I remember in the day when the 5th gen came out, Honda had commentary about how great relocating the rads to the sides was - allowed to shorten up the wheelbase, improve handling and centralized weight distribution - blah, blah, blah. Then on the 8th gen the commentary switched to how great it was to relocate the rads to the front (didn't think we were watching, did 'ya, Honda??) Anyway - it seems that the side rad set up has caused a lot of owner anxiety about temps - but in my time here I can recall just one post where the owner actually had the temp hit the number (250F?) where the ECU shut down the motor. I can't ever recall a post where damage occurred due to over heating. Not that they don't run hot - I've had my own share of WTF?? moments. To me, the biggest downside to them is their vulnerability to a tipover. Looking at used ones offered on ebay, they're frequently bent or beat up. Getting the rad centralized inside the profile of the bike's frame offers a lot more protection to a very fragile part of the bike.