they will address the fill neck issue.
Last edited by 5speed on Wed Mar 27, 2019 8:09 am, edited 4 times in total.
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)

2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#2

Post by Whiskerfish »

Nice review. Can you post a link or give the name of the manufacturer so it is in this thread?
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#3

Post by 5speed »

Whiskerfish wrote:Nice review. Can you post a link or give the name of the manufacturer so it is in this thread?
Done.
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)

2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#4

Post by Goboy »

That's tight. the stock filler angle would definitely give a little more room. Is there room to use a 90 for the overflow?
If not just drill an tap a new location. It looks like there is enough meat (threads) to hold a fitting without going right inside. Some type of pipe dope should seal the threads.
stock filler.jpg
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http://www.recochem.com/products/oem_pr ... lant_honda
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#5

Post by MegaDan »

Thank you for posting some good detailed photos and information on the fitment issues with this. I have been back and fourth on the idea of installing one of these for some time now, and I had a feeling there were going to be some small issues like this with the installation. The real question now is how consistent are they between each unit... This may be one of those products where results may vary, and some fit perfectly, where others are just slightly too tight in one spot or another.
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#6

Post by SnoBrdr »

Is this just a generic radiator or is it supposedly built for the GL ? If it's built for the GL have you contqcted the manufacturer or seller to let him know about these issues ?
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#7

Post by 5speed »

The rad looks very well made. Nice welds, heavy gauge aluminum..
The fact they welded the fill neck on wrong makes you wonder though.
Even with all the minor issues I have discovered so far..I don't regret buying it. I could buy two for what they want to recore my original one.
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)

2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#8

Post by BikeMaine »

Here's another seller, same price, looks similar.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALUMINUM-RADIAT ... uA&vxp=mtr
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#9

Post by 5speed »

more updates.
I was over thinking the over flow hose issue apparently..either that or I was lacking caffeine. :mrgreen:
I went at it again today and solved that problem..as well as the rad cap hitting the coil. All it took was one bolt. lol
I unbolted the coil bracket, moved it around to the other side of the goose neck and cut approx half the hose nipple off.

Image
Image

I don't have a picture of it installed yet because....
I spent that last 3 hours wrestling with the bottom bolts trying to get them in.
The solution is several steps. lol
First I ground a flat spot in the upper rad mount washer/ spacer and cut the rubber grommet to match. This gave me some room to move the rad up.
I then enlarged the holes in the mounting brackets for the rad guard.

Image
Image
Image

I also ground down the upper mounting tabs as they were hitting the rad guard bracket.
I discovered one of the bottom mounting tabs was hitting the frame on the lower left side which was not allowing me to line the bolts up.
Also..the tabs on the bottom of the rad for the side scoops hit the bottom rad guard bracket.
They also don't line up with the bottom mounting tab on the scoop as you can see.

Image

I rounded them a bit and that didn't work so I'm going to cut them off. I mocked it up and with the two nuts on the sides of the scoops tightened..it doesn't move.
I will have more pics tonite after I finish with the install.
Based on what I've done so far my suggestion to anyone buying one...
Mock up the rad guard brackets and air scoops on the rad on your bench. Make any modifications needed to get the mounting bolts for the rad to pass through the rad guard mounting brackets without any interference from the rad.
That will save you a lot of installing and removing the rad from the bike and minimize the risk of damaging it.
Last edited by 5speed on Wed Mar 27, 2019 8:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)

2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#10

Post by SnoBrdr »

5speed wrote:The rad looks very well made. Nice welds, heavy gauge aluminum..
The fact they welded the fill neck on wrong makes you wonder though.
Even with all the minor issues I have discovered so far..I don't regret buying it. I could buy two for what they want to recore my original one.
It appears it was made for the GLs by a guy who had never seen a GL.

Perhaps a note should be dropped to the seller so that they can reflect the point that it is not a direct bolt on.
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#11

Post by BlueThunder »

5speed wrote:The rad looks very well made. Nice welds, heavy gauge aluminum..
The fact they welded the fill neck on wrong makes you wonder though.
Even with all the minor issues I have discovered so far..I don't regret buying it. I could buy two for what they want to recore my original one.
SnoBrdr wrote:It appears it was made for the GLs by a guy who had never seen a GL.

Perhaps a note should be dropped to the seller so that they can reflect the point that it is not a direct bolt on.
Is the aluminum radiator that much better than an OEM? Given the problems described, I would tend to spend the money on re-coring the stock radiator. I give tons of kudos for the ingenuity and perseverance in getting the eBay radiator to fit - just wondering if its worth it.
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#12

Post by Old Fogey »

SnoBrdr wrote:Is this just a generic radiator or is it supposedly built for the GL ? If it's built for the GL have you contqcted the manufacturer or seller to let him know about these issues ?
I contacted the manufacturer some time back with pictures. Got a polite reply back saying thank you for the information and they would look into it. I don't know whether anything really came of it in term of change .
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#13

Post by 5speed »

BlueThunder wrote:[
Is the aluminum radiator that much better than an OEM? Given the problems described, I would tend to spend the money on re-coring the stock radiator. I give tons of kudos for the ingenuity and perseverance in getting the eBay radiator to fit - just wondering if its worth it.
This rad cost me just over $200 US.
I was quoted $500 to recore my original..it was a no brainer for me. :mrgreen:

Here is the pic of the rad and rad cap with the room I gained by moving the coils.

Image
Last edited by 5speed on Wed Mar 27, 2019 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)

2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#14

Post by Goboy »

The aluminum one should be a couple pounds lighter.
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Re: E-bay aluminum rad update.

#15

Post by ericheath »

It looks great.
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