Why should this happen? I checked the oil today and I was unable to see the oil level clearly in the sight glass. What do I do?
Go on longer rides Try taking the oil filler cap off once you get back after a ride. It lets the condensation out.
If it looks vaguely like mayo,you should take the bike out,warm it gently then thrash it.Nothing wrong, its just a build up of condensation mixing with the oil.Happens this time of year when the oil doesnt get hot enough to evaporate the moisture.
Worst thing that you can do to any engine is to start it and let it warm up on its own. Only start the bike when you are ready to ride it, it will warm up much quicker with some load on it. Then make sure that you take it out for a long ride, that will evaporate any moisture in the oil. Remember that the water part of the sludge does not lubricate as well as oil does. The water temperature will have the fans kicking in way before the oil is up to its optimum running temperature.
It is the only bike that I have had that does this. There must be a shitty design flaw somewhere. Any ideas? My guess is the breather system.
Yes water does boil at 100c but your cooling system mixture boils at around 120c, this has nothing at all to do with oil temperature though. Your temperature gauge shows cooling water temperature and not oil temperature. It might take a 5 mile ride to get that gauge to show normal running temps but the oil will probably take over 20 miles to get to normal. (90c to 125c) As most Ducatis seem to have oil coolers, I assume without a bypass thermostat, it will take even longer. I fly an aircraft with both coolant and oil temperature gauges and it is a real eye opener.
Creamy sludge isn't uncommon.............look in many oil filler caps on vehicles and it will be there..........particularly bad pre-1980s and most vehicles then had open breathers direct to the atmosphere..............Duckhams Q20-50 was the worst.
My 999 tends to run cool at 70c when not in traffic but as soon as I slow down, the temperature rapidly climbs. My suspicion is that the radiator is too big and the fans too small. My 320d runs at a rock-steady 100c, come what may but uses basically the same technology.
I am able to confirm the best way to remove the sludge is to ride 30 miles without the oil cap in place. What a twat!! Sludge is gone.
File it under "ones I got away with". I did the same with a MK3 Escort. It didn't make my destination and ended up as scrap.
