Here's another example of "too basic , so nobody bothered to write 'how-to' , but I thought this might help someone ... "
Actually, the main reason I wrote this is because of that the description of Ducati's service manual (PDF) is somewhat misleading(or, should I say confusing ? ). If someone follows the procedure on the manual, that someone might damage the engine (in worst case).
So, here's how to do it properly. Text in the quote box is what the manual says.
OK, let's the show begin.
Stage 1: preparation
First off, get yourself some drain pan, and preferably, drip pan or cardboard, something to cover the floor. Neatness and tidiness are somewhat important.
And you need some empty containers to keep old coolant so that you can take them to recycle.
And of course, the new coolant. Now, I don't want to open the can of worm, so I won't tell you which brand, what product you should buy. Do your own research and make your own decision, pick up what works best for your situation. The only thing I'd say here, is that you'd better get " silicate-free " stuff.
(although Ducati's manual does not mention anything about this. )
This one is silicate-free, for example.
Or, if you are working on street / track double duty bike (and/or don't need protection against freezing), you may use this with same amount of distilled water.
If you have a dog, you may want to use something like Silkolene Pro Cool (propylene glycol, it's less toxic )
The choice is yours.
Stage 2 : Draining the coolant
WARNING
Before you start, make sure your engine is cold. Never attempt to do this work while the engine is hot.
Undo the expansion tank filler cap.
Place a container under the engine and place the motorcycle on its side stand.
Loosen plug from hole for fluid drain that is on pump cover. Let all fluid drain out.
The drain plug is here (the black one on the water pump cover). You can drain from here like the manual says, but...
The faster, easier way is to drain from here. Loosen the clamp of the lower hose, and pull it out.
Oh, and keep the radiator cap CLOSED at first. Open it (and open it slowly) AFTER draining some of the coolant.
If you open the radiator cap first, then pull the hose out, you will end up spraying coolant all over (ever heard of vacuum ? )
Wait until coolant stopps coming out.
Hold the front brake, rock the bike back and forth, left to right, some more coolant should come out.
When you are satisfied, put the hose back and tighten the clamp.
Now, the expansion tank. Open the cap, then, undo the clamp and pull the hose off here.
Put the hose back and tighten the clamp.
BTW, if you insist to drain from the drain plug, the crush washer for the plug is the same one as the ones used on brake lines. And the tightening torque is 18 N-m.
Stage 3 : Filling the cooling system
Here's the "misleading / confusing" part of the manual.
Fill the circuit by pouring specified new fluid in the expansion reservoir.
Allow a few minutes to let fluid fill the circuit. Completely fill expansion reservoir and close plug.
Start the engine and let the engine idle for about 10 minutes so that coolant reaches 110℃ / 230℉. Let the engine cool down so that air in the circuit will bleed out.
The better way to fill your system is ...
Pour your choice of fluid into radiator. Keep filling until it's completely full.
Start your engine with radiator cap off. You will see bubbles coming up as the coolant warms up ...
... and more bubbles, it's called "bleeding", you know ...
Watch out for hot coolant that radiator may spit out ... it's hot !
Let it cool down. You can see, the coolant level has gone down.
Top it off. (till the radiator is completely full. ) Close the radiator cap. Make sure you really closed it, it has two steps of clicks.
*Alternatively, you can do this "bleeding" with radiator cap on (closed). That way, you won't spill anything, but you don't get the fun of watching the bubbles coming out ... also, you'll have to WAIT until the engine gets cold. (which can take a couple of hours. )NEVER OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP WHEN THE ENGINE IS HOT !
With the radiator cap closed, you won't see the coolant boiling, so keep your eyes on the temp gauge.
This is hot enough. Shut your engine off. Let it cool down. Then, remove the radiator cap and top off.
Use funnel (I forgot to mention about it in preparation stage), fill the expansion tank until the fluid level comes up in between MIN and MAX line.
Close the cap of expansion tank. That's it. Check if there's any sign of fluid leaking. Clean up if you spill anything.
And you are done.
PS ; it is probably better to test ride around the house, within the range of a couple of blocks (so that you can push the bike back if anything goes wrong
)
