Ducati carb heater?

[dori]

I recently bought a wee Ducati M400 ('03), and I notice a fuse entitled 'heater'. After some research I find that this has nothing to do with window demisters, but a carb heater.

When does this carb heater kick in? My bike takes a while to warm up, my uphill driveway is impossible unless i sit in the driveway and give it a rev for 3-4 minutes. No doubt it'll get worse as the days get a little cooler...

Any advice? Or thats just the fun of having an aircooled/carb'd Ducati?

[CookMySock]

Sounds like a "european winter" inlet de-icing thing. You do use the choke, dont cha?

Steve

[dori]

yea after a bit more googling about it i think your right, for like sub 5deg days. Days when i definately leave the bike in the shed!!

choke doesnt seem to do bugger all, i might need to get that looked at im thinking...

[Kickaha]

It may not be fitted, Ducati had a problem with carb icing and had a "kit" you could purchase to fix it, my brother bought a 750SS new in 1992 which had a problem with carb icing despite the dealer telling him it was a "European only problem"he fixed it by relocating the oil cooler so the air off the cooler blew across the carbs

[RDjase]

Some of the 900 monster have oil lines that bolt onto the float bowls

Mine(95 USA model) has the holes and no hoses but my mates(98 Jap model) has lines inline with the oil cooler with a tap on them.

Has the snorkel been taken out of your airbox? May be a bit lean if it has

[dori]

cant see a snorkle in there, but obviously been backfiring into the airbox a bit, fuel resudue and fuel stains on the filter. the shop where i bought it said they did a full service, but filter is filthy.

Maybe its running a bit rich due to restrictive filter making it run even worse when its cold...?

[dori]

Sorted. Took filter out and run it. Revs freely and idles when cold. Ill get a new filter tomorrow and then ill take it for a ride. Probably go much better now!

[CookMySock]

the shop where i bought it said they did a full service, but filter is filthy.

Um yeah, I was gunna say that's sales talk, but looks like you've discovered that.

Shops do themselves no good at all with statements like this. Perhaps we should have to ASK what they mean when they they say "full service", but I assumed we wouldn't. Grumble.

edit: perhaps you should take it to a different shop and get an after-sale, pre-boot-it check done, just to find out what the previous shop missed in the "full" service.

Steve