Riding to work this morning, I notice that my gear leaver is slippy under boot - I assumed that I either trod in something, or the [new] boots just need a bit of scuffing up - so I drag on the road a few times and think nothing more. Arrive at work and dismount, only to see fluid splatter along the left-hand side of the bike - thankfully not on the rear tyre though! First thoughts are 'b***ocks an oil leak!' but a quick dab and taste - it's red and sweet. Coolant!! Just took the side panel off and had a nose around, and the only thing that I can clearly see, is that the fan mounting points are weeping in the rad - mainly one of the top ones, as with the engine running; it appears to either bubble or dribble a very slight amount (enough to see). The fins of the rad look fine - no strikes at all, and ironically I was just about to purchase a rad guard!!! I'm wondering whether the mounting points have a bit of corrosion, and that has caused a leak in the rad - and that the air flowing through, has caused the splashback I now have. Though, it's a decent amount of drops along the side of the bike. Anyone had experience with rads at all - whether this is a fixable thing, or, well how to process from here really? I have a 15 mile ride home later, and although the temps aren't shooting up when running - I'm not sure whether to baby her home or call for recovery. Thanks for looking folks.
Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I too now have this same problem and it appears to also be on the fan mounting bolts. My bike was dropped recently after an attempted theft, and i think has caused this damage. I was able to remove the fan bolts and squeeze in some araldite glue, let it set, and then test it again, and it fixed it enough to get me home. I now need to buy a new water cooler which seem quite expensive!! looks like we need a radiator guard on these to prevent this type of damage.. Jason
Completely forgot to update this thread, sorry!! I tried a LiquMoly rad weld initially, along with new coolant - it seemed to do the trick, but after a day riding I noticed it dripping again; my engine temps were also pretty high! Spoke to a few people, and although this weld was supposed to be for bikes; there were a lot of differing opinions on using it - someone at my work said never use things like that, as it could block up the water veins in the engine... which could explain the elevated temps! Did a complete strip down of the cooling system, washed it all out with a hose and then sent the rad off for repair - a new rad was nearly £500 from Ducati, and the repair was £54; so I thought why not! Prior to sending it off though, I filled it with distilled water and pressurised it to 20psi - found a single jet of water was spraying from the top of the rad, just beneath the surround. A day later I picked the rad up - it looked like a bit of a ghetto fix, a bunch of epoxy stuffed into the offending area, and sprayed, but it did the trick! Touch wood, it's been all ok! The leak in the photos was misleading, as it was actually spraying/dribbling from the top. She's now all sorted, during the down time I did the oil and filter, the air filter, and spark plugs. The belts were done by a local independent, as was a new chain and sprockets (ghastly rear sprocket though!). Hope you get it sorted fella.
They all go there - design issue more than anything - try a Chinese rad as many have, they may last longer / indefinitely and are under £90! - OEM it appears will go again if you waste your money. My 1098R rad has just done the same, always in the same corner - I will get it professionally repaired rather than a new one as this might be the best route to keep it original - but properly repaired (reconstructed) stronger than standard...
I'd be interested in a Chinese one, just as a backup - got any links? I did search when having issues, but only found the Ducati ones in the States :-(
Doesn't seem to be much about for the Hyperstrada unfortunately (it the same as the Hypermotard of the same years) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUCATI-H...253951?hash=item41dd83743f:g:F5AAAOSwMqVarfOc
Thanks for the update! I still need to get a new radiator for a 2014 Hypermotard, but cant seem to find any after market ones, the one in the link above looks like it would fit, but doesn't then have the holes for the fan mountings, so perhaps is not the correct one..
