Removing it or modifying the engine's designed cooling system in any way voids the warranty. While removing it may work for some for others it may not.
Also, each setup is different and operates under different circumstances. For instance, I have mine set up with a shift kit with a low gear near 39 to 1 so I can climb 11%+ grade dirt roads in my area. Such high rpms at low speeds may not be enough to keep the engine (specifically the valves) cool enough due to inadequate air flow around the cooling fins. there are times when I've ridden 30 mph with a 30 mph tail wind too. The engine had higher RPMs with significantly reduced load on it with near stagnant air around the cylinder.
You can't compare the 4 cycle air cooling to the 2 cycle air cooling because the design is too different. sure they have cooling fins on both but the fins on the 4 cycle are much shallower, a whole lot less of them meaning much less surface area to cool the cylinder, and no cooling fins on the top of the cylinder head in comparison. The way mine is set up with the stock muffler covering 1 side of the cylinder and carb on the other side my surface area for cooling the cylinder is very limited. At least the shrouds are designed to cool the fins behind the muffler.
As I mentioned for some removing the shrouds may work fine for your setup and style for riding but for mine it would be totally inadequate and cause engine failure. Keeping the engine's cooling system as it is designed to be ensures that it will perform the best it can in all situations therefore I'm not going to recommend that anyone modify it. Anyone who does assumes a risk or reward so I would just wish them good luck.
