Dear all, a quick question, I have been quietly enjoying my titanium 748s( the copart one if anyone remembers the 2019 discussions!) It's actually been very reliable, has had tyres, a battery, a regulator , oils, filters and plugs etc and a few other bits and pieces to tidy it up but it's covered 3k miles with really no problems and I love it. Anyway, as it came with no service history, I decided to examine the valve clearances recently, it runs very well and engine sounds good but with no history I felt a look see was prudent. The vertical cylinder clearances are all within spec, so no shims needed there, but I do have two slightly loose openers on the horizontal cylinder (LH inlet and Lh exhaust openers are loose by 0.10 and 0.15 and the Lh exhaust closer is 0.05mm out of specification. So I do need to shim these. Google doesn't seem to be able to point me in the direction of an early 4v shim kit from anywhere more local to the UK than some from America. Is there really no source of shim kits in the UK? I know I can buy them individually from Ducati, but I was hoping to have a set to hand so i can just get it all done in one sitting, and also have a few about incase I need or want to fine tune my adjustments. I realise that the kits (when available) aren't cheap , but I won't be selling it, I have a friend with a 916 and another with a 748 so there will be other uses for it... Any supplier suggestions guys? Cheers Peter
Isn’t there a shim exchange service on this or another Ducati forum? I’ve seen mention of one somewhere.
I remember that bike. Chuffed it’s turned out well. There was a shim exchange running here but I can’t remember how long ago or if it ever got off the ground. Someone will advise.
Start here and follow. Use search function https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/spare-shim-register-exchange.49560/page-4#post-2000298
Nothing comes up on Google regarding this, as I say, ideally I would buy a set., then I have all the sizes I could possibly need, But it seems the UK isn't supported Yes Jack it's been great, still no idea how or why it ended up at copart, but there, she is safe with me now.
I’ve just been through this process and the short answer is you won’t get a shim kit as such. You can put one together via your local Ducati dealer but be aware they are now €20.82 each (whatever that may be in £ in the UK but that’s the ROI price). There is a kit available in the US, the EMS ones from Desmotimes.com but that’s going to set you back $250 plus shipping, duties and vat so ends up not far off the true oem ones, and, sadly, Desmotimes will only ship within USA. Best bet is to use the shim exchange on here - I can’t even do that
Yes I did think this might be the case, I expect to be honest, I would have to strip it, measure existing shims.... and estimate suitable sizes......and I would just order new..... Moto Rapido is local ish to me apart from the ferry ride.... so delivery from them is probably almost next day.... where I imagine any shim exchange will be slower.... and really I would like a set to pick and chose from and I couldget it all done in an afternoon.... oh well it was worth an ask. Thanks all. Peter
Out of interest, I ordered the shim i needed from Moto Rapido and it cost £6 plus vat and post.... down side is a 5 day wait for it to get to me, so bike will sit in bits for a week. What interval do owners generally use between desmo inspections ? Moto rapido told me 15k on the phone... their website said 12000..... Preston Ducati website say 6000... and Haynes manual says 6000..... it does seem that 6k is a very short interval for shimmed valve clearances as opposed to lock nuts and screws but there.... anyone have their recommendations or details of Ducati's specified interval? Cheers Peter
I bought the EMS shim kit from EMS before they sold out to Desmotimes so shipping wasn't a problem as I know Desmotimes is not the easiest to deal with and won't send to UK since the recent customs rule changes, though I believe there are US companies that will handle the transaction for you at a cost? I like the EMS shims, IMO they are better/more precise than the OEM Ducati parts and I needed a couple of sizes that I hadn't got last year when rebuilding the Monster. I found that Lacey Ducati; https://laceyducati.com supply the EMS shims here, not sure if they do the kits though?
Fit the MBP retainers (you will also need modified opener shims so best get a modified shim kit) and you'll rarely need to change a shim again - only problem is, you'll have to overcome the Desmotimes shipping problem as, I believe he's the only seller of them now...
Nope, so the one that came out goes into my small stock... I have 5 openers and 4 closers of various sizes I have collected.
