Is it just me, or do Ducati (in the UK) have a corporate policy of bad attitude towards customers?! It's a long story (see here)... I bought a new 899 last year. The (black) coating on the rear sprocket broke down over the winter. The Ducati dealer that I bought the bike off reluctantly submitted a warranty claim to Ducati UK. It was rejected because my dealer told Ducati UK that I'd used a "wire brush and aggressive cleaner". I definitely had not, and later proved in this video that the damage was done by using a top-quality motorcycle cleaner. Despite the video evidence, neither my dealer or Ducati will admit that the sprocket was actually defective and apologise for accusing me of basically being an idiot. That's it. I just want them to apologise. But they won't. I've even tried contacting Tim Maccabee (Ducati UK MD) via this website (here), but he's ignoring me. I accept he's a busy and powerful man, but it would only take him seconds to instruct one of his minions to sort it out. I find it unbelievable that a company that is selling such an expensive product has such a poor attitude towards their customers. And it's even more unbelievable that the attitude extends all the way from the dealer staff up to the MD. Based on how they've handled such a trivial grievance, I'm genuinely worried that if my 899 develops a serious fault I'll be left high and dry by their customer service. Ideally I'd like to switch to a different manufacturer, but the 899 is a great bike (to look at and to ride) and there's nothing out there that I want to replace it with. It's such a shame that my ownership experience is tarnished.
Agree, had same issue with mine & nobody was interested so I bit the bullet & purchased renthal sprocket & chain. Much better quality but should I really had to do it within 5 months of owning a brand new bike- I think not.
I put a Renthal sprocket on, and admit that it does look far better than the original ever did. If Ducati had just admitted that the original sprocket coating was a rubbish then I wouldn't have been too bothered (afterall it was an excuse to put a Renthal on). But Ducati insist that they have never heard of such a thing happening and the only reason the original sprocket coating broke down was due to my negligence. I proved that the coating was actually easily removed by motorcycle cleaner. I can't understand why they refuse to simply apologise for accusing me of negligence in the first place.
If they admit to it being a faulty part it would cost them dearly in replacement parts for all 899s I guess. It's in Ducati's best interest to deny all! I wonder if the new model has the said sprocket....if not that says it all really.
Clearly there is a gulf between the best and worst dealers and it is very obvious from posts on this forum that not an insgnificant number of UK dealers fail miserably with their customer care. I fnd it difficult to reconcile that Ducati UK clearly treat their dealers differently. Whilst not having any major failure with either of the Ducatis in my family, there Was a swift and positive response with the two warranty claims we have had. I do know that the then workshop manager was held in high regard by Ducati so I guess they were confident that the claims were genuine and that is not to suggest that 899Owner's claim isn't. I wonder what sort of relationship Ducati has with this dealer because it does look like it has an influence. Andy
Is the sprocket defective though? You're trying to claim cosmetic damage aren't you? Not sure that is the same as defective. The sprocket is designed for a specific purpose and the coatings always get tatty. Is it SDoc100 you are using? That can be quite harsh, I certainly found that it was on Triumph and Aprilias plastics if left too long.
Yes the issue was purely cosmetic, and the functionality of the sprocket was unaffected. However, a large part of the 899's appeal is the aesthetics. Given that no other part of the bike has any cosmetic issues, then my argument is that Ducati should have specified a sprocket that would maintain its appearance. Or if they a black coating would easily degrade they should have specified a coating that would make the issue less obvious. Ducati didn't reject the warranty claim on the grounds of fair wear and tear. To be honest, if they had I'd have been less annoyed. They rejected the claim on the grounds that the only way the coating could have been damaged was due to my negligence. They claimed that the problem had not been reported by anyone else in the entire world! Yes it was SDoc100 that caused the damage. It was after I'd fitted the replacement sprocket that I decided to investigate. I actually expected the culprit to be ACF50 (I thought perhaps it had attacked the coating as if it were corrosion). I was really surprised when it turned out to be SDoc100. I've been using it for many years and never seen it cause any damage. In addition Richard Newland at MCN gave SDoc100 a 5 star review (here) at the time he was running a 899 as his long-term test bike. Presumably the manufacturer of SDoc100 were surprised because they went to the trouble of analysing my sprocket at their labs in Germany. At least I think they sent my sprocket to Germany... They wouldn't let me see the report because it was "commercially sensitive", although they did say that other cleaners with a similar chemical composition (i.e. the expensive ones) had the same effect.
My local dealer (J&L in Carlisle) are a multi-brand dealer, and sell Kawasaki and Yamaha from the same showroom as Ducati. Perhaps that means that Ducati don't have an especially close relationship with them, and have less leverage when it comes to dictating how they should deal with customers. I notice that Ducati Manchester won an MCN dealership award recently, so perhaps their dedication to Ducati brings them benefits. Or perhaps being based in Manchester means they serve a larger population than J&L in Carlisle, and are therefore more friendly towards people they are unfamiliar with. In my correspondence with Ducati UK they said that their dealers are their eyes and ears, but what they need to remember is that their dealers are also their mouths. A dealer represents the Ducati brand and therefore Ducati UK should take responsibility for ensuring that each and every dealer does deliver a high standard of service. Regardless I think that Ducati UK need to remember that their
Re-reading your first post, I see you feel the dealer misrepresented the circumstances of your claim. I think you need look no further than that. How close are you to Nellie (Cornerspeed) ? Highly regarded top bloke with a good relationship with Ducati UK. Andy
I've had trouble with SDoc100 too. Very important to only apply to wet surfaces and not leave it on for long before rinsing off. This applies too almost all cleaners including MucOff.
Mucoff is extremely corrosive if left and not washed off correctly, as much as I like sdoc 100 I've always used it precautionary with the same view in mind. I think the problem lies here with you asking Ducati to admit liability for a parts accelerated wear based on a certain manufacturers cleaning solution. It's irrelevant how expensive it is, it's also irrelevant how well it's been reviewed or how good the producer says it is in its marketing blurb. Ultimately unless it's a recommended cleaner by Ducati then they're under no obligation to admit or accept anything. Right or wrong I'm pretty sure that's their stance
The dealer definitely misrepresented my claim. Ducati UK said: "The dealer did not feel there was a claim for warranty in this instance as they explained the rear sprocket had been cleaned using a wire brush and aggressive cleaning agent, causing the coating to go the way it has.". I have no idea whether the dealer genuinely believed that I'd used a wire brush, but if they did it's a bit bizarre that they went to the trouble of submitting my claim to Ducati UK, then ringing me to say that my claim had been rejected. Anyway, I'm happy to write off the dealer and use a different one. It's a shame in terms of convenience, but so be it. What I am disappointed about is that Ducati UK refuse to admit that something went badly wrong with the handling of the problem. I accept that when the claim was made they had no reason to believe that what the dealer was saying was wrong. But when I later presented my video to them - showing that the coating could be removed without resorting to "a wire brush and aggressive cleaning agent" - they refuse to: a) Admit that the evidence shows that the dealer was probably wrong. b) Apologise for the way one of their dealers has behaved. I made it clear to Ducati UK that I'm not looking for a new sprocket, and I'm not demanding financial compensation for the cost of the Renthal sprocket. All I wanted was an apology and perhaps even a Ducati keyring as a gesture of good will. I just cannot understand why 2 different aftersales representatives refused to apologise, and the MD doesn't care. As an organisation they probably spend a huge amount of money on marketing to promote the Ducati brand. It would have cost them nothing to appease me and prevent me being so disillusioned by the brand. It's bonkers that I'm still annoyed about this a whole 6 months after the claim was initially rejected.
The thing is though, he's not saying all sprockets are faulty, just his. If the engine in my car blows up, it doesn't mean that all engines of the same type will. By that logic, every warranty claim for an individual faulty part would result in a mass recall, which it doesn't. I think if he's bought a new bike, a little good will would go a long way and could result in repeat buisness. It's short sighted of the warranty people imo. I was speaking to my local Ducati mechanic yesterday. He said to me that it wasn't the same since Audi got involved. He didn't elaborate further. I had a blatant warranty claim rejected on an Audi S3 years ago, it's caused my never to buy another VAG product since (apart from Ducati). BMW have always been fantastic and nothing is too much trouble. I think VAG play at being in the premium market sometimes, but behind the scenes leaves something to be desired.
You're right, that's their way of getting out of it. The 899 manual says: Use specific products only. Prefer biodegradable products. Avoid aggressive detergents or solvents. Which is actually pretty unspecific! I'm aware that Ducati do now have their own branded cleaner on their website, but I don't know if any of their dealers actually stock it. I don't know what cleaner J&L stock, but I do know that Leeds Ducati stock a Castrol cleaner. The Castrol cleaner does have a similar chemical composition to SDoc100 (I managed to find datasheets for both of them on the internet).
With the very greatest of respect, isn't your time better spent looking for alternative stuff for the bike as opposed to cross referencing spec sheets of cleaning solution, most of which are a closely guarded secret? if indeed it's a principal matter I'm not sure you'll ever feel satisfied, you're asking for somebody to apologise for a problem nobody can realistically accept full blame for as they may truly have reason to believe that the cleaning solution caused the damage? I appreciate it's left a sour taste but because you've bought specific cleaning agents in to the argument I think it's muddied the waters somewhat. Now normal fixtures and fittings corrosion after warm soapy water and coatings of acf50/wd40 I can relate with as that's an ongoing ducati type thing, it's widely accepted there are better bolts out there for the UK weather. But I still don't think anybody at Ducati head office would apologise about a bolt made of cheese, it's just something we all grumble about
Good god, someone buy that boy a bloody £30 sprocket !!! what a load of crap over him wanting an apology, total nonsense imo
Believe it or not I'm actually a really quiet unassuming chilled-out sort of person, but I suspect even the calmest person would get wound up if they had to deal with J&L Motorcycles. Entering their showroom is the equivalent of entering that stereotypical remote village pub - they don't welcome people they don't know.
This is the first time I've ever posted on an internet forum, and I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised by the well considered responses I've had. I thought internet forums existed purely for people to vent their pent-up anger by unleashing torrents of abuse on each other! Thanks everyone. It means a lot to me to know that there's at least a few people out there who don't always feel welcomed by the Ducati organisation. Perhaps I should have been a bit braver and come here earlier, then I might have saved myself getting worked up for all this time.
