As above. My old 748 (well, I guess they're all old now!) is due a belt change on a time basis. Although I've put a lot of miles on the clock in the past, it gets very little use these days; I doubt I do 1000 miles a year on bike and car combined. It's around 4 or 5 years since the belts were changed (and that was after a belt failure, and no, that time wasn't outside the time period!). It would be peace of mind to get the job if I'm going to do any more than 10 mile pootles. But I suspect (amirite?) that if I ring Ducati Manchester, they won't 'just' change the belts, they'll want to do a full service, and it might up costing me the best part of the bike's worth? Any other suggestions in the Lancashire/Manchester area? Back in the day louigimoto looked after my bikes, and there's none better IMO. But he's 200 miles away now.
So I just rang Ducati (Preston, not Manchester, cos it's a bit easier to get to), and, as I expected, they were not enthusiastic.. It was "Oh well, I'll have to speak to my manager". So I left them my email address, and they will get back to me tomorrow. But surely dealers have to recognise that hefty servicing bills are one thing for new superbike, but quite another for a scruffy 24-year-old? Also, he said something about 350 quid for the belts, and I didn't query it, bit it sounded like he was talking about the part price. I thought they were about 120 quid each; am I miles out?
You have Cellier BVT (aka Ducati John) in Leeds, Moto Technica in Nelson and you have our own Neil at Cornerspeed near Mansfield. If Ducati Preston don’t want the work, stuff ‘em. Belts are £100 ish retail plus a couple of hours workshop time, so £350 sounds about right for a main dealer. Andy
Or you can learn to do it yourself if you've got a set of spanners, a torque wrench, a modern cellphone, and are good at following instructions.
I know Lee, if it's the same guy. He's moved around a bit, hasn't he? Used to be in Rochdale, was it? Or Bury? Somewhere like that. Leeds and Mansfield are a bit of a haul. My preference would be Preston, it's an easy run up the M6, and by far the most convenient. I've owned Ducatis for many years, and I'm damned if I'm going to start changing belts myself at my time of life. My motto in DIY servicing is "Know your limits"! Thanks for your help, anyway, guys.
If it was doing valve shims, I could understand the hesitation. But belts? With the amount of resources available these days to assist, you might surprise yourself with how straightforward they are to change.
As I said upthread, there is no way I'm embarking on doing my own belts. If some of you guys can do it blind-folded, well, good for you. But I'm not that guy. Feel free to judge! I'm happy to do simple stuff, and always have done. But I've always had belt-changes and major services done by Ducati experts. But in update news, I chased up Ducati Preston this morning, and spoke to the service manager, and yes, they will just change the belts. And even run me back home after I've dropped it off. So that's all good, and it's booked in next month.
Well I'm back home with the belts all done, and I have to say, Ducati Preston, who did indeed give me a lift back home, couldn't have been more friendly and helpful. Also got a oil filter and sump washer, so I can an oil change soon. Other than poor connections on the front indicators (the connections to the loom on each side want re-making to do a proper job), it's still running like a dream.
