Around a months time when the weather is better I am going to replace most of the Nuts bolts screws etc with better quality IE Stainless, Titanium etc etc - there is no point me doing this now may as well just let the corroded get worse while the weather is shite . . . in the short of it I don't want to waste any more of my dealers time in the small things,if something bad does go wrong with the bike then I want them to sort it and not think or not this chap again. as for the ABS Ring in picture above, - its been agreed under warranty and I have the replacement sat on my desk at work and will fit it when it next goes in for its service etc or chain change
Least I have a new one to replace it, I am shocked by how bad some stuff is coated ie from factory - some paint and treatment is so fine it's no wonder it corrodes so fast - even like I said before ducati's 4 wheeled brothers are no better - I see and deal with these ferrari's everyday at work, the old classics are what cars should be today if you ask me much better
Least I have a new one to replace it, I am shocked by how bad some stuff is coated ie from factory - some paint and treatment is so fine it's no wonder it corrodes so fast - even like I said before ducati's 4 wheeled brothers are no better - I see and deal with these ferrari's everyday at work, the old classics are what cars should be today if you ask me much better
wow what a thread! funnily enough ive just spent the last 4 hours going over the 999 changing as many nut and bolts to stainless. dab of grease will stop them seizing im future. it cost about £25 in total and ive lots left over. i used to ride all year round (bout 30k a year) on my bikes for work and i learnt a few things. firstly replace the bolts that matter with stainless powder coat the brackets you can spindles and any other bits that couldnt be replaced for stainless were chromed. rusty spindle nuts piss me off alloy rear sprocket and good quality chain. pref. gold coloured one seemed to keep the rust at bay. keep inside a warm house or put a blow heater on a timer in the garage through bad weather times especially if the bikes still damp. lots of wd40 spray over the engine covers and leave it there to do its job. replace once per week once per week whip the calipers off and clean with a toothbrush, wash the rad fins with very soft brush and blow out with compressed air. sounds alot but its really worth it and it will ensure your bike comes out winter looking better than it did beforehand and if you think build quality on a ducati is bad you should try owning a benelli!
Wot? You're having a laugh! Now, if it was a race bike and I had a couple of mechanics on it with nothing else to do... You've just made philoldsmobile's day.
Just completed the ownership questionnaire where they ask about my feelings on the bike. A lot of boxes to tick about corrosion which points to they know it's a bloody problem! Someone at Bologna is in for a long read anyway.
It sounds heartening that they are interested that you might be worried about corrosion, instead of a "move along, nothing to see here" attitude. You can also suspect that if enough people complain about the corrosion and they think it is eroding their brand image with repercussions on future sales, they will up the spec of their components and stop penny-pinching.
No chance, they've had engine corrosion issues since the 1990's LOL. The paint has flaked off on every 900ss, Monster, 916, 748, etc for 25 years now, yet people keep buying the bikes. They're not going to 'fix' everything, some things simply are built to a budget and that's how it is. Ducati have it seems worked on it with engine casing re-designs, my 848 has perfect paint on the engine, but helped by the shape, style and material which is different to the older casings. The problem comes I guess that you buy a part from a supplier with the promise "yes this will be fine for XYZ", but until it gets used in somewhere like the UK with salt, dirt and ice, it's hard to be 100% sure. Plenty of people have complained over the years about swelling tanks on the SC1000 and Monsters... however many people are having to spend £2000+ on Alu tanks because Ducati aren't resolving the issue long term. Complaining isn't the answer.... Although I'm not sure what is.
My 14yr old Monster Dark has a plastic tank and I run it only on Shell Optimax and haven't had any tank swelling issues. And also very little corrosion on plated bolts. Corrosion issues are across the board on almost every make of bike to some extent whether it be bolts, components or suspension. But seems the bikes built these last handful of years have more owners complaining about it. A throwback to my old R-reg Kawasaki GPZ500 in red I sold 4yrs ago which was dubbed by many as the worst build quality bike made had much less corrosion than I've seen here, even the red paint was decent thickness and polished up nice after a wash. And that was 14yrs old by then so a long time for our climate to do its worst, so shows how poor the corrosion prevention is on bikes nowadays that are only a couple of years old. My last new bike I bought was a Suzuki in 2011 and I will never buy another new bike as that had corrosion furring the plating on bolts, calipers and suspension parts in less than 2 months as well as a leaking fork seal after just 6 months!
In the pushbike world lots of people have a summer bike and a winter bike. They do this as they accept the horrid weather in winter will destroy their expensive summer bikes and leave them looking tatty. Why can't people with motorbikes understand this in the same way? The cost of a decent top pushbike is 899 money too so don't come back with ive paid 10k for my 899 blah blah blah.
I do this with push bikes so it isn't a case of not understanding. Its not like we are all a bit dim. It is simply a case of this bike corroding faster than any other bike I own due to the sub standard corrosion resistance of parts and paint. Parts that will be subject to corrosion on all bikes. Ducati agree with me as they are replacing the chain, sprocket, banjo bolts, fork bottoms and the bolt that holds the gear shift pedal to the rear set.
Are the replacement parts going to give a different outcome? I very much doubt it if im honest as this time next year they will no doubt be the same if you continue using the bike in winter. I suspect it sometimes more cost effective for ducati to just replace the bits and finish the claim. If my panigale started to corrode then id kick off but i feel id have right to as i dont use it in wet/winter. But if i did use it in winter then id lump it
Probably won't change a thing but i will at least know next winter to coat it in ACF50 and then don't put water near it for 4 months. The bike will still be in warranty so as long as i document any deterioration beyond what is reasonable i don't expect they will have a problem changing them again. That's where we are obviously different. I expect Ducati to have figured out how to fit parts that withstand rain and salt. Just like Triumph and BMW have. If this was my first bike i might lump it as i wouldn't know what to expect of these parts. But the difference between my Ducati and my Triumph and BMW is laughable. I'm not in the business of handing over money for tat. I know brand loyalty exists on varying levels between manufacturers, meaning owners of different machines expect different things.This is my first Ducati, something i've wanted to own for 20 years. But that is no reason to just shrug my shoulders and accept poor quality. If they can excel in other areas of bike building then it stands to reason that they can pick and fit some better fixings and paint a fork bottom that doesn't bubble and peel after 4 months.
10 seconds on Google on Triumph corrosion Corrosion on engine fins - Triumph Forum: Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums Corrosion on my 2011 Speedy! - Triumph Forum: Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums corroded engine cases and polishing - Triumph Forum: Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums Wheel Corrosion - Page 3 - Triumph Forum: Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums etc
