I haven't ridden a modern superbike with radiators, but in looking at the 1199 they look really vulnerable. I know in cars (track cars or just fast street cars) where the frontend design is such that the radiator is out in the open that it is comman to put some wire over it to protect it from stones being kicked up while out in traffic....just curious if that is an issue with these bikes too?
Are the radiators vulnerable to stone/rock damage?
- Thread starter usrodeo5
- Start date
Help Support Ducati Forum:
I haven't ridden a modern superbike with radiators, but in looking at the 1199 they look really vulnerable. I know in cars (track cars or just fast street cars) where the frontend design is such that the radiator is out in the open that it is comman to put some wire over it to protect it from stones being kicked up while out in traffic....just curious if that is an issue with these bikes too?
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2011
- Messages
- 189
- Location
- Orlando, FL
It can be an issue the Duc radiators sit very low making them vulnerable to debris. I will definitely invest in a radiator guard like Cox Racing ones when i get the bike.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2011
- Messages
- 1,518
- Location
- Norfolk. UK
The lower radiator on the 1199, just as the oil cooler is on the 1098/1198, is prone to damage due to its proximity to the front wheel, and anything subsequently throw up by it, be it stones or other debris. The main radiator less so, because it sits out of this plane of debris / front wheel arc, so is more likely to be damaged by objects hitting it at speed, directly from within the air ahead.
Typically large insects will cause some superficial damage to the cooling fins/matrix of the radiator. Personally I find it really unsightly, when you see all the pock marks and bent/squashed matrix fins, so I have always fitted or made my own custom guards for both the front and rear faces of the radiator/oil cooler before I ever ride my bikes on the road (you only need one stone to hole an oil cooler, as I found out on my 748SPS a few years ago).
I am sure there will be some aftermarket versions available soon (including MotoCorse, who doubtless will produce some more uber expensive titanium ones!)
Whichever you end up with or if you fashion your own (very easy to do and can be made to fit very neatly and professionally), you would be foolish to ride without any fitted, like I said, especially to the lower radiator. The wheel clearance is almost certainly too small to fit an extender to the front mudguard, which is the only other, if less attractive solution.
Here is one of the aluminium guards I made up for my 1098, which was then hard anodised black:
Oil Cooler: (the black caps, snap over the bolt heads that pass through the oil cooler for neatness. These bolts hold the front and rear face grilles/guards in place. It did mean drilling through the oil cooler/radiator but as long as you dont touch the horizontal water/oil channels you are only displacing the thin fins to form a hole for the bolt to pass through. If you are unsure, then look at the radiator fans on an S4RS, as these are mounted directly to it using through bolts)
Radiator:
I do like my grilles. Here are some others I made up.....cut and shaped by hand, then bonded onto the panel after powdercoating black.
Typically large insects will cause some superficial damage to the cooling fins/matrix of the radiator. Personally I find it really unsightly, when you see all the pock marks and bent/squashed matrix fins, so I have always fitted or made my own custom guards for both the front and rear faces of the radiator/oil cooler before I ever ride my bikes on the road (you only need one stone to hole an oil cooler, as I found out on my 748SPS a few years ago).
I am sure there will be some aftermarket versions available soon (including MotoCorse, who doubtless will produce some more uber expensive titanium ones!)
Whichever you end up with or if you fashion your own (very easy to do and can be made to fit very neatly and professionally), you would be foolish to ride without any fitted, like I said, especially to the lower radiator. The wheel clearance is almost certainly too small to fit an extender to the front mudguard, which is the only other, if less attractive solution.
Here is one of the aluminium guards I made up for my 1098, which was then hard anodised black:
Oil Cooler: (the black caps, snap over the bolt heads that pass through the oil cooler for neatness. These bolts hold the front and rear face grilles/guards in place. It did mean drilling through the oil cooler/radiator but as long as you dont touch the horizontal water/oil channels you are only displacing the thin fins to form a hole for the bolt to pass through. If you are unsure, then look at the radiator fans on an S4RS, as these are mounted directly to it using through bolts)
Radiator:
I do like my grilles. Here are some others I made up.....cut and shaped by hand, then bonded onto the panel after powdercoating black.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2014
- Messages
- 96
- Location
- San Diego
Get a cox,
And spend all day on the install
And spend all day on the install
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2013
- Messages
- 111
Holy thread resurrection batman
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2012
- Messages
- 8,384
- Location
- here
Similar threads
Register CTA
Register on Ducati Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.
Sign Up
