Ducati Monster Forum

Hi, as my oil temps are getting way too high (ambient temp 92F), cruising 300F and on track 320F ->, Im looking for an aftermarket oil cooler. Anybody here installed one ?

What kind of oil temps you are seeing in your M1100? Also please mention ambient temperature.

We have an M1100/696 upgrade oil cooler. It is twice the surface area of the stock one. I don't know what it would run temp wise on the 1100, but I have it installed on my 696 here in AZ where we get 110F temps.

Good news, please PM price, availability, pics etc.

Are you sure your gauge is reading right? thats a realllyyyy high temp for any motor. Is the bike stock?
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=36244.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=36244.0)

I have the full termi system on it, temps were pretty much the same when stock.

I'll ask around if someone has a tool to measure the oil temp but the reading has been consistent so far and the weather here is just warming up. Im doing a California Superbike School event next month in Abu Dhabi so I need a proper cooler before that.

Couldn't you install any size oil cooler that you wanted? As long as you find a way to mount it and the lines reach....

If I could install one my 696, I am pretty confident that you could purchase a bigger one(not necessarily a "for ducati" one... Just an all purpose cooler) mount it, attach the lines, fill it with oil and you should be good to go.

I have yet to larger oil cooler for 1100... Like i said, I just used one off an old monster and it's been working fine.... Go to your local car/bike shop and see if they have any... my local shop has all different size ones that are just about identical to the one I bought.

The thing is that here in Qatar it's difficult to find parts, almost everything has to be ordered from outside. I might find a cooler but to source the hoses is a another story.

Those temperatures are normal.  Though Ducati calls it the oil temperature, the location of the sensor is actually reporting the head temperature, which generally runs about 60-70 degrees higher than the oil would if measured at its coolest point.

This bike is designed to run at about 250-300 degrees at the head, which isn't unheard of for any air-cooled engine.  At its coolest, my Yamaha Warrior measures 260 degrees at the head, and that's after an all-highway cruise during the winter, while it measures 190 degrees for the oil (not measured at the head).

My 1100?  I eventually wind up in the 231 to 275 degree range in the sub-freezing winter, and summer highway riding puts me in the 276 to 320 range.  Again, this is normal which is why Ducati put 276-320 right in the middle of the range on the gauge cluster, half way between too cold and too hot.

Stuck in horrendous I-95 D.C. traffic on a 95 degree day for an hour or so?  I get into the 348-374 degree range, but have never reached seven bars, nor the dreaded flashing 393+/pull-over-right-now range.   [laugh]

Without a fan, by the way, an oil cooler will do virtually nothing for you when you need cooling the most--at slow speeds.  It will, however, help with cooling the engine more quickly once you're able to get back up to speed.   [thumbsup]

Well "virtually nothing" is a relative term.  Convection will occur even at idle so having additional surface area to allow the oil to cool will still help, but yes not as much as when in motion.  It would be pretty easy to mount a 12v computer fan or two behind the cooler and rig up a thermostat or just a switch to run those.  Might look a little less "cool" but would be functional.  The other thing too is that there likely isn't much oil pressure at idle anyways so even with a fan on the cooler there isn't much oil going through the cooler to be cooled....just a thought.

I thought the oil temp sensor is located next to the oil filling cap?

Let's take an example, if you are driving with your car and your oil temps go 320+, do you continue driving? My point is that even it's in the middle of the scale, the oil lubricating qualities will decrease. Also you will be losing horsepower due to excessive heat. I noticed this on track last time, my straightline speed went down approx 8mph when oil temp was indicating 5 bars.

I'll try to find a simple oil temp gauge that I can replace the oil filling cap.

No, it's on the top of the front side of the rear cylinder.


No, but you're comparing apples and oranges.  In a car:

-The engine isn't designed to run at the higher temperature of 320 degrees.
-320 degrees for the coolant means the heads are maybe 400 degrees (plus or minus, depending upon a host of factors).
-Coolant will eventually boil or cause the cooling system to rupture or vent due to excessive pressure.

The Monster doesn't have coolant and the engine's tolerances are designed to take the higher operating temperature into account.  Just like how a turbine engine runs much hotter without problems--it's designed to.


That's why you should use the proper lubricant, listed in the manual.  Different oils are designed to handle different temperature ranges; and multigrade quality synthetics are particularly adept at surviving higher temperatures.  Plus, at three bars your engine isn't running any hotter than a water-cooled engine (again, note the difference in where the temperature measurement is taken).

The reason for water-cooling is that it mostly eliminates temperature fluctuations, which has to primary benefits:
1.  The engine can be designed to operate within a narrower range of temperatures, reducing variability and inefficiency.
2.  Expansion and contraction of components is reduced, increasing long-term dependability.


It simply depends on where the engine is designed to operate most efficiently.  In the Monster's case, that would be the right-in-the-middle-of-the-range four bar temperatures.  The bike isn't designed to work there because that's the middle of the range, that's the middle of the range because the bike is designed to work there.

I'm not saying not to get an oil cooler.  But be aware that it won't help significantly when cooling is needed most--in traffic--without a fan, and a larger oil cooler can potentially increase the range across which your temperature swings as you switch between idling and riding with alacrity.

Okay, was mistaken. Then it's just a oil pressure sensor.


I meant oil temps not coolant temps. Coolant temps can be over 100c because the system is pressurized.


At the moment Im using Castrol TWS 10w-60 oil which should be fine. Also the measurement point, in my opinion, won't indicate the true oil temperature. I'll try to fit a small gauge to replace the oil filling cap.


This is something that I was wondering about, it seems to have a huge impact where you measure the temps. If the actual oil temp will be +300F, Im sure the oil will lose it's lubricating qualities sooner.


Im not worried about the temps in traffic, just the temps on the track. Daytime ambient temps will be here around 120F so I wont be doing much riding during summer. Only once a week on an early "sunday" morning when the streets are empty here.

Appreciate your comments.  [thumbsup]

The oil being hotter during a track day is not going to be the only thing that is causing your slower times, there are many other factors.  

True, but comparison was made in a series of 10 laps. My exit speeds were almost identical, only difference was before braking. Top speed went down when temps got higher. After cooling down at the pitlane, same phenomena could be repeated.

yeah I was assuming you meant oil temp...  [thumbsup]

Oil temps will vary based on where they're being measured.  However, oil doesn't hold heat as well as water does.

When I had a Corvette, I could read my coolant, oil, and transmission fluid temperatures at any time.  The oil temperature tended to hover near the coolant temperature primarily because the coolant was doing most of the work of moving the heat to the radiator, where it could be transferred to the air.  Oil would hover at about 220 degrees while coolant would hover at 195 at freeway speeds.

On our bikes, the whole system is more compact and we have fins and the oil itself to transport heat away from the cylinders, so it's expected that the oil will be hotter.  These modern, synthetic oils are a lot more durable than some remember older oils being.

When in doubt, however, I suggest sending an oil sample in for testing at a lab.  That way you can see whether the heat is breaking down the oil enough to be a real problem.

 [beer]