As I live up a bit of a bumpy lane that can only be taken slowly I had started to notice a lot of noise from the front end. The noise was a loud rattle and sounded all the world as though the steering head bearings were loose (although I couldn't feel and free play). As the bike is brand new I took it back to the dealership and spoke to the mechanic. He had to phone another branch cause he had never encountered it before but apparantly it's a common fault (not subject of a recall?). The problem is free play in the fork internals and it's cured by inserting shims to take up the free play. Anyway I took it in and 3 hours later its back and cured! Whilst the Muttley was in I took out a Monster 675 as a courtesy bike. What a great little bike - I loved it :biggrin:
Borrowed one last time mine was in for a service. On paper it's nothing exceptional, but it's such a sweet and honest little bike to ride, an absolute joy.
Ohlins ;-) Cross references: http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f6/secret-fixes-2421/?highlight=shims and copy of related Ducati memo and Ohlins fix instructions here: http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/indexa8e5.html?fa=contentGeneric.hifoynglkgibcbgy&pageId=1582811 See also: http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f6/fork-seals-2532/?highlight=forks
I took my 1200S into Riders(Bristol) on Thursday to have the same job done on my forks, along with a dash replacement, left hand switchgear replaced and the warranty replaced rear brake done again as its totally non affective again.. I have a nice little Streetfighter 848 to knock about on till its fixed. I feel like a bit out of place on it being a very chunky 6' 3", Gorilla riding a BMX sort of thing, but what a cracking little bike to ride.
Mine is in the shop for the very same reason today along with my Aprilia V4 Tuono APRC for a throttle body Sensor recall and a replacement APRC front wheel sensor - Well that's what happens when you love Italian bikes! :biggrin:
I might have been a bit premature in saying that the front fork rattle has been sorted. After covering just under 1k miles since I had it fixed the rattle is back! Anyone else had the same problem and had to take it back for more work?
I thought the same after I had mine done; I could hear the bloody clatter/knock again but then it just disappeared. Non scientific I know. I have a particular driveway I exit from every night and once when it was so pronounced there, it's now gone. Maybe the shims settle in, I dunno. Hear what happens & take it from there.
I bought an ex demonstrator 1200ST a few weeks ago with only 750 miles on the clock and mine has the dreaded fork rattle. The dealer will try the shim under warranty and its booked in. My problem is the dealer says the shim does not fix them all and almost tried to tell me its not worth it. Now I dont want the rattle, cant believe Ducati or Ohlins are happy with this and when I come to sell the bike. I dont want to have to try an persuade the buyer this noise is normal. Anyone think I should be given brand new forks?
Dont despair & you don't need new forks. The rattle doesn't affect performance. The shim fix works well to eliminate 95% of the damn "clatter". Get em to do it; you'll be happier I'm sure. One thing you've got to understand is Ducs ain't Jappa's and there will be issues with them. Poor excuse I know in 2012 but that's the way it just is with these bikes. You should have tried owning them in the 70's or 80's; rattling forks would have been the least of your probs! Do it, ride on.
MJW61 you're right about one thing and that's the fact that 'it's a poor excuse in 2012'! As you know I've had mine done already and they still rattle. For a bike bought for in excess of £15k I expect much much better. Ducati can't afford to keep hiding poor workmanship behind the facade of 'character' and hope to get away with it in this day and age. I except that the component is Ohlins but Ducati should be putting pressure on them to sort it out as it reflects badly on the marque. I'm afraid I'm with sburgess7766 on this one!
My god you lot are picky As an FYI Showa forks do the same, they did on my 749s, they did on my monster 750 and they do now on my m900 (using 749s forks). To clarify my cbr 600 did it, and so did my cbr 125. So not only dukes. Many common forks come from one assembly line jap or not. The shims theory sounds good, would also explain why it comes back, shims wear down and get squashed so possibly second shimming would sort it?
Rattle On MTS I am with the rest of you. My 2012 MTS has been in 3 times for this issue! The fork rattle is dreadful. I just returned from Italy where I rented a GS1200 and the suspension was a dream compared to what Ducati bills as a super premium Ohlins. I am getting nowhere with the dealer. I saw on one of the other forums that a guy had his dealer replace both tubes. On another note, I am at 3000 miles (US) and my rear brake is nearly non-existent! Guess it heads back to the shop again. I must say I am pretty disappointed at this price-point. Anyone finding solutions?
Sold my MTS yesterday and now don't have to worry about these little issues. I purchased the New BMW GS with the intention of keeping my 2011 Multi, but found I was just preferring to ride the BM!
Just traded in my S Touring with a rattle and now have 2013 ABS model. Like riding a on a silk carpet, engine, forks sublime. I do not need all the electronic gadgets just a big plastic adjuster for the rear, works perfect.
