I see they deleted the rad side covers on the 2016 570 Sportsman. Are these just to keep mud and crud out of the rad?
I pulled mine to clean the rad out and mount my LED light bar when it arrives.

Can I leave them off? Would make it easier to keep an eye on things.

 

They semi sorta kept dirt and mud out,but made it hard to keep a check on the back of the radiator like you said. In a round about way they kinda keep air funneled toward the engine from the fan,but no big deal if you leave them off. A lot of people lost theirs over time,rubber o-rings holding them in place would rot and they'd vibrate out. Some people just left them as they were.

 

Thanks OPT. I will mothball thrm until I upgrade atv's.