Trail Tech Digital Radiator Fan Kit

What it is

• Trail Tech offers a wide variety of off-road electronics, best known for their digital gauges and lighting kits

Trail Tech is a leader in cool off-road electronics. The digitally controlled radiator fan is another product to make the life of an off-roader better. The fan kits come totally assembled and ready for easy installation. TT offers kits for most KTM, Husaberg, Husqvarna and Honda off-road models. It allows custom adjustment of temperature trigger point through the TTV temperature meter. There is a fused wire harness and no cutting of fluid lines. The fan runs off of 12-volt DC and has a 30 watt/ 3 amp draw.

How it works

• The fan kit installs almost as quickly as it will cool your radiator fluid.
• Substantially increases the cooling in low-speed terrain.
• Adjustable to your needs.

There are things in life that you can survive without, yet when you discover the missing link you then wonder how you made it this far without that item. I recently had an aha moment, but at least my skin was silky smooth from the many steam baths I took.

Taking my KTM 530 EXC through extra tight, slow technical trails, I discovered my Katoom likes to get a tad warm, kept boiling over, and often belched out a nice steam signal so all of my riding buddies knew I was struggling, or at least my bike was. I had contemplated getting a fan a few years ago but just said, “whatever, I will just deal with it.” I changed the radiator fluid with a higher-quality product but it just made the steam smell different.

I got a chance to test a Trail Tech unit on my pumpkin and after the first ride I could not stop hitting myself for being so stupid for so many years. First of all the Trail Tech unit comes pretty much completely assembled and takes very few tools and very little time to install. Most KTM’s are already wired for a fan so it was pretty much plug-and-play, although they do include accessory wire and plug if you need to find a power source. The draw on the battery is fairly minimal at 30 watts when the fan fires up.

Tools: 8mm socket, needle-nose pliers, T20 Torx Driver, and a container to temporarily drain your radiator fluid is all you need. TT provides very detailed instructions which are very easy to follow if you are an instruction mechanic. Four bolts, two on each side, attach the fan cage to each side of the radiator, and a temperature sensor is easily pushed between two cores.

The unit has a digital readout that displays the temp and you are able to adjust at what temp the fan will kick on. The only downfall on the 530 EXC is that once you set the temp and install the radiator shroud, it ends up covering the digital readout. We later found out that since then TT has a specific bracket (different part number for the 2008-2011 style bikes). This happens on some oversized tanks too. I wish TT offered a simple way to relocate the readout to an easy-to-see location or near my handlebar. I would like to be able to adjust the fan switch temp easier depending on the type of riding I am doing and I would also like to monitor the temp during warm-up. But it is in easy view on 2012 and newer models.

With the unit installed and a dozen rides since, I have heard the fan kick in countless times in technical or engine taxing situations. I had it set to 190-degrees which seemed to come on just when it needed to. If I had to do a do-over, I would have installed a fan on my 530 before I rode the nipples off the first set of tires. I have yet to boil over or project a steam signal for my buddies to see since the fan installation.

Considering the headache I endured for several years without, the $159.95 price tag is a drop in the bucket for such a simple to install and quality-built component that likely prolongs the life of my engine.

Help support this site by purchasing through this link:

Rider Opinions