After a visit to my local Ducati dealer yesterday, it seems I will soon be a Ducati owner (I can tell as the smile is still plastered across my face!). Although it will be a used bike it will obviously come with 12 month warranty and fully serviced before I take ownership. Out of curiosity I asked how much future maintenance costs will be and was stunned when told that a basic service (oil & filter replacement, plus fluid/bike check) would set me back £275. I'm not against main dealer servicing, and I quite like to see MD stamps in the service book, but I am more than capable of carrying out a basic service myself and wondered if Ducati's are any different to service than jap bikes (what I'm used to)? I imagine not, but are there any specialist tools I may need? (I'm looking at getting an 848). Thanks all
plenty of info on site re this subject. I service bike myself and feel if done correct then great. just finished oil ,filter ,belts, valve clearance check (ok ) tps reset brake service, clutch fluid etc.....the forks were serviced when I bought the bike ( suspension guy asked what the feck ducati used as oil was like transition fluid and different levels in each fork ) I think if your only keeping bike for a year then use dealer if keeping for years then self service and keep receipts as proof . hope this helps and enjoy the bike. when you pick it up the first and best thing to do is either pay someone to set up the suspension or set it up yourself don't try using the stock settings ( to hard ) ,and enjoy.......stephen
Thanks mate. Good advice re: suspension. I like all these little tips - keep em coming. I would love to keep the bike for years as I always seem to change every 12 - 18 months and it costs a fortune! Every bike I've had hasn't stood the test of time. Issues that are never obvious at the time of testing/purchase etc and you can only gain after prolonged use.
do it your self if you can. but personally i will be booking the multy in to dg soon as i cant be arsed, and also gives me an excuse to go down to glasgow to catch up with the mates.
I'm with you to a degree-i can rarely be arsed. But then I might be arsed if I can save a few hundred quid? I'll see which way the wind is blowing at the time?!
Peter - have we met? You seem to know me pretty well! ;o) But seriously, I keep reading that belts need replacing quite often. Seems unusual for a bike to require the belts replacing so often - aren't there any special tools required for that? (I get the impression the belts are relatively easy to service, as long as time is taken and the job is carried out methodically?)
Basic servicing is piece of piddle, same as any bike/car/lawnmower. Only 'special' tool I can think of is a slim plug socket. I popped my belt cherry last year, you're spot on with you're own assessment, methodical approach and a bottle of tippex and you're done. There are some good DIY guides on the net/youtube, that are worth a looksee. Only service task I'd still shy away from is Grand Master 4th Dan valve setting... :Nailbiting: We (in the UK) still have a very conservative approach to servicing and buying a vehicle that has been serviced by a home/DIY mechanic. Good luck,
Do most of mine....only thing I don't touch are belts and clearances which I get done every two years and the service light reset. Even take the bike with all the plastics off for that to, saves on pointless labour charges. Get a stamp in the book for that as long as he's happy I've done all the rest.
Not a fan of main dealers, much prefer an independent specialist usually cheaper then dealers and better service, think getting them to do belt service will keep prespective owners happy once you decide to sell in the future, and would consider doing minor one yourself
As above, basic oil change etc home jobbie if out of warranty or between official services and keep receipts for parts. Belts and big jobs at dealer, main or indy with good rep
It's fairly unusual for a bike to have belt-driven camshafts... There aren't any easy answers though - we all know that belt failure, on car or bike, can be catastrophic, that service intervals often can be pushed out without problems, and that on some engines (although I have never heard this suggested for Ducati) the service intervals are dangerously long (e.g. some cars where 80,000 miles was suggested, but failure before then is common). When I ran a 2 litre Ford back in the 80s (old Capri - DIY servicing of course) it never occurred to me to change the belt in perhaps 5 years of ownership, but I am planning to replace the belts on my 900SSie later this month (not really comparable to your situation though as old bike, no warranty, low mileage, appears reasonably easy DIY, and er...not been changed for quite a few years!). For reasonably valuable vehicles, I think Bradders has described a very sound approach - a blend of DIY, main dealers and independents, as appropriate for each job.
I do all mine, friends & families servicing on our cars etc, so when I got my Ducati the first thing I did was a major service. Ive done Jap bikes before, including swapping whole engine on my R1, but not done a Ducati. The first thing I realised was that Ducati dont make things easy. On most bikes, fuel filter is a small item between tank & pump, normally a 5 minute job to swap. On the 996, its buried inside the tank as part of the fuel pump, so you have to take the whole tank off, drain it, then pull out what looks like a time capsule which is the fuel pump/filter unit, replace the filter, and big O-ring, plus smaller 0 rings on the quick fit pipes and then carefully refit the whole assembly back into the tank. The belts, I was very wary off, but having been quoted £900 from ducati for belts & service I figured id do them myself. The parts from Ducati came to about £220 for belts & service. Theres loads of guides online, incl on youtube and it really was a very easy job. Just mark up the cams, and the belts location, then transfer those markings to the new belts. Make sure the cams dont move, and stick new belts on. I must have checked about 5 times to make sure they were in the right position. For tensioning the belts, you can use the allen key trick to measure the flex, and also use a guitar tuner (can get an app for your phone for this if you havent got one). You then pluck the belt like a guitar string and check its the right "note". The only other thing I found was the oil filter. Normally you hand tighten them, but on the ducati oil will leak out from around the filter unless you torque it up to something rediculous as recommended by ducati themselves!!! That explained why the old one was a nightmare to get off. I had to buy a proper adapter to fit my 1/2inch torque wrench so I could do this. Outside of that, everything else is pretty easy. You dont need many tools, other than a decent set of allen keys for most things. I did brake pads all around, fuel filter, oil filter, oil, change brake fluid, spark plugs, belts, chain, sprockets incl quick release rear sprocket, air filters and cleaned out the debris filter near the oil drain plug all within the first week of buying my 996. I kept all the receipts, mileage and dates which Ive put in a nice folder along with the rest of the bikes FSH so any further owners know whats been done. Not that I ever expect I will ever sell this bike.
I read with interest your artical on belt change and was considering poping my belt cherry myself as I've done a few car cam belt changes in the past and always used the 90 degree turn method when it comes to tensioning the belt. I wonder if this is the same on Ducati's? Also what phone app did you use as this sounds like a good idea too. Many thanks in advance.
The great thing about the old OHC Ford engines was when the belt broke (and I did replace a couple of them even though I was working in a Leyland garage) was that the valves didn't hit the pistons and you just fitted a new one and were on your way unlike those lovely Italian motorcycles we all love so much.
