Or not? I went to reputable dealer to potentially buy a 1299s Pan, with only 5k. Bike is mint, some service history, done on miles more than time, everything looking great until I asked to see all the service history. The last oil service had a note at the bottom that said "metal debris found in oil filter indicating issue with big end bearings" The dealer hadn't spotted this and was totally shocked/speechless. Obviously that was the end of that and assume they won't sell it on now, but what does this say about a well serviced Ducati engine? I read some other comments on forums saying that these engines like to shred some metal and that's the way it is with Ducati. If so, it has just drawn a line thru a bucket list bike for me and back to something German or Japanese. What a horrible day yesterday. Any other experience out there on this??
re: "metal debris found in oil filter indicating issue with big end bearings" - make way Archimedes, because only an engineer the like of which has never been seen could make this statement with any certainty. scaremongery or what.. were there any further notes or bills to show what follow-up had been made as a result?
Hi Chris, I get the feeling the dealer didn't spot this and bought off someone who probably sold because of this last oil service. The service was April 22 and the bike had done no miles since then. I'm surprised that invoice didn't get binned to be honest as it leaves a horrible mark
that is a sad end to the day for you, but I see you run a 996? Also not unknown to read horror tales about these engines, but similar to this, stories often inaccurate/exaggerated and in reality they are still very lovable and worth putting up with.
How can the dealer who stated that know it’s big end bearing bits in the filter? And, was it a Ducati service centre? I also wouldn’t be surprised if the invoice with that comment disappears from the bike’s document pack.
I ran a 1098R track bike. And what a bike! But cheap it wasn't. During ownership I had the engine rebuilt twice so not much change from 10k. Before hard use I always warm an engine properly with periodic heat soaks. I change the oil and filter every 2 to 3 track days religiously. Every time I did so on the 1098 the cylindrical magnet always looked like a metallic Christmas tree when I pulled it out. Always put it down to a missed gear or two... Maybe it was... I now run a Panigale V4S. And every oil change the magnet is clean as a whistle. I'd say the physics involved in a big V-twin makes it more vulnerable to problems. Two big slappy pistons as opposed to four smaller pistons. I love a grunty V-twin but Ducati could only go so far with such a configuration verses power, cost and reliability. That said, if you're steering clear of track days and particularly racing, I wouldn't let my woes put you off. Ordinarily you could run a V-twin on the road forever.
It’s probably gearbox fragments tbf. And honestly my r1 used to have lots of silver ‘waste’ in the oil. You should see an oil change on a Gen 4 S1000rr, honestly, it’s like they run old bolts in the engine for oil rather than oil!!!! the only way I see this being a problem is if you take a 3rd party warranty with the bike, as they aren’t normally worth the paper they are written on let alone when they can find something like that in the service history
Had a similar experience with my 1299 a few years ago. Bike had covered 3k miles and was due a service. They couldn't get it in before a trip to Scotland, so I dropped the oil myself and found some bits in the oil. I was worried sick so took the offending parts to Ducati John (would have had it serviced there but he couldn't reset the software, might be able to now). He took one look at them, showed zero concern, said this was normal for the first few services and told me to enjoy my trip to Scotland. Bike ran faultless for the next 2k mile around Scotland until that pesky deer put an end to play. Attached are what came out of the bike.
It’s not uncommon, infact I would say it’s normal to have some light debris in the oil on any bike. However, there’s a difference between normal and bad. If you think ducatis are bad, you should see the state of bmw s1000 oil when it comes out ha. I thought i had half a piston in my oil of mine and apparently it was totally normal .. gulp
Hi NBB! Wow that is staggering. What on earth are all those rectangle chunks. The bike decided they were surplus to requirement!! Interesting comments from everyone and seems like a it happens to other manufacturers and not just the big twin. For me it's one of those things you cant unhear or unread. When a service receipt says "Metal debris" and/or "Big end failure" I just couldnt bring myself to buy that bike. Ignorance is bliss eh!!
