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superchargedpolo 29-Jan-2006 21:45

748s Running too Cold?
 
Can anyone shed some light on the following:

Took my 748 out the other day for a run and noticed that once on a stretch of dual carridgeway the temperature dropped to just below 60 deg C on the dial. The bike was at normal operating temperature (a touch over 80) prior to going on the motorway. It was quite a cold day (around 8 deg C) however I would not expect the temperature to drop this low.

Does anyone know if thermostats on these bikes are prone to sticking open / failure or if the temperature sender / gauge can read incorrectly.

Other than the above the bike ran like a dream, however I wasn’t keen on accelerating too hard with the temperature so low? I haven’t changed anything since the summer (apart from the ambient temperature) and didn’t have this problem then.

Any help on this one would be most appreciated.

Craig

Mello-Yellow 29-Jan-2006 21:53

Same thing happened to me mate, Put it down to the bloody cold weather.

twpd 29-Jan-2006 21:57

I reckon it's a fair bit colder in Norway than here. ;)

superchargedpolo 29-Jan-2006 22:20

60 deg C just doesn't sound right to me even if the ambient is a bit on the chilly side.

The bike isn't even in Norway yet! This was in Glasgow last weekend.

It's funny because you will not see the temperature guage on a car dip that low once it's warmed up and the ambient can be well below zero. A bike should be no different, unless something is wrong?

Shazaam! 29-Jan-2006 22:29

http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/xm...2103#pid209308

superchargedpolo 29-Jan-2006 22:45

Thanks Shazaam.

I did a search earlier and read this very interesting post. I guess the general feeling is that it's okay for a motorbike engine to operate at this temperature.

I'm no motorbike expert and very new to Ducati's, hence the question. But I used to work in the automotive industry and did some hot and cold climate testing. Even at -30 deg C in Sweden you would still expect a car engine to stay above 75 / 80 deg C once warmed up. This is why I was surpised to see the Duke drop so low once it had warmed up and why I suspected the thermostat or something similar.

Thanks for the feedback any other ideas welcome.

Or do most sensible Ducati owners keep their bikes out of the cold weather, not a bad idea.

Craig

Shazaam! 29-Jan-2006 23:05

The main difference is that a bike's cooling system holds much less volume of coolant, so temperature changes are quicker and vary more widely than an auto's.

hogfisch 29-Jan-2006 23:15

My 748S does this on cold days. Never really worried about it. I think it is normal.

twpd 30-Jan-2006 02:22

As an aside my diesel VW Golf never gets about 70 degrees atm. I was surprised by this.

...and my Sprint RS overheats at the drop of a hat..no surprise given how small the radiator looks.

superchargedpolo 02-Feb-2006 12:11

Have been giving this a bit of thought and am still not happy with any of the explainations. If the engine is running that cold, between 40 and 60 deg C, then the thermostat should be 100% closed and no coolant should be getting pumped through the rad. Has anyone done any tests to verify this?

I would but the bike is in the UK and I am stuck on an oil rig in Norway! Also an ambient of 8 deg C is not that cold compared to a normal of say 20 deg C? So why such a big difference in engine temperature. Am I missing something here? It just doesn't add up. Unless, of course, the rad is cooling when it shouldn't be?

Any further ideas / comments?

Thanks
Craig


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