125-200cc 144 shrouds

I'm tearing down my 09 wr144 for winter maintenance. I'm looking at the rad shrouds (upper and lower) and how wide they are, and the fact that I break a few of them every season. My question is, do we really need these for the little bikes to cool properly? Ive run without a lower a few times waiting for the new to arrive... Didnt seem to have any affect. If they aren't needed, I'd remove the lowers for racing and trim the tank shrouds back as well. Has anyone done this? Has it affected cooling?

I would bet you could take one radiator off without affecting the cooling much... The hottest I ever had my 09 125 was 186 degrees, nowhere near boiling over. I would be surprised if pulling the shrouds had much measurable affect on cooling.

Later,

I do a lot of clutch climbing technical stuff. I've never boiled mine. I haven't had the lowers on for months... I'm pretty sure you don't need the uppers either. They do provide some protection though.
Trim away. I've noticed how far out they stick and contemplated a trim job too. I just don't ride a lot of super tight stuff.

I haven't run the lowers in at least a year. Seems you look at them wrong and they break, so I gave up.