hi people, have fell in love with the duke 848. went and had a good close look and browes the weekend at cov ducati (jhp). wont bother this year as i think the summer has been and gone, but will get it ready for next year. my question? any known issues i need to know. quirks, faults, recalls etc? what not to buy and what to look for. never had a duke (rode a few) owning is obviously a different deal. cheers
no real faults from 09 on. gear it down, set the shocks and stick on a set of power pures and you have a bike that will give you total grin factor riding
would have gone for the pures anyway, like my michelins. gear it down? how many teeth? front and rear sprocket or just front?
Just 2 on the rear.... A lot of people come down one tooth (to 14) at the front, but that puts more strain on the chain because of the smaller radius but is cheaper. Putting two on the back (to 41) is the better way of doing it, but is more expensive and you'll more than likely need a 100 link chain rather than the stock 98 link. Some people say the chain won't fit at all, mine did but there was what I felt too little clearance between the tyre and swing arm when it was at the right tension.
+1 for dropping a tooth on the front. I've had 5000 trouble free miles with mine like it and it is one of the best value for money modifications to the bike IMO.
15k trouble free miles on what is the best real world Ducati out there IMHO Set up the suspenders and 2 teeth up on the back is in my opinion the better option on the 848 and well worth the expense over 14 tooth front. Of course you can spend as much as you like on such a great bike as it deserves it
Get the suspension sorted Down 1 tooth on the front sprocket Different seat Hug her and tuck her in every night.......bedtime story optional :biggrin:
Superb real world hypersport bike that you can play with quite hard on public roads and still remain "semi" legal (ish....!) - Handling is just so sweet even on stock suspenders...
Can somebody explain why going up 2 on the back is better than going down 1 on the front. I know people have said it can be too tight of an angle for the chain to run round but as I said, I've had 5000 trouble free miles with it on this angle that is apparently 'too tight'.
1 down on the front is the equivalent to three up on the back, and by most gearing charts and 'experts' is too much for road use...... I had stock gearing, till recently, I'd read all the post about changing the front but had avoided it....no reason. Then the other month I noticed a fair bit of float from my rear sprocket and nobody could convince me if it was right or wrong, so I got a quick release sprocket carrier and sprocket so thought I'd try the 41t mod as it would be quick to change it back, then I topped it oFf with the bling sprocket hub and titanium Cush drive and wheel nuts. It just puts the revs in the right place without any noticeable top end loss. I think it was your m8, Russ that told me about the stress on the chain......
A tighter radius on the front can also cause greater / faster wear on the chain and sprockets .....and ideally if you are changing sprockets you should replace them and the chain altogether as a worn sprocket will shag a new chain and vice versa...
Have a look at http://www.gearingcommander.com , it'll tell you all you need. I went with one less on the front after reassuring myself about wear rates on the site. Very happy with the results and no problems so far.
The smaller bikes, 748, 749, 848 etc all seem to come with 15t fronts, while the bigger brothers, 996, 999, 1098 etc all come with 14t fronts. I've always swapped the 15t front for a 14t. If the bigger bikes run ok on 14t, then why should it be a problem on the smaller versions?
I can appreciate the exagerated wear story, and TBH if Russ told you, it's probably accurate. He doesn't tend to do bullshit excueses etc lol. I haven't noticed any unusually quick wear on my chain or sprockets. I plumped for a gold Tsubaki X-ring (I think) chain and hard anodised Renthal sprockets. Dropping to 14 teeth has made the riding experience exactly what I wanted so it's all good for me.
10k miles with a tooth down on the front, chain and sprockets are still like new. done the same on my blade and the chain didnt wear out any quicker than normal
