Unequivocally yes, yes you should. 100% yes, as in why aren't you doing it right now?
Bronch asked me to ride so I could give you a thorough write up. I put on 205 straight miles; Sierra Vista > Tombstone > Whetstone > Sonoita > Tucson. (72F to 90F ambient.)
BTW I think I saw the member here with the custom stock header loop shield, I passed him on SR83N with his buddy. And of course saw Andy with his at the Desmo Southwest BBQ on the tail end of it.
ANYWAY, back to the topic...
I sat in traffic, I went redline, I did city, and highway. If you looked at focus like you did at traction (100pts for each), the less discomfort you are experiencing the more focus you have for riding. This allowed me to not to dwell on the fact I may be making little omelettes with my testicles cooking on the seat. Yes, there is even reflective fiberglass backed tape under my race seat. I experienced little to no discomfort through the seat and my lower legs. Most of the radiant heat was from the cylinder head and subframe (it's attached to the damn engine, obviously).
Would I recommend that you put on the vertical cylinder shields? HELL TO THE NO. Why not you ask?
1) You will not be able to detect leaks, as both my valve covers leaked at one point (over 10,000 miles).
2) That radiant heat? It has to go somewhere, do you want it be retained to the engine, increasing your operational temps? Me? Hell no, it needs to breath as much as it can.
3) You still can't cover the top of the engine, or the fact the heat is transferred to the tank and subframe. It is going to heat up regardless and now it is no less uncomfortable than your average litrebike on a hot day.
If there is anything related to this you'd like to know, just ask away.
Pictures:
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