Sports: Re: [DucatiST] ST3 cracked radiator

Its aluminium Nick and I am pretty sure it is an unusal failure. I was just interested to know if anyone else had come across the same. I believe the 2's and 4's have similar radiators which I think were manufactured by TOYO Radiators

From: Nick Woods <nickw@cooptel.net>
To: st2_owners@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, September 1, 2010 2:10:42 PM
Subject: Re: [DucatiST] ST3 cracked radiator

--- In st2_owners@yahoogroups.com, Doug McDougal <loon744@...> wrote:
>
> All,
>
> I welded the ST's radiator crack was approx 1 1/4 inches long down the formed
> radius of the LH side tank. All is good now looking at the material hardness
> there was a marked difference between the flats and the radius of the side tank
> so an thinking that some resonance was setup through the 'softer' material
> thereby causing the crack to form. Will be interesting to see how the weld
> repair holds up............................................Â

Presumably, the sides of the tank are pressed from flat sheet, and the curved section is stretched and thus thinner than the flat bits. An unusual failure though, so it would be good to check for stresses in the mounting. By the way, what metal are we talking about, vis-a-vis welding?

NickW, UK