[NickoDuke790]

Morning from sunny Leicestershire :smile::smile::smile:

Want a rad guard....what’s the best out there? Don’t mind spending the £ if it’s quality

Happy Easter riding all

 

[bigtree]

I bought a Chinese copy of the Evotech one, can't remember if it was aliexpress or ebay. Fits fine and less than half the price.

 

[Geoff]

This is the one I bought: https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Motorcycle-Black-Radiator-Protector-Grille-Guard-Cover-For-KTM-Duke-790-2018/283264781445?fits=Year:2018|Model:790|Submodel:Duke|Make:KTM&hash=item41f3e58c85:g:mZUAAOSw8-lb8CjW

Really good quality and easy to fit. The instructions were a poor resolution photocopy but adequate enough.

 

[J D]

Really good quality and easy to fit..

I'm glad the quality is there. Horrific reviews/Feedback for that seller, though, usually scares me off.

 

[Geoff]

I'm glad the quality is there. Horrific reviews/Feedback for that seller, though, usually scares me off.

Ten days from placing order to receipt in NZ which is fast for free delivery. Absolutely no complaints about service or quality! I must admit that I didn't look at the individual reviews, just the overall percentage.

 

[NickoDuke790]

Purchased a genuine Evotech in the end.....came today, it’s a really nice bit of kit beautifully engineered.... worth paying the extra 🙈👍🏻

 

[owl]

Purchased a genuine Evotech in the end.....came today, it’s a really nice bit of kit beautifully engineered.... worth paying the extra ������

Also got the evotech, had them on most of my bikes. I understand frugality, but I don't understand spending thousands, if not tens of thousand (depending on currency) on a brand new bike and then slapping on some cheap chinese aftermarket tat.

I get that sometimes you may be able to find items where the quality is on par, however most of the knockoff stuff I've ended up with has either warped, peeled or broken, and yes I've read reviews first. Maybe I've just been unlucky.

Almost every bike I've sold I've been able to strip those aftermarket parts and reclaim at least 50% of the original cost by selling them separately if you can be bothered.

 

[AMatu]

Was just looking at the evotech crash bobbins as well.

 

[KiwiDuke]

I spend where I think I need to. A radiator guard is not a very technical piece of equipment. Powder coated stamped alloy. Very easy to get right and not very expensive to produce. Not very much that can go wrong with it either. Mechanical things on the other hand...not so much trust in the cheap Chinese reproductions.
Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people spending money on the "best" piece of kit but not being made of money, sometimes I think you can get a lot better value from something that doesn't have the fancy brand name on it. I have owned a lot of parts bought off sites like Ali Express and I haven't had any issues (yet). My radiator guard cost less than half of a R&G guard but looks good and does the job it was designed to do. No sign of it failing yet.
I recently bought a pair of bar end mirrors for $14 US delivered (yes, a pair!) and they fit well, look good and work well. Hard to complain about that.

 

[J D]

I spend where I think I need to. A radiator guard is not a very technical piece of equipment. Powder coated stamped alloy. Very easy to get right and not very expensive to produce. Not very much that can go wrong with it either. Mechanical things on the other hand...not so much trust in the cheap Chinese reproductions.
Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people spending money on the "best" piece of kit but not being made of money, sometimes I think you can get a lot better value from something that doesn't have the fancy brand name on it. I have owned a lot of parts bought off sites like Ali Express and I haven't had any issues (yet). My radiator guard cost less than half of a R&G guard but looks good and does the job it was designed to do. No sign of it failing yet.
I recently bought a pair of bar end mirrors for $14 US delivered (yes, a pair!) and they fit well, look good and work well. Hard to complain about that.

You prolly can't go wrong with a simple, non-mechanically oriented part such as a radiator guard. I would agree that higher-tech parts are best left to quality brand names.

That's also the wonderful thing about all of us reviewing products here on this site.

 

[markjanemhan]

Took delivery of my AliExpress radiator guard this week. $60 including delivery from China - arrived in 10 days! Perfectly adequate quality. Just fitted it and the only issue I had was the end of the steering damper touching it slightly on full lock. A little bit of "persuasion" soon fixed that!

 

[J D]

Took delivery of my AliExpress radiator guard this week. $60 including delivery from China - arrived in 10 days! Perfectly adequate quality. Just fitted it and the only issue I had was the end of the steering damper touching it slightly on full lock. A little bit of "persuasion" soon fixed that!

That's great to hear, Mark!

Hows things in sunny Van? Met a really nice lady from Van, but in Costa Rica of all places, have to go visit one day. ::wink:

 

[markjanemhan]

Hows things in sunny Van? Met a really nice lady from Van, but in Costa Rica of all places, have to go visit one day. ::wink:

All good in this neck of the woods! Riding season well & truly underway.

 

[Stephano]

I bought a set of shorty adjustable gear levers from China - cost me about 35$ US - free shipping arrived in about 10 days -

I put them on, they fit perfectly - a few days later I was at my dealer who is a friend of mine - he asked me why I didn't buy the KTM levers from him ? I said they're not KTM = he looked at them closely and said what make are they ? When I told him I paid 35$ from China he shook his head and walked away - I've never been disappointed by anything I've ordered from E Bay or from Ali Express -
As we say "why pay more" ? I understand that its a challenge for manufacturers to compete but I can't solve the manufacturing disparity by myself

 

[Geoff]

I bought a set of shorty adjustable gear levers from China - cost me about 35$ US - free shipping arrived in about 10 days -

I put them on, they fit perfectly - a few days later I was at my dealer who is a friend of mine - he asked me why I didn't buy the KTM levers from him ? I said they're not KTM = he looked at them closely and said what make are they ? When I told him I paid 35$ from China he shook his head and walked away - I've never been disappointed by anything I've ordered from E Bay or from Ali Express -
As we say "why pay more" ? I understand that its a challenge for manufacturers to compete but I can't solve the manufacturing disparity by myself

It's a bit of a conundrum, isn't it? It's a good thing to support local businesses in our respective countries where possible but there are limits. If a local business adds value to the total offering in some way, I'm happy to pay a bit more to support them and develop a good relationship. However, a lot of organisations seem to have got their business model wrong with the advent of internet sales. To give an example, my wife and I bought a new boat for sea fishing. I wanted a top of the line hand-held VHF marine radio to go with it. The cost through an NZ-based supplier was about 60% higher than buying it through the US, including freight. The clincher for me was that I noticed that delivery from the local supplier was quoted at 2-3 weeks. I strongly suspect that they didn't even hold stocks, ordered it from the same source I bought mine from and simply piled a big mark-up on top. I'd prefer to buy locally but not when I'm being ripped off.

 

[weeksy]

I bought a set of shorty adjustable gear levers from China - cost me about 35$ US - free shipping arrived in about 10 days -

I put them on, they fit perfectly - a few days later I was at my dealer who is a friend of mine - he asked me why I didn't buy the KTM levers from him ? I said they're not KTM = he looked at them closely and said what make are they ? When I told him I paid 35$ from China he shook his head and walked away - I've never been disappointed by anything I've ordered from E Bay or from Ali Express -
As we say "why pay more" ? I understand that its a challenge for manufacturers to compete but I can't solve the manufacturing disparity by myself

The answer is, because the KTM/Evotech guys have to design it first. They need to measure everything, spacers, fittings, fixings etc...

The Chinese then run a scanner over it and have all the dimensions. They didn't have to spend hours and hours getting the right fit, the right settings, checking, testing with the bike, then getting it made....

What happens when the other guys go out of business, you think Chinese guys are going to ship in a 790 then have a team designing parts to fit it ?

 

[bossev]

(...) the end of the steering damper touching it slightly on full lock (...)

Sorry for the off-topic, but is your steering damper wobbling as if it is lose and if yes is that normal?
Thanks!.

 

[weeksy]

Sorry for the off-topic, but is your steering damper wobbling as if it is lose and if yes is that normal?
Thanks!.

They mount on a rose joint, so yes, they feel VERY loose... but they're not actually.

 

[bossev]

They mount on a rose joint, so yes, they feel VERY loose... but they're not actually.

Got it, thank you!

 

[KiwiDuke]

The answer is, because the KTM/Evotech guys have to design it first. They need to measure everything, spacers, fittings, fixings etc...

The Chinese then run a scanner over it and have all the dimensions. They didn't have to spend hours and hours getting the right fit, the right settings, checking, testing with the bike, then getting it made....

What happens when the other guys go out of business, you think Chinese guys are going to ship in a 790 then have a team designing parts to fit it ?

They won't go out of business because there will always be people that think the "cheap" copy is no good.