Aftermarket parts - some fit, some don't

[CombatYoga]

Lots of goodies going on the bike over the holidays and wanted to share the results.

1) GPI radiators - I bought a pair of the chinese radiators off of ebay. They are indeed beefier. Perhaps that's why my BRP radiator guards don't fit them.
Even worse, the left side radiator will not mount flush to the frame stand-offs as the outlet on the bottom of it will hit the powervalve cover.
I had to make a bracket to relocate the radiator further out and forward for the bottom mount. Up top I used a longer M6 bolt. The shrouds are stretched
pretty good to go in the holes. I fear that a get off where the bike ends up on it's left side will bend the radiator back towards the bike.
In fairness, the GPI folks answered my question immediately and asked for a picture, which I sent today. I'm too nervous to try and bend the outlet spigot on the radiator that hits the powervalve cover, but maybe that is the real answer. Actually the real answer is to get a properly fitting radiator. ;-)

2) Silicone hose kit from Motohose - I bought the red hose kit; it looks sick, I have to say. Unfortunately the hoses that attach on the bottom of both radiators are not long enough. I sent pictures and an email to Steven at Motohose and I'm awaiting his response (left them a voicemail today too).
Even without relocating the left radiator the hose would be too short.
You will also need a good supply of hose clamps - some of the stock ones won't fit the new hoses, and a few of the others are very tight.
Out of the selection of hoses, I can only find one that makes sense to use as a fuel line. I switched it out but I get significant leaking where it connects to the fuel petcock. The existing spring clamps are too big and don't apply enough force.
A small hose clamp will do the trick I'm sure.

3) S3 Head - I had already installed the House of Horspepower pipe, new slide and jetting changes suggested by HoH. The bike ripped in the mid and up top but had a slight hesitation off idle or when the revs dropped. The S3 head (high compression insert) seems to have cleared that up for the most part. I run 93 pump gas and use Torco Accelerator (recommended by HoH) to get the octane to 98. I know I still need to do a squish measurement and let Ron at RB do his magic though.

4) Twisted Engineering Bars - I got the #2 flex version; my handguards meet very close in the middle too (someone has a picture on here), but I haven't seen or felt where that it is a problem; they must not slide inward very much. I need to ride with them some more, but so far for me it's not some magical oh-my-god experience. I wasn't having wrist issues in the first place, so maybe I don't notice as much. They are nice and the mounts are solid. It's somewhat unfortunate that they are covered in a flat black paint - it would look super cool to have the carbon fiber showing. Also, the plastic hand shields are just the MSR versions. Easy and fairly cheap to replace. I have BRP mounts so that I can sub-mount my Scotts Steering Stabilizer. The upper bar mounts that Twisted Engineering sends mount right up to the BRP lower portion. No fitment issues.

5) Removed my key assembly - mine finally went bad and wouldn't turn the bike on. I followed the directions on a couple of posts in this forum - dead bang simple. I didn't even wire in a switch to replace it. Just connected up the power wires and left the ground wires unconnected. If you are thinking about doing this, it is extremely easy.

Overall just happy to have the bike running really well right now. We have a 4 hour tag team hare scrambles race this weekend. A little frustrating to get parts that don't fit, but hopefully these companies/sellers will make it right. Will post a followup when/if that happens (or doesn't!).

[frankinberg]

Myles radiators fit and look best

[Wimpy525]

+ one on the Mylers radiators.
I have the Samco radiator hoses (true silicone) and they supplied the good hose clamps in the kit

[95jersey]

I am on my second set of Chinese radiators for $100 pair and the fit perfectly. You must have gotten a bad set.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by 95jersey

I am on my second set of Chinese radiators for $100 pair and the fit perfectly. You must have gotten a bad set.

How would a fellow know?

[95jersey]

Originally Posted by twowheels

How would a fellow know?

Return them to the e-bay seller. I bought mine from Winner Racing on ebay. They fit perfectly and are beefier and stronger than OEM. I couldn't be happier.

[CombatYoga]

I am in conversation with the ebay seller now - they are asking for pictures, etc, which I am sending. I'll definitely give them a chance to make it right, and they have been very responsive so far.

[RockefellerGG]

I used the motohoses (2012-15) on my 2005. The hose sizes worked just fine. I didn't use the fuel hose or the equalizing hose between the radiators because I had a similar clamp issue, not getting tight enough.

[CombatYoga]

After some back and forth with the ebay seller, they have agreed to refund me $20 to make me go away. They insist that that the XC300 designation must be different than the EC300 designation, and that is why the radiators don't fit.
I argued the point for a bit but eventually let it go.
The seller is "radiatorwarranty" and the manufacturer is listed as "GPI Racing".
Here is a link to the ebay ad:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280780665914...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

To reiterate, the left side radiator will not mount up flush to the frame as the lower outlet would hit the powervalve cover. I had to fashion a bracket to move the radiator out a bit.

[Rod Overstreet]

Originally Posted by CombatYoga

After some back and forth with the ebay seller, they have agreed to refund me $20 to make me go away. They insist that that the XC300 designation must be different than the EC300 designation, and that is why the radiators don't fit.
I argued the point for a bit but eventually let it go.
The seller is "radiatorwarranty" and the manufacturer is listed as "GPI Racing".
Here is a link to the ebay ad:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280780665914...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

To reiterate, the left side radiator will not mount up flush to the frame as the lower outlet would hit the powervalve cover. I had to fashion a bracket to move the radiator out a bit.

Difference in radiators between XC vs EC? That's one way to pass the buck