I've bought some coolant to top up as I cannot see anything in the little viewing window after a track day. It occurred to me that it's a closed system and shouldn't lose coolant so I thought I'd check with you lot. I thought if coolant went down it meant either a leak or maybe evaporation through somewhere that isn't sealed as it should be? Or is this normal behaviour for a Ducati? Thanks in advance. Also... I assume it's both side panels off, top up the radiator and use the reservoir to indicate the level, probably starting the engine for a little bit between little top-ups? All done on the stands or it doesn't matter?
Not that unusual. Could have got really hot and blown out of overflow hose. Right hand side panel off. Bike upright (both wheels on ground if possible). Top up to middle of two lines - shine a torch into the top up hole and it’s then comparatively easy to see the level from the left hand side, viewing from down by brake calliper. Obviously check radiator is full. All above based from V2 but will no doubt be the same. Why do Ducati make it such a chore for such a simple thing??!!
The V4 has a twin expansion tank setup, so it might be worth checking that there hasn't been overflowing into the second expansion tank. As per @Expat Jack's comment, it's a closed system. Unless it's got really hot, it shouldn't have dropped any fluid. Earlier V4's are known to have a weaker water pump which can lead to the bike dropping fluid/overheating; check for any fluid pooling in between the V on the left-hand side of the bike - if there is anything there, it could be an early indication of a potential failure.
Thanks for that. It’s a SP2 and was built around one year ago. Hopefully water pump issues were resolved by then. My dealer (sales guy) said of course it uses coolant when it gets hot… that’s not my understanding of a cooling system. I’ll take the fairings off (such fun) and check the second expansion tank. IF there’s coolant in there but not in the reservoir then would that mean I shouldn’t top up? Presumably the coolant should find its way back into the system from the second expansion tank if there is any in there. The coolant level was showing against the minimum mark from new, which I was told is fine. I’d have thought it should be somewhere between minimum and maximum.
Thanks for that. I keep the bike on two stands so that’s fine. I’ll check the radiator first and go from there. I think I’ll need to take two panels off on the side to access the reservoir - 2022 built V4.
Can't say for sure, my V4 is a 2023 build bike and I recently had the water pump replaced due to it failing. It is however a race bike so has a little more stress than most, just keep an eye on it IMO. It's a bit difficult to make out in this photo but you can just see the level that my right expansion tank was sat from the factory (pink liquid) - It's near the min level mark you mentioned, if you are going to top it up fill the expansion tank until it's at the mid-point between MIN & MAX but make sure the bike is upright on a flat surface and the engine is cold.
At least the v4 gets a translucent expansion tank. It’s black on the v2 with a tiny vertical translucent window. Hence the torch. Gotta love Ducati.
Ok, the coolant inside the radiator is a little down from the top but I’m guessing it shouldn’t be to the brim? There’s a couple of mm at the very bottom of the reservoir and it obviously needs a top-up. BUT… when I took off the lower side fairing I found this in the bottom of the fairings: I am quite certain that I’ve not touched any bolts of that size with a washer… M6 size. This has me somewhat concerned… Any ideas where it could have come from? I cannot see anything obvious on the right side of the bike so before I start buggering around taking the left side off… any ideas? Possibly related to the coolant level dropping?
I was putting bike back to road trim, so checked mine. I was ok in rad but o/f tank was a lot below min line. 1299 back from almeria. It was mid 30's there tbf.
I found this: I think the bolt should be in there… Exhaust fitted by the dealer… I guess they were trying to save on threadlock? Is there a torque recommendation? I’m now wondering what other bolts they fitted that might fall out…
Thanks, that’s a bit reassuring. Do you put coolant in the radiator to the top or is it ok where it’s just visible?
Checked mine was filled to top before i went, it was a smidge under. I deemed that okay. When coolant escapes, it will be as a vapour. So you'd be unlikely to notice. I think mine is fair enough after 4days in 38degC track day.
You mean fill to the top in the radiator I assume and then top up the reservoir to somewhere between maximum and minimum? It looks like the dealer didn’t fit the rubber bit on the exhaust mount correctly - probably didn’t tighten the bolt to the correct torque either. Unbelievable…
So I topped up the radiator and then filled the reservoir to the midway point. I started the bike to check it and noticed smoke from the exhaust on the left side… there’s a bloody oil leak coming from the top-right where the bottom oil pan meets the engine! 2,000km and less than one year old and it’s leaking oil… If I hadn’t had to remove the left-hand fairing to put that exhaust hanger bolt back in then I might not have noticed the oil leak… I’ve got another track day booked in just over 3 weeks… I wonder what the chances are of them fixing this correctly in time…
I thought under Audi ownership things might have changed. There was a Motomillion video recently where they had a leak from exactly the same place on their SP2… I guess the 40,000 Euros for the bike wasn’t spent on build quality.
Mines a 2018/19 bike and used as a track bike only from new, and I am now on my 4th water pump. The bike was purchased Dec 2018 and run in over the spring of 2019 2019 - used for 5 trackdays only 1st pump went at Aragon in sept 2019 1st day 3rd session, so lasted 5 days and lost 2 days euro trackday etc 2020 - used for 8 trackdays only 2nd pump went at Estoril in sept 2020, so lasted 8 days - luckily I had completed the 3 days and noticed it on last session 2021 - used for 13 trackdays only (removed evotech rad guards after Estoril failure on advise from Ducati) 2022 - used for 10 trackdays only 3rd pump went at Silverstone 2nd session on 17th July 2023 so lasted 23 days (had just come back from 4 euro trackdays Brno/Slovakiaring) So the bike has been ridden for a TOTAL of 36 days over 4 years on track with 3 water pump failures... Ducati have paid for the parts only, even out of warranty which is fair from them, but the financial loss to me cant be claimed back. Do you call that reliable or not ?? Are they a track worthy bike or a simply a road bike ? Would you buy another with this experience ? Was looking to change to 2024 bike next year, but am extremely worried now that I see 2023 bikes still having the same issue. I understand the pump is made by a 3rd party and is on its 7th revision, I am quite shocked that a 2023 bike has the same issue and used on track - I also understand that the v4 multistrada has the same issue ? It just seems a poor design, some how the bearings, either coolant side or oil side must overheat and collapse allowing the oil seal and the coolant seals to fail and then coolant/oil enters the pump spindle chamber which then flows out both the 2 weep holes and fill the void between the cylinders, I'm not sure how the bearings are lubricated as they are behind both the coolant/oil seals, but it must be oil temp heat that's causing it as Ive never seen an coolant overheating alert on the dash..
To be clear, no water pump issue for me yet. I've managed 6 days on track and it's been fine (I'm not considering the oil leak issue to be related to how it is used and that seems to have been resolved). 3 days back at Brno last weekend and it's used a similar level of coolant but it seemed to perform well. I do have a question about the brake fluid though... it looks like it has lots of particles in it: Is it ok like that? Air bubbles perhaps? I only really started to use the brakes over the last 3 days on track so I don't think they have had much of a workout - mostly rather light use.
@Spud312r the water pump as you say has been revised multiple times. We were reasonably sure my 23 bike had the latest fitted when it was delivered by Ducati. My bike is a race bike, it did 50 miles run in on a dyno before being used for Sprint and Endurance racing so it’s had a slightly harder life in that respect. The result is that it’s running at high load for longer than average duration, resulting in more heat to dissipate. The V4 is a tight package and heat is a problem, the standard cooling setup is only really suitable for road and medium track use. We now run leaf blowers through the bike for 15-20 mins when it comes in from a race or stint, this helps to ensure the heat is dissipated reasonably efficiently while the bike is stationary. The failure of the water pump for us I believe was in part caused due to too much water in the system folllow the bike being used in the conditions mentioned above. The water level markers on the 22+ bikes is about half of the expansion tank which is fine for road and occasional track use. When the pressurised system is exposed to constant and high levels of load I believe it’s causing excessive stress due to the level of pressure. This overwhelming the pump and subsequent failed etc. We now run our bike with only a small volume of deionised water in the header when cold, far lower than the manual suggests. When it’s running at temp there is very little in the header tank, giving the bike more expansion space if needed without dripping fluid and pushing the pressure up. So far it seems to be working, we also did some testing abroad with an ambient temp in the mid 30’s and it seemed to be fine. I hope this helps at all, not a fix but my working hypothesis.
