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The four letter word no ones addressing

101662 Views 262 Replies 60 Participants Last post by  OGG11
** HEAT ** I'll bring the heat issue out. What the heck are we gonna do come summer time( for me Florida which is the equivalent of the Amazon jungle,102% humidity, sweat puddles underneath you at stops.
Most riders will say "well it's is Ducati so deal with it" and or " I wear full leathers and I'm fine" That's great , but I enjoy spending time with my skin (uncharred) and not having leather stuck to my sweaty everything.
Thermal wrap my leg is an option for shorts ( yes the 45 year old squid said shorts) Wrap around right inner leg by the knee is going to be punished come summertime when that clutch cover heats up.
I've also seen the obligatory carbon engine covers to attempt to reduce heat but who really knows for sure.
Anyways ---- what's you thought?
I know 899 forums have 100 threads on this very subject but I want feedback from current 959 owners.
In case your wondering I wear Spidi road jeans which do great job of creating a barrier between me and the heat.














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Yup, its hot man. Super hot. They're known for it. I don't think there's anything that can be done about it. I rode today and the temp got up to 220 and my legs were hot and the OAT were only in the 70's.
I'm gonna DEAL WITH IT like a boss. (and hope I can produce sperm later in my life)
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Also, I'm from Tampa too. ;) Clearwater
I really don't know how you guys ride in Florida - I lived there for 5 years and wouldn't even think of owning a bike during the time. There were maybe 2 weeks in all those years that I would've rode... I was in the Ft Lauderdale area though.
I'm now in sunny Southern California and can't wait to get my White 959. I plan on wrapping the exhaust, but have no idea if it'll help with this heat you all are referring to - I'll know soon enough!
The heat was one of the biggest cons of this bike. I live in Seattle, so the heat won't be nearly as much of an issue as it is for you in Florida. And most of the time I wear leather pants. But on the occasional times that I wear jeans in the summer I'll see how bad it is. OAT is maxing out at 60 this time of year, so it really hasn't been a problem.

For reducing heat, what I've seen from other forums:
heat reflective tape under the seat
carbon fiber cover (especially on the right side)
wrapping the underseat exhaust
removing and spraying the underseat exhaust

I agree that when people say, "it's a superbike, of course it's hot" that it really annoys me. I do appreciate the constructive ideas that people have come up with though.

Yup, its hot man. Super hot. They're known for it. I don't think there's anything that can be done about it. I rode today and the temp got up to 220 and my legs were hot and the OAT were only in the 70's.
I'm assuming your speed was stop and go for this? If you're going at least 40 it doesn't get this hot, correct?
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Its funny you go for a ride and the old heat starts to be felt after about 20 minutes or so depending on the day so you adjust your riding position and move your knees out into the breeze. Then you get up to speed and you forget about it til you get home. Next day you jump on the bike not even thinking about heat until you slow down at an intersection and the warm sensation around your inner thighs appears and you remember Oh yeah this thing gets hot. I wouldn't say it gets so hot you worry about getting a burn mark or anything but I am wearing either race leathers or textile pants. Personally I think anyone who rides in shorts and sneakers needs their head read. You never know when you could get thrown off your bike.
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Zircoflex is a malleable ceramic heat barrier that can be shaped to your liking. Works for radiant and conductive heat.

I have Swain Coating Technologies in my backyard so I'm using their ugly white lightening coating and then still wrapping it. Waiting till the off season or I'll drop it off before I go to JRTC this summer.

You wanna complain about riding a motorcycle in Florida summer?

Go to Louisiana, mid-July, as a dismounted infantry unit in full combat load. Please...
I hope this won't be much of an issue down here in Canada since it isn't as hot as California or anything. HOpefully, its an added feature as it will keep us warm when riding in the cold ahaha.

Can you guys start posting the temperature in Fahrenheit or degrees when you notice the heat issue?
I thought about this a lot since it seems to be something that a lot of people complain about.
Gold foil under seat, side covers should help your thighs a lot.
But I truly believe thr biggest culprit is the subframe being bolted to the head. That means due to heat transfer, and it being steel, it'll get to about engine temp, which is insane.
So shifttech makes carbon covers for about 300 bucks that are supposed to help a lot.
Now if you have oodles of money, the 1199 SL has a carbon subframe. That is the way to go if it's available and affordable.
I thought about this a lot since it seems to be something that a lot of people complain about.
Gold foil under seat, side covers should help your thighs a lot.
But I truly believe thr biggest culprit is the subframe being bolted to the head. That means due to heat transfer, and it being steel, it'll get to about engine temp, which is insane.
So shifttech makes carbon covers for about 300 bucks that are supposed to help a lot.
Now if you have oodles of money, the 1199 SL has a carbon subframe. That is the way to go if it's available and affordable.
I've looked hard into the ShiftTech Carbon covers I have two concerns with them although they seem to be one of the best options. First, is that they appear to be mounted with an adhesive pad which is difficult for me to accept. Secondly is the fact that they prevent heat from dissipating from the engine which I am unsure of what if any that will have on the bike as time goes on. I'm sure the engineers at Ducati which are rocket scientist as far as I'm concerned designed the heat to dissipate without any obstructions for a reason
From my experience, the heat is coming from the rear engine cylinder and on both sides I feel it on my inner thigh and end up with just a heat rash that goes away in a day. To combat that, I'm wearing these now if I'm going out on the bike for more than an hour in order to increase my comfort level:
Heard about Shift tech as well, but haven't used it myself so I can't comment. But for those who want to try it out, here is the link. Please tell us if it works!

ST1024 FULL SUBFRAME COVERS 899/959 MATTE ( see description for gloss) - Shift-Tech Carbon
From my experience, the heat is coming from the rear engine cylinder and on both sides I feel it on my inner thigh and end up with just a heat rash that goes away in a day. To combat that, I'm wearing these now if I'm going out on the bike for more than an hour in order to increase my comfort level:
Amazon.com: McDavid 472 Neoprene Deluxe Thigh Support, Black-Red, X-Large: Sports & Outdoors
Are you wearing those under jeans? If you wear leather pants, do you still need those?
The full subframe covers look really nice. I think that's something I will invest in come summertime. Or when I get hot.
I can only imagine how expensive a full rear subframe is.
Is anyone getting the thigh burn with leathers on? I'm guessing that will help. So far it hasn't been an issue for me but the temperatures are still in the 70 F range here and I avoid traffic stops like the plague.
Are you wearing those under jeans? If you wear leather pants, do you still need those?
I'm wearing them under my riding jeans. I don't have leather pants . . . yet.
Bottom line, "super bikes" are not designed for city riding. If you're on the back roads or the track where you're not having to slow down or stop at intersections heat is not really an issue. If you're looking to mainly ride in and around town then I wouldn't be riding super bike, what's the point?
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I'm wearing them under my riding jeans. I don't have leather pants . . . yet.

Sorry, this is graphic but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.:surprise:


Please get full leathers if you plan on riding hard, even on the street. I was wearing full racing gear except for blue jeans when I high sided an '07 CBR1000RR into the weeds coming off a corner. This photo was taken five days after I came out of surgery, good knee protectors would have prevented most, if not all of my knee damage.


This was almost 8 months ago, just now starting to walk normally again.




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