I am getting very concerned about how close my radiator hose is the the front exhaust header. Checking other bikes I see about a 5mm clearance at the closest point, on mine after a ride it is within 1mm. Does anybody else have a similar hot clearance. The hose does have the possibility of being pushed further on the radiator boss but the clip is a fixed type and would need to be replaced with a jubilee clip.
Front header close to cooling hose
Patkin
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Did the clamp pull the hose further away from the header too?
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Yes, it will keep a stable clearance between the hose and header.
But the most important thing is to cutoff the heat radiation from the header, the header can be extremely hot while running, over 500 Celsius. Could eventually damage the hose even there is no direct contact with the hose.
Wunderlich is selling the part, I just DIY it by 2mm aliminium alloy plate.
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On my ‘23 there’s a clamp attached to the radiator pulling the hose away. There’s at least a 13mm gap between the header and hose. I might put a sleeve around the hose as added protection as it seems simple enough to do.
Don't think you will need the extra sleeve. They installed the new radiator w/ clamp on my 22 after 2 failed hoses and I have not noticed any issue with the new hose yet. Took a 4K mile trip right after they changed out and the hose has not moved, and I have yet to find any heat related damage or stress to the hose.
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You're probably correct. From what I've seen in pics when it does start to melt it's either touching or very close, less than 10mm. Good peace of mind. I 4k trips sounds nice. Thanks!
Ya gotta hot link me, sorry just saw this!
Order link from SUmmit Racing, it works great.
Wunderlich Heat Shield for Radiator Hose
Check out the deal on Wunderlich Heat Shield for Radiator Hose at wunderlichamerica.com
www.wunderlichamerica.com
I just ordered one. Thanks for the link.Wunderlich Heat Shield for Radiator Hose
Check out the deal on Wunderlich Heat Shield for Radiator Hose at wunderlichamerica.comwww.wunderlichamerica.com
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470 Posts
I'm running this. Not the prettiest thing but it works! At $20, you can't beat it.
Hi Matt, what's the orange material on the inside of the aluminum part? I'm also making my own as it'll cost me 10% of the wunderlich part.
An update on the hose issue from my side. So my bike was brought new, but knowing how HD will often design things that have no sense of logic I went through every mention of common issues on the bike. The Radiator hose was an early concern but I figured that if I had good clearance from the get-go then I was good. Turns out I was wrong. One ride on a hot day in traffic took my bike to 114°C and it was a nightmare to ride. The bike eventually cooled off as soon the wind blew in its face again.
2 days ago I checked all the solutions here on the forum and the Wunderlich part seemed the most logical along with @matt_hu 's solution, but then I looked and saw HD's solution of a strap to hold down the hose away from the header. Figured I had a long ride the next day so I went ahead and created a hybrid of the two 😅.
FYI, I live in Egypt and warm weather is the common norm with temperatures in the 35°+C. Traffic pauses can go all the way to the 40s. The problem with this is also that shipping for most of the parts online is almost the same cost of the items themselves, so sometimes improvisation pays off $$.
The bike now has 1500kms and the first sign of a crispy hose was around the 1000km mark.
Anyways, here's pictures of before, during, and after of the installation:
1. The hose getting all crispy from that warm day's ride.
![Image]()
2. Mocking up a clamp for the hose, tied down to the same bolt the Wunderlich clamp bolts to.
![Image]()
3. After getting the clamp's dimensions right and making sure it tugs the hose away from the header and stays there, it was time to make sure it doesn't become the issue itself from transferring the heat. So I went ahead and wrapped it in a double coat of wire heat shielding (the same one manufacturers wrap their harnesses in to keep the wires from burning). I had this readily available from when I routed my jump starter plug. Ugly yellow but fixed in the next step.
![Image]()
![Image]()
4. After the double coat of heat shielding, I tested it out on a 5 minutes ride followed by a 15 minutes idling (max heat cycle) and the bike temp never exceeded 106°C (which is the kick-in temp for the fan). Once the fan kicked in the temp would drop to the early 90s again normally. More importantly, I confirmed that there was no movement of the hose towards the proximity of the header, in other words, the distance from the hose to the header stayed the same when hot.
![Image]()
5. Gave the contraption a heavy coat of engine enamel spray to make sure it can handle the heat and not stand out too much for the unknowing eye. Went on a 200 mile day-trip and kept my eye on the hose the whole time, no movement and the temps were perfect, never exceeding 100°C on the go, and 106°C at the max during 30 minutes of idling in stop & go traffic.
![Image]()
Your opinions are most welcome. I just thought this might help away from the usual online shopping route if you're handy with your tools. The clamp was bent with my own garage tools so nothing too complicated. It's the back and forth measuring that was a bit tedious. ✌✌
2 days ago I checked all the solutions here on the forum and the Wunderlich part seemed the most logical along with @matt_hu 's solution, but then I looked and saw HD's solution of a strap to hold down the hose away from the header. Figured I had a long ride the next day so I went ahead and created a hybrid of the two 😅.
FYI, I live in Egypt and warm weather is the common norm with temperatures in the 35°+C. Traffic pauses can go all the way to the 40s. The problem with this is also that shipping for most of the parts online is almost the same cost of the items themselves, so sometimes improvisation pays off $$.
The bike now has 1500kms and the first sign of a crispy hose was around the 1000km mark.
Anyways, here's pictures of before, during, and after of the installation:
1. The hose getting all crispy from that warm day's ride.
2. Mocking up a clamp for the hose, tied down to the same bolt the Wunderlich clamp bolts to.
3. After getting the clamp's dimensions right and making sure it tugs the hose away from the header and stays there, it was time to make sure it doesn't become the issue itself from transferring the heat. So I went ahead and wrapped it in a double coat of wire heat shielding (the same one manufacturers wrap their harnesses in to keep the wires from burning). I had this readily available from when I routed my jump starter plug. Ugly yellow but fixed in the next step.
4. After the double coat of heat shielding, I tested it out on a 5 minutes ride followed by a 15 minutes idling (max heat cycle) and the bike temp never exceeded 106°C (which is the kick-in temp for the fan). Once the fan kicked in the temp would drop to the early 90s again normally. More importantly, I confirmed that there was no movement of the hose towards the proximity of the header, in other words, the distance from the hose to the header stayed the same when hot.
5. Gave the contraption a heavy coat of engine enamel spray to make sure it can handle the heat and not stand out too much for the unknowing eye. Went on a 200 mile day-trip and kept my eye on the hose the whole time, no movement and the temps were perfect, never exceeding 100°C on the go, and 106°C at the max during 30 minutes of idling in stop & go traffic.
Your opinions are most welcome. I just thought this might help away from the usual online shopping route if you're handy with your tools. The clamp was bent with my own garage tools so nothing too complicated. It's the back and forth measuring that was a bit tedious. ✌✌
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