I’ve always worried about Ducatis starting, because they sound like they won’t. The bike lives in a garage, no insulation. Yesterday I put the charger on for a couple of hours before I actually started the V4S Multistrada, it struggled but started before I took it out for a 30 minute ride. This morning I put a 2kW space heater pointing at the engine again for a couple of hours, it struggled to turn over but did start. Can anyone offer any practical advice is there such a thing as an engine warmer ?
There is such a thing and used to great effect in the automotive trade for emergencies, Fire and Rescue services etc. The best method heats the water system by introducing a heater element to the coldest part of the water system via an adaptor fitted to a major radiator pipe, or the lower section of a radiator, but there are "block heaters" that do similar to the oil on a large capacity vehicle.. Not really practical on fully faired motorbikes/motorbikes in general but i've just seen an electric element kit but for an old-school, bulky aluminium radiator. Not suitable for our lightweight part-plastic versions. I remember reading a thread about a Desmosedici that incurred some damage by repeatedly trying to start during close-to-zero degrees C temperatures.
That's what I'm thinking they all should be doing - as long as the battery is in good shape. What other reasons can make them tough to start ? when the fuelling & sparking are all (accurately) electronically mapped/controlled? Yes, when cold the oil may be thick & make the engine tough to turn but it should fire up only after a couple of rounds. Even my 20 year & 70k miles old Raptor (Suzuki TL V twin) is no trouble.
A Good battery is the key, my 916 is in the shed at the moment and it was -2 this morning, as stated earlier they always sound like they aren't going to start but invariably do, mine started ok and i went for a quick ride on dry roads - it certainly blew the cobwebs away and gave me a chance to try out my new RST heated gloves, they work a treat
Lovely... yeah cold dry days with a bit of sun always make for a jolly ride... especially when you're all toasty warm. And I also use heated gloves all through winter and they are lush...
A healthy battery is definitely number 1, not just 12V+ but has decent cold cranking amps still. Other things can add extra load (especially in combination) causing slow or hard starting such as having the headlight on, worn starter motor, undersize starter motor cable, corroded electrical connections, cold environment etc I wonder how the ecu handles cold starts?
I’ve never had a problem starting the bike in the cold, 2015 M1200S, and it’s still using the original battery. If you actually have a problem with your bike starting then that would be the time to look for a solution.
do you have a charger/ optimiser? or just a charger? if so just leave it on permanently or buy an optimiser, money well spent, keeps the battery where it needs to be
I was advised by the Ducati dealer with my Panigale to use an optimiser in conjunction with a seven day timer so it charged some days not others. Maybe I need to go back to that setup. I might put a greenhouse heater under the engine for the very cold nights when I’m planning on riding the next day.
Sorry to jump in all, but does the lad that does the 'exact start' battery cable upgrade kit still live on here? Thinking of treating my Diavel Carbon 2016 to a set, having seen the neg. cable end drop off in 2 pieces last night
My Dnepr manual suggested draining the oil after a run, then prior to a cold start, heating it in a pan over a camping stove and re-filling. There was a wee diagram and everything.
Yeah I'll often leave it quite a few days to really run down and then, as you say, give it a full blast on a charger. imo optimisers don't let the battery discharge or charge deep enough.
