Hello All, I've just treated myself to a Multistrada!!! Awesome, awesome bike but today was a bit of a worry. I did a trip round the Alps the week before last and simply had to buy one on my return. It was that simple. As a girl on a bike I've ridden everything from R1's to the fab Street Triple but riding a multistrada is just no comparison. Simply amazing!!! Here's the problem. The bike feels like its being strangled from 4th- 6th gear in all modes from about 96 mph upwards (I am of course doing these speeds on private roads lol). The best way I can describe it is like the bike is gelded, juddery and not the smooth power delivery I was used to and expecting. That is one issue. The other is that the engine is just cutting out on me at traffic lights and roundabouts after a pop from the exhaust. Dash stays lite and no warning lights come on of any kind. I have to switch the ignition off and then turn it back on to get the bike to re-start. (This is not cool when everyone has been looking at a) a bird on a bike and b) a bike as beautiful as the Multistrada!!!!) I was told by the previous owner that there is little valve on the exhaust that is notorious for sticking shut and I'm wondering if that is causing the problem. The bike is only 2 years old but has done 29K (commuter miles), but the mileage is not something that puts me off. Can anyone help me on this as I'm loathe to go to my Ducati dealer and be charged an absolute fortune for a simple solution. I'm hoping the two problems are related too to make life easier! Look forward to hearing from you all
Hi, Congrats on the choice of the Multistrada, IMHO the right choice. Im assuming the bike is out of warranty, and is an early 2010 model. If so Ducati have released a few upgrades to the ecu and fuel mapping, again assuming the bike has the original exhaust system. This will cure the cutting out issue. It will almost certainly require a small payment. The lumpiness may be due to the exhaust valve but not guaranteed. Anyhow if you want to save a few quid you can easily check its operation yourself if you feel confident enough. Remove the cover between the exhausts. This is secured by three 3mm allen headed screws, two fairly obvious at the front top and bottom and one between the exhausts at the rear. This covers the valve mechanism which is attached to a cable. To check it you can take a firm grip of the top and turn it a quarter turn clockwise. Dont worry about the cable becoming loose it will re tighten when you release the valve cam. Essentially the valve is usually held closed by a spring mechanisim and opened when the cable pulls on the cam and any position in between when riding as determined by the engine management system. Unfortunately its location renders it prone to collecting crap from the rear wheel and as it is covered it gets overlooked when cleaning the bike. Its operation should be smooth and snag free and it should easily turn about a quarter turn. i.e from the 12 o'clock position to the 3 o'clock position. If it is stiff, "gritty" or refuses to turn past a certain point it will definitely need a clean. Grab a small tub of paraffin and an old stiff paintbrush or toothbrush then spend some time working the paraffin into the actuator mechanisim. Keep brushing, turning the cam regularly until you obtain a smooth and fully opening action. Dry as much of the paraffin off using an old rag then you can either caot the mechanisim with a heat resistant grease such as coppaslip or a decent spray grease. If the valve is seriously stuch and only opening a small way, this could be due to corrosion if so soak the mechanisim in something like Plusgas and leave it to soak in. This will hopefully release the stuck cam. then clean it up as above. I usually check the valve operation every third clean or if iv'e been on a long trip involving rain road crap or extensive mud. Hope this helps.
Does sound like the exhaust valve could be the route of all your problems Worth checking as phartycr0c as stated on previous post
Thanks for the advice Phartycr0c. She is an early 2010 but she has a stubby testi can and has had the fuel re-mapped by previous owner and the ECU upgrade. Previous owner told me to keep the valve greased and I'm thinking that al the grease has probably stuck it shut so I'll investigate this today. All help much welcome. Thanks guys
Ah it certainly sounds like the valve could be your issue then. If you want to go one stage further, you could remove the can which will present you with the valve itself You will be able to see whether it is opening and closing fully when you move the valve. If the valve is working ok you will have to get the mapping re checked but one small step at a time. Its all about the learning and getting to know your bike. Let us know how you get on.
If you have to recourse to dealer and they do a reload/map of the ECU you will loose the settings that the ECU had and it will be returned to factory settings, this may mean that you will have to put it on a dyno to maximise the benefit of the exhaust system.
As others have said it will almost certainly be that stupid exhaust flapper valve , Your milage has no bearing on the valve issues , Mine started sticking when the bike was only a month old and about 1000 miles , I would have got in there and cleaned it up myself if it wasnt for the fact my bike was nearly new and I didnt want to take any chances with invalidating my warranty in the event of me mucking something up , I had constant hassle with it , dealer of course liked to shoulder some of the blame on me for riding the bike on salted roads , Im sure this aggravated the situation but nonetheless it should just work properly salted roads or not , I had it attended to at least 3 times before they eventually replaced it with a new mechanism , Its fine now but no doubt it will stick again when winter arrives , Next time it plays up i,ll be disconnecting it as others seem to have done
Dave Multistrada 1200ST, thanks for the advice. Replacing it is going to be expensive (more than likely) and not fix the issue so I reckon I'll be disconnecting it too!!
Hi and welcome to the forum.........I'm not sure the symptoms you quote would tie in with an exhaust valve problem but as they're known for sticking and as it's an easy check, a good place to start and at least eliminate one possibility. Also you should see an EXVL error on the dash but do note I said should! More info on the exhaust valve and maintenance here: http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f6/exhaust-valve-servo-motor-info-warning-391/ ...and have a look here also: http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f6/exvl-mush-2850/ Not sure of what alternative causes may be.......keep us posted and if the exhaust valve isn't the answer I'm sure someone will have more ideas. Put yourself on the map:Multistrada Owners Maps ;-) ....and enter your bike details in your Profile
Thanks Ducbird Haven't got round to messing with the bike yet- Bloody work getting in the way lol. Hope to have a mess around tomorrow and go out for a blast in the evening (obviously to check if the problem is fixed) with the other half and his brilliant Street Triple. Might even let him have a go
Just thinking out loud.... If the ecu has been dyno tuned, then this may be a source of the problem. Do you know who tuned it? Did they adjust the settings in all six gears? Many dyno centres only adjust the ecu in one gear..... Do you know who did the 15k service? It maybe that the valve timing is slightly out? Dirty air filter? Exhaust valve....my forum friends will know I hate this thing....I see the Panigale is being recalled for this silly valve concoction! Get rid of it....it's only there to comply with eurocrazy! Ie burocrazy from europe! and chews up fuel! Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Hello and welcome to the forum. Sorry I can't shed any light on your problem as I don't have a Multi. Hope you get it sorted out soon and enjoy many miles of happy riding.
