GPI radiators?

Gravel
Posts
1849
Joined
2/22/2014
Location
Ridgecrest, CA, USA
6/16/2019 9:26pm Edited Date/Time 6/16/2019 9:27pm
I’ve got a set, the bung for the bleeder screw wasn’t drilled through so the quality control isn’t the best. I drilled the fitting, did some minor tweaks on the mounting brackets and they’ve been good. Great for the price..
1
Zeke27G
Posts
1405
Joined
11/8/2011
Location
Ascot Park, CA, USA
6/17/2019 6:43am
Idaho747 wrote:
The radiator that's tweaked is a myler that I ordered from Rocky mountain

Thought Mylers looked cooler than the beat up stock radiators on my KX500, so I bought a pair and within the first few rides I started breaking the mounting tabs and this continued to happen up until I had a crash that resulted in the left radiator needing to be straightened. I sent them both to ICW and although Brett was able to fix them up, he mentioned that I should send him my stock radiators to be fixed up. Knowing that more times than not, OEM is better than aftermarket, I sent them to Brett to be fully welded up and braced and I'm definitely happy with the results. Although Brett could have straightened all of the dings to the fins for an extra fee, he said it's nothing that I couldn't handle while sitting down with my favorite beverage of choice and a flat blade screw driver! Brett was very easy to work with and even with shipping from So Cal to North Carolina and back, it only took 1 week!! If I was to do things all over again, I would've skipped buying those overpriced beer cans and just had ICW fix up my stock radiators!




4
delonick347
Posts
374
Joined
12/22/2011
Location
Omaha, NE, USA
6/17/2019 2:10pm
Some have good experiences, so I took my chances. GPI rads for an 05 KX 250 2 stroke. 3 rides, no crashes or falls, and non fill side started leaking. You're taking a chance of "getting what you pay for".
1
6/18/2019 11:18am
I used them for years when my son was racing RM85's. They're higher capacity than the OEM rads and use much thicker aluminum. However, they somehow sourced out aluminum that's only slightly harder to bend than a sheet of paper, some really soft material was used. They never leaked or gave me any trouble short of him crashing and turning them into "non-rectangular shapes". For the price I was happy to use them.

The Shop

Manco
Posts
318
Joined
6/19/2014
Location
Denver, CO, USA
6/23/2019 1:17pm Edited Date/Time 6/23/2019 1:18pm
Idaho747 wrote:
I have a radiator on my rmz that's pretty tweaked @although it's not leaking (yet). I'm wondering what experiences all of you have with GPI rads...
I have a radiator on my rmz that's pretty tweaked @although it's not leaking (yet). I'm wondering what experiences all of you have with GPI rads off of ebay. I am planning on reinforcing them a bit also. Going to do that part myself.
GPI radiators are a cheaply made radiator. They can be a pain to install as noted by other persons. It may be different models of bikes fit better or maybe quality control is just awful. Sometimes they last a long time and sometimes they don't.

Something that needs to be noted about GPI radiators is they are "one hit" radiators. They cannot be straightened very well as the core of the radiator is not attached to the side plates. These side plates are what gets attached to for straightening a radiator. OEM radiators, Mylers and other quality radiators have there core soldered to the side plates of the radiator. This strengthens them, transfers heat better and allows them to be straightened.

Your best bet for good radiators is always gonna be a set of reinforced OEM radiators. Next best is reinforced aftermarket with the soldered cores. The worst is junk like GPI and other off brand radiators.

Since you already have a Mylers that can be repaired sending it to them or ICW for a straightening and a reinforcing will be a good route.

Bare in mind it doesn't matter what brand or design a radiator is if a rider is easy on their bike its gonna last. If a rider rides hard and tosses the bike down hard regardless of reinforcement or guards the radiators are gonna bend in time especially if it is being thrown down repeatedly on rough rocky terrain at speed or from a good height. If you are an easy rider and/or someone that rides close to civilisation a cheap radiator will be fine. If you are a hard rider and/or get far and away from civilisation and need bullet proof radiators on your bike build a set of reinforced OEM or reinforced high quality soldered core aftermarket radiators for the win.
1
TexasVet
Posts
122
Joined
6/16/2019
Location
Springtown, TX, USA
6/24/2019 1:52am
Idaho747 wrote:
I have a radiator on my rmz that's pretty tweaked @although it's not leaking (yet). I'm wondering what experiences all of you have with GPI rads...
I have a radiator on my rmz that's pretty tweaked @although it's not leaking (yet). I'm wondering what experiences all of you have with GPI rads off of ebay. I am planning on reinforcing them a bit also. Going to do that part myself.
Manco wrote:
GPI radiators are a cheaply made radiator. They can be a pain to install as noted by other persons. It may be different models of bikes...
GPI radiators are a cheaply made radiator. They can be a pain to install as noted by other persons. It may be different models of bikes fit better or maybe quality control is just awful. Sometimes they last a long time and sometimes they don't.

Something that needs to be noted about GPI radiators is they are "one hit" radiators. They cannot be straightened very well as the core of the radiator is not attached to the side plates. These side plates are what gets attached to for straightening a radiator. OEM radiators, Mylers and other quality radiators have there core soldered to the side plates of the radiator. This strengthens them, transfers heat better and allows them to be straightened.

Your best bet for good radiators is always gonna be a set of reinforced OEM radiators. Next best is reinforced aftermarket with the soldered cores. The worst is junk like GPI and other off brand radiators.

Since you already have a Mylers that can be repaired sending it to them or ICW for a straightening and a reinforcing will be a good route.

Bare in mind it doesn't matter what brand or design a radiator is if a rider is easy on their bike its gonna last. If a rider rides hard and tosses the bike down hard regardless of reinforcement or guards the radiators are gonna bend in time especially if it is being thrown down repeatedly on rough rocky terrain at speed or from a good height. If you are an easy rider and/or someone that rides close to civilisation a cheap radiator will be fine. If you are a hard rider and/or get far and away from civilisation and need bullet proof radiators on your bike build a set of reinforced OEM or reinforced high quality soldered core aftermarket radiators for the win.
This. On a budget? Just trying to spiff up a bike for a sale? Craigslist bike that didn't have a radiator? Better than nothing...just a little.
Vet57
Posts
2519
Joined
12/13/2010
Location
BRO Town, MA, USA
6/24/2019 5:26am
Moose racing has replacement radiators that are half the cost and work very well. I just installed a pair on a Honda and they mounted up and worked well.
1

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