I asked my dealer to fit a DID gold chain to my upcoming bike, as Ducati chains have always been prone to rusting in the past, but they said that the new V4 comes with a DID chain. Has anyone with the V4 had any issues with the chains going rusty, or has the issue been eliminated since moving to DID?
Mmmm, difficult one. The OE chain fitted to my V4 Speciale started to rust within days and that I believe was DID. I use RK chains now, excellent quality and thry don't start to rust at the hint of moisture. Andy
The V4S is a black DID chain and so far it has not gone rusty, I do look after the chain and use Motul C5 so far so good and it has only needed one small adjustment in just over 5K miles
Good to know, thanks. I’ll probably see what it comes with and change it at the first service if it’s no good.
My v4s multistrada has 2500 miles and I clean the bike and chain all the time and lube it and it always rusts up after a few days parked up in the garage.. was thinking off putting a gold r red chain on ...
Sounds like finally Ducati-italy are starting to use good quality parts. Effectively supporting a better service to customers & indeed saying worldly resources because good stuff lasts longer & is overall better for the environment.
I have a 2007 1100s hypermotard with over 22000 miles on it and I'm still on the same chain and sprockets from new and that chain has never rusted up on me , where as my new v4s multistrada the chain is red with rust .. no matter how many times I clean it ... and only 2500 miles on it ?
I was under the impression the latest bikes come with DID chains from the factory. How old is your V4?
I hope not. If the V4 comes with lower grade DID chains as standard, and they rust, then that’s not going to be brilliant for their reputation.
Its a real can of worms. If DID get to sell a chain to every Ducati that comes out of the factory (how many is that?) then is that enough money to compensate for a slightly diminished reputation? I can only tell you that my DID chains -one on of each of my two bikes- that are regularly treated with dry chain spray have no rust. One is five years old. PS. Are the Ohlins fitted as standard the same as the ones which cost thousands to buy individually?
Yes, but it is just their standard range, you can buy the exact same chain the bikes come with that will rust if not looked after, or you can pay a bit more and get one with a protective gold finish on the outer links, or a bit more still and get a fully treated chain. Think the codes are B for black, GB for gold and black and GG for gold and gold. No, well, certainly not in the older models I frequent. Ohlins fitted as standard was normally steel bodied, and while it was far better than the equivalent Showa of the time, it was definitely not to the same spec as alloy bodied race team stuff. I don’t know about newer models.
So people who are used to buying top of the range DID chains expect the one that is fitted to their Ducati as standard to be the same, but in fact its the DID Ronco-o-matic version? Does anyone know if the current Ohlins fitted is high spec or something else?
