Here along the White River in Indiana, there is awesome riding opportunities, so long as you have legal permission.(Many just do it no matter what) But along that river is some of the craziest and wooliest stuff known to make short work of both CV boots, as well as radiators not properly protected. Some of the dried stalks from the previous growing season of tall and thick weed varieties, will often harpoon both your face, as well as your machine's vitals. Over the years it has cost me a couple grand in radiators, and while the XUV is an awesome "crossover machine", it has one of the worst rad-exposure potentials I've seen in any manufacturer. What JD was/is thinking with that one is beyond me, but I'd like to not be paranoid enough to think it was intentional. All that said, if your riding/use area has thick hazards, no question you will want to do something about it. I have started fabricating add-on brush-screens that have proven to completely safeguard the radiator no matter how thick it gets out there, and have been told it actually adds to the machine's appearance. I use a carbon-steel 1/8 inch weave diameter x 3/8 inch square opening for fabrication of the main bumper insert, that I finish weld to the bumper on the rear side of it...tacking each weave. That gets painted using a good grade bed-liner. I then fab a second set of inserts using a high-grade stainless 3/16ths square weave, that bolsters the main brush guard; The larger first insert will stop the swing of a ball-bat and not suffer so much as a bend, and the second and tighter weave catches and stops the smaller stuff that would still damage the radiator. Basically will protect your entire front-end from branches that may otherwise bust your plastic, in addition to trash your rad. I also eliminate that lower stop-pin on the bumper that only allows you to swing the bumper out far enough to raise the hood. Cleaning the rad-clogging fuzzies out is sooo much easier when you can swing that bumper all the way down and out of the way. I personally use a commercial grade window-screen material I place on the face of the radiator itself, and that way I simply lower the bumper and remove and clean that screen as needed. Also makes hosing-out mud-build-up much easier. Anyway, you can purchase these, 'Coth-screens' screen materials for all parts mentioned above, from a steel supplier and do the work yourself if you have the tools and skills, or you can contact me and I will fabricate you a set with bumper-exchange, for a price, of course, on my ebay account, using PayPal as an obvious security. I have done this mod for several of my friends, and they suggested that I put it out there. It's a super good mod, and even fun if you do the fabrication yourself. I build custom Kubota RTVs, as well as a ZX1400 Ninja-powered Gator 625i I'm currently building. I've been a fabricator my entire life, and so it's just in my blood to weld/improve and modify things.
Two photos, if they work, are prior to the bolster screen and stop-pin removal. I will post more later, but you get the general idea.
New to this forum thing, so you can direct me as needed, without being rude. I just may have a fix for something YOU will benefit from, some time. So, be cool. :)
Two photos, if they work, are prior to the bolster screen and stop-pin removal. I will post more later, but you get the general idea.
New to this forum thing, so you can direct me as needed, without being rude. I just may have a fix for something YOU will benefit from, some time. So, be cool. :)