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These Chinese radiators are ubiquitous on ebay and really cheap so I decided to take the risk and see if they are worth it. This one was $55 shipped for a 1st gen SV650. It seems made well enough but as I was scrutinizing it I realized that it has less rows than stock and the fins are spaced wider than stock. This seems like it actually has quite a bit less surface area than stock. the black one is the stock radiator for reference.
Any experiences with them? This would be going on a bike that is track only and I don't run an oil cooler.
Wider spacing might actually allow more airflow offsetting the reduced number of fins. I’m no radiator expert but there must be some balance that works.
That being said if the OEM could be made with less material it surely would have been so it might not work quite as well but that would be at the top end of the cooling curve. Might be just fine for typical use especially if paired with a good coolant.
I offered it up to the SV and the fitment is off and it wont go in. One of the coolant ports is 3/4" too long. also the overflow nipple is facing the wrong direction. We'll see what they want to do about a refund, I may just cut the port off and re-weld it.
I like to think of myself as a "Sunk Cost Enthusiast" AKA "Lets spend an hour fixing a Chinese radiator that was had for $30"
The port was partially crushed when I attempted to bend it, so after i cut it off i hammered it on a form to get it a little more round before cutting it short and welding it on. I also attempted to bend the overflow port but I didn't realize it was soldered on so as i was heating it up to anneal it literally fell out. I had some Muggy Weld - super alloy which is for brazing aluminum. I've only used it once before to repair a carb, its very difficult to use and extremely toxic- so yeah, I do not recommend. My braze job looks like pidgeon shit but hopefully its strong enough. De-burred the cap bung and it seems ok now. I need to find my pressure tester but Im guessing its probably good to go. I will keep it as a spare for the track.
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The lower tube was at the wrong angle but easily changed.
