EVOTECH Rad Guard Installation with pictures of new stand-of

[DewMan]

 
Forgive me if all of this is old news. I'm back into motorcycles after a long break so it's all new to me.
The EVOTECH Radiator grill for the FZ-07 no longer requires foam tape. It now uses rubber stand-offs. See below for details.
 
[strong]BEFORE & AFTER SHOTS:[/strong]
Lets get this out of the way first since I'm sure everyone wants to see that.

 
 
[strong]PURCHASING & SHIPPNG:[/strong]
 
I purchased this directly from EVOTECH in England. Even with across the pond postage it was still cheaper than I was able to find elsewhere online.
 
Link: EVOTECH Performance Yamaha-fz-07-2013-onwards-radiator-guard
With tracked Royal Mail shipping I paid £62.82 (USD$79.33) it arrived in 10 days. I was able to track it's journey from England, until it hit the U.S., via Royal Mail. Then I was able to track it from there, with the same tracking number, via USPS once it hit Customs in New York's Kennedy Airport. It was five days to the U.S. and another five to my door.
 
[strong]PACKAGING:[/strong]
 
It was very well packaged and arrived undamaged. Layers of plastic, padding, box and overwrap of the box with heavy plastic made sure it arrived safely. It included six of the new stand-offs in a separate bag, a couple EVOTECH stickers and no instructions.
 
[strong]THE GUARD's CONSTRUCTION:[/strong]
 
The aluminum is sturdy enough to have minimal flex and is formed to fit the curves of the radiator while still leaving a a buffer of space to cushion any impacts.
 

 
The flat black powdercoat is nicely done and appears durable and is marred only by the unobtrusive silkscreened branding in the lower corner. The Hexagonal holes match the styling of the FZ-07 nicely. I'm glad they no longer included the embossed logo in the front of the grill that I've seen on other models.
 
 

 
The aluminum is thick enough to have minimal flex when twisted lightly in hand. It covers the entire front of the radiator but only partially covers the top & bottom of the radiator as shown in the "After" Picture above. The only place it actually touches the radiator is where the soft rubber stand-offs meet it along the front edges of the top and bottom caps. It leaves a nice buffer of space to absorb impacts before it would allow damage the radiator itself.
 

 
 
INSTALLATION:
As stated previously, it did not come with any printed instructions, so I downloaded them from their website here:
 
PDF Instructions
The instructions are straight forward until you realize there is no foam tape in the package as shown. The included bag of six soft rubber stand-offs I had to assume fitted on the grill's hexagonal mesh in a location that roughly matched up to where the tape would have met the grill. [strong]I ASSumed wrong.[/strong]
 
After I argued my first stand-off through one of the hex shaped holes, where I though it would do some good, I then noticed that some of the hex holes were round...
Exactly six of hex holes were round as indicated by the tip of the pick:
 

 
... Hmmm six stand-offs... six round holes. The light finally came on and I then located the stand-offs to the round holes which were easier to install to but still required using a dental pick to tug the edges through. I used the same method I use to unmount tires from a rim. I stuck one edge of the stand-off through the hole holding it from behind then worked my way around the hole with the pick to pull through the rest of the hex shaped flange as shown below (ignore the fact that it's in the wrong location. The picture was taken prior to my "Ah-Ha" moment) :
 
 

 
The thicker round half of the stand-offs face towards the radiator as shown here with all stand-offs properly installed in the round locating holes:
 

 
Now, is all this hassle with stand-offs really worth all the effort? I think it is. I fully expect the stand-offs to outlast the foam tape by a margin of time. And you won't have to worry about the tape adhesive deteriorating after a few washings or rain showers.
 
The rest of the install went just as the instructions stated. 4 bolts out.. place guard, four bolts back in. It's as simple as it looks. An extra set of hands to hold the guard in place while you bolt the end caps back on would be helpful but I was able to so it alone and dropped the guard only a couple times in the process.
 
I believe the finished product looks so much better than stock. I'll let you judge for yourself:
 

 
I'm very happy with the EVOTECH Performance Radiator Guard and would have no qualms recommending it.
 
[strong]PROS:[/strong]
The built quality and design appear first rate. I applaud the addition of the stand-offs.
Pricing, but only compared to other brands. I feel they're all over priced.. it's unfortunate that overpriced accessories for our toys is the norm.
 
[strong]CONS:[/strong]
I would prefer it had a more complete coverage along the top edge of the radiator but that would be my only complaint.
Outdated instructions. Hopefully EVOTECH get them updated soon?
 
 
I hope this post helps someone else decide whether this guard is right for them and what it takes to install.
 
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions on how to more easily install the stand-offs. I'd love to hear them.
 
Thank You for your time and attention.
 
 
 
 
 
 

[fzar]

Hey @DewMan, your radiator is in really good condition pre-installation of the guard. How many miles have you racked up on your Bike?

[DewMan]

37 minutes ago, fzar said:

Hey @DewMan, your radiator is in really good condition pre-installation of the guard. How many miles have you racked up on your Bike?

Prior to the install of the grill, probably only 2-300 miles. I've got a 2k on it now. I unfortunately don't get to ride on a daily basis as I'd like, but traffic congestion in this area just isn't any fun so I usually get out of the city whenever I can to find some open roads.