Hey all I'm new to the site and Ducati's so am in need of some help. I recently bought the bike of my dreams a 1995 Ducati 748 and she's a beauty. For the first few rides everything seemed ok then I noticed that all of a sudden the temperature gauge would go hard over well above 120. Obviously this worried me despite not having any running issues or other indicators that she's overheated. This happened on a few rides and eventually caught the gauge just jump to 120 rather than creep telling me there was a fault rather than a cooling problem. I tested the gauge by earthing the wire from the sender which sent it hard over so know the gauge is ok, then I slowly heated the sender and watched the gauge slowly climb correctly so know the sender was ok. I therefore realised it must be wiring fault where somewhere the cable is earthing on the way to the gauge. Ran a new cable today and went for a ride, gauge never jumped to 120 so think I have solved that issue but the temperature only hovered between 40 and 60 rarely just reaching 70 if I slowed right down or stopped. Eventually after letting her idle for ages she reached 80 but it took some time. This surely can't be right can it? I checked the thermostat which is working correctly and so is the fan but just can't believe that she operates that low. Have no other issues with running or leaks. All advice welcome, thanks in advance.
Hi and welcome I went for a 3 hour ride last Friday, only reached about 80 max and I only know because my bum was starting to get warm. That only happened when i got lost in the middle of Bedford city center and got stuck in traffic/lights/etc. On the open rode i find she doesn't get to hot.
At what temp does the fan kick in? Should be just over 100c. Maybe shorting the gauge upset the calibration somehow
60-65c on the gauge (or thereabouts) is entirely normal for open road driving for most of the year. If running it up on the side stand it will take 10 or more minutes from cold to get it hot enough for the fan to kick in.
if your thermostat operates properly(check if it isn't stuck open) then you don't have to worry about slightly lower temps.My 748 and st2 both stays around the 60-70 celsius mark if driven normally.
The most mine gets up to on the open road is just under 80c, and even using it on track it won't go to much more. Heat soak from the engine etc. in traffic is the thing that will see the gauge rise more quickly to where the fan will start running. Colder weather should see the engine run a bit colder.
Thank you for all the advice guys, has really put my mind at rest. Can't believe a 21 year old Italian bike is that efficient at cooling but not going to argue with you. Thermostat is fine and operates as it should so have ruled that out.
Trans, remember the bike is designed to run in significantly hotter environments than the uk and the radiator is sized that way. For winter riding the thermostat is barely open, if you have an oil cooler as well then you can see why the running temp is sometimes lower than what many might expect. Also don't assume the temp gauge is that accurate or linear in its reaction to the temperature sensor resistance.
