KX Guru Racing

HOW TO STRAIGHTEN YOUR DIRT BIKE RADIATOR.
Dirt bike radiators are very efficient at removing excess heat out of your engine.
They do this through the use of Aluminum and a lot of surface area.
The aluminum is very thin so they are very light.
All these factors contribute to efficient cooling but also contribute to easy bending, twisting, and denting.
So, here is the trouble:







Ever dropped your bike in the garage, ran into a tree, or cased a 120ft triple and took a denture adventure?
Now your shroud mounts don't line up and your radiators look like junk.
As you can see this radiator is bent like a banana, twisted, and shaped like a parallelogram and not a rectangle.
A new radiator will set you back some serious coin.
The cheap Chinese knock offs are not up to OEM specs and can leave you having to re-drill mounting holes.
If your radiator does not leak, here is a easy and inexpensive way to fix your dirt bike radiator:



That's right, some safety glasses, a cheap press, a old screw driver, and a nail puller that I flattened out the end on.

The first step is to get the twist out of the radiator.
This is very easy.
My press has two horizontal beams that are about 3 inches apart.
I put the radiator in between the beams, grip it firmly and twist it the opposite direction of the twist that's in it.



Don't over do it.
It's amazing how easy they are to bend.
Now take a look:



It is now by far better then what we started with.
Next we want to get the banana out of it.
Using wooden blocks and laying the radiator on it's edge I put my straightened nail puller on the highest portion of the bend and start pressing it.
I hope you have your safety glasses on as these things could come apart and you could end up getting something sharp sticking out of your eye
You will need to press the bend a little further then straight.
As you take the pressure off the radiator it will want to relax back past straight.



Once the banana has been removed I get the parallelogram out of it.
To do this I use a wood block at the bottom left or right of the radiator depending which way the bend goes.
Then I put the ram at the top left or right on the opposite side of the radiator as shown below:

Press it until it is a little past straight as it will try to relax in this direction too.
Last you will need to straighten the mounting tabs.
I use a needle nose vice grip most of the time.
Occasionally I have to use other pliers depending on the position and the type of tab.
No big deal, they bend easy.
Once again don't over due it as you don't want to break anything.
Here is what we ended up with:









All done.
If you have never tried this before, take your time.
Don't be afraid to bend a little and take a look.
Bend a little more and then re-inspect.
Once you are done, mount it to your bike, fill as required by your service manual, be sure to get the air bubbles out, and do a leak check.
The last thing you want to do is end up 30 miles from nowhere with a empty radiator.
That's it.
If you have any questions or suggestion feel free to email us or post below.
Thanks!
SB