Eric,
Completely agree that a 45 deg. rear mount would be best. Perhaps I'll modify the Flatlands in the future. We have a fair amount of mud, but rocks and sticks are the biggest concern. Most of the potential damage is done by slow speed tipover type falls in technical rock sections, where you run out of leg. This is of the side impact varity, that the GP braces do a great job on. In south NJ, the briars and sticks go to work, plastic louvers litter the trails in a south jersey enduro. The Flatlands have that nice margin between them and the front of the radiator. Once I had a baseball size rock kicked up by a rider in front of me hit the guard square in the front. It bent the guard in about 1", but the rad was untouched. They can clog with mud, but most of it clogs the guard not the radiator, at least not to the point of ever causing me a problem. The GG has excellent cooling capicity, unlike my previous KTMs.
Do you use an upper shroud mount? This saves plastic for sure.
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