Actually, use Plus Gas or similar to help loosen rusty fastners! WD40 should be sprayed on electrical components to drive out moisture. Hence Water Displacement 40, it was the 40th formula they tried. I know this as I worked for the manufacturers of Plus Gas and Gunk for a while. The problem is, over time, people have started using WD for everything and it has grown to legendary status. It's good, but not that good. I wouldn't spray it into ECH connectors etc, there's proper stuff to use as pointed out in the post above me.
Whenever I disconnect any electrical connectors I always apply Vaseline to the contacts before reconnecting.......been doing this for about 30 years!
Lol - I didnt do that, but also forgot to put the tin of contact cleaner in my topbox and boy did I have some fun with the switch gear. Nothing beats the panic of being at the head of the ferry queue and the bike ignition wont light up!!
UPDATE!! Hi All. Thanks so much for all of the above. Very interesting and enlightening and some funny too! I have an update: I left the bike at the Lubeck Germany Ducati dealership O wie M. Sven-Olaf there speaks fluent English and they even have a Brit called Tony there to make me feel at home. They rented me a new Multi for the week so I could continue my travels to Sweden and Norway with my mate. I got back a week later to seemingly good news. Sven-Olaf had been in touch with Ducati and they'd supply the parts free on a "goodwill" basis. (As the bike is 3.5 years old, in immaculate condition with a full Ducati service history). So O wie M replaced the BBS and that seemed to do the trick. My bill for the rental AND the labour was 1000 euro but that was about half what it could have been AND I got to ride a new Multi (with Skyhook etc) for a week (Put 4000K on it too!! :-D) So ride back to Amsterdam and all is well. Head off from Amsterdam for the HArwich ferry and ……..Same f***ing thing happens again!! Xmas tree dashboard, Can Line Errors, BBS and DTC Errors all appearing at diff times This time I limp home to Wales. Checked the bike over carefully myself this AM and see no obvious signs of connection corrosion or dampness ingress. After resting overnight, bike starts up just fine, runs for a few mins quite happily and then pow…all hell breaks loose on the dash. I'm about to send the bike off to Riders in Cardiff (my local Ducati dealer) so they can sort it. I'll update on further developments!
BTW, I wouldn't describe the bike as fragile. It's a 20K miler and has been ridden through absolute monsoon conditions in the past 3.5 years without EVER missing a beat. I expect some component somewhere has given up the ghost now and perhaps is letting in water or has corroded but this incident apart, the bike's been Terrific. BTW, Skyhook?? Meh. I think the Ohlins electronic on my 1200S is just as good. I DID like the increased smoothness of the twin spark motor though and the new screen is a significant improvement.
As more and more bikes get loaded with sprites in boxes (ECU's) it's just a matter of time till something goes. At the moment they just aren't 100% reliable nor re buildable, unlike a carb or decent shock. So when they go pop your stuffed. What a 5 year old Mutley or other ECU laden bike is worth 2nd hand is anyones guess. 'computer says no', has a ring of truth about it.
I must admit, a BIG concern for me on buying this bike was how well the complex electronics would stand up to the extremely harsh environment of a big motorbike. Been fine until this but it DOES have me wondering anew.
Two up today, did t mess with any settings as ot makes it too high with the extra preload and tbh couldnt be arsed, behaved pretty well
Mmmm…I suppose two-up or with bags is where the Skyhook would really come in. I'm tempted to get the Ohlins ECU to give the same effect to my bike but a little nervous re increased wear on the DES suspension internals. Plus ECU's are not my favorite bike components at the moment!!
Not for me. Whee it comes into its own is whether I am doing 30mph or 130 into a roundabout and little or lot pressure on the brake, the dive and feel is identical. You just cannot (in my experience ) dial that into any set of non auto forks
Ummm…does anyone know where the rear wheel speed sensor is located? With DTC turned off, I don't get any errors AND I've just had the rear tyre replaced by a non-Ducati bike repairer and I'm wondering if the rear wheel speed connection has been damaged or disturbed in some way
You have two speed sensors. One on the offside front brake caliper mount and the second on the rear brake caliper mount.
Thanks Chris. I'll check them both though I gather only the rear is used for DTC and, as DTC Off seems to cure the problem, that may be where I should start. It might just be a total red herring but I can't help but investigate myself prior to taking it to the dealer who will plug in the diagnostics and may start replacing bits (at a high cost) left right and centre!
Oh! I was going on this which only shows the Rear Wheel speed sensor talking to the BBS. Introduction to the electrical system of the Multistrada 1200
