It is with great sadness that today we've found that Ducati quality has been found wanting (again). MD Racing at Walton on Thames (Surrey, UK) is doing my 30k mile service. 2010 MTS1200S, abs model with full Ducati service history and all recalls completed. Unfortunately two of the pulleys that guide my cam belt have lost some of the plating and this sharp metal has cut into the belts; quite badly. Luckily the belts are being replaced, however since I don't want the new belts being damaged, so must the pulley/guides. If left this would have eventually resulted in belt failure. Pictures and cost to follow. Since I don't want to be bikeless in this lovely weather the 998s is going for an MOT tomorrow. High mileage bikes (20k and above) it may be worth dropping off the can cover to check for similar replacing or corrosion of the guide pullies.
At least it was discovered before a major belt failure... Do you think Ducati will look at helping with the cost as it's outside warranty?
I've not heard of that before, not really a regular fault though is it?? presumably the belts have been changed several times before.........over tightened? not genuine belts? just asking like....
Already said.......FULL DUCATI SERVICE HISTORY...sorry for shouting. Mike would have told me if he thought the belts weren't genuine. The fault is with the guide pulleys and these are clearly OEM and made from Cheese, with some sort of plating. Once I've got the faulty units in my sticky paws I will ask for an expert opinion on the cause. If the response merits it I will write to Ducati in Italy and copy you all in with the response. This is the second time the belts have been changed. First time was at 15,000 miles. I didn't personally undertake the task, but I cant see Engineer error being a factor.
ok then how many other times has this occurred? Have you found any threads or posts anywhere re this happening this would add to your case....btw I've not looked.
On a google search only found yours, however found this...might be relevant... Testastretta Cam Belt Tensioners
If you google timing belt and Ducati and then read the results, you'll never get a nights sleep again. My point is I was very alone when I first pointed out my Ohlins fork foot problem...this later became an accepted design issue that Ducati paid to fix on all our bikes. See Technical service Bulletin CR095 Workshop Campaign No.888 I've read the link you've sent and I don't think it applies to my machine as the plating has failed (what ever makes the guides Black). I'm just saying If I was another MTS1200 rider approaching my 30K mile service I might just whip off the cover and check the condition of the rollers/guides/etc.
It's a shitter definitely but I wouldn't expect all bikes to be like that, well worth a heads up. On another note my best mate has just had a service on his 2012 KTM SMT with less than 10k miles. The dealer found a split washer attached to the sump plug magnet and so everybody was left scratching their heads. It's only just out of warranty and FSH within guidelines , I can't remember the exact fault but it's fairly catastrophic. KTM have offer all parts as goodwill (over £1500 worth) but the labour required to strip the engine and rebuild is being charged to my mate so he now has a £600 bill. My point is that those 990 KTM engines are pretty bullet proof but shit does happen.
Although I've not seen it or heard about on later engines, this used to happen on 996/748 engines. The stud that the tensioner pulley mounts to could be unscrewed a few turns when the pulley nut was loosened. When the nut was done back up, the tensioner is being held so it wasn't screwed back in. What it meant was that the belt run was pushed out of line at the pulley in relation to the other pulleys..... Worth checking the tensioner stud and belt alignment very time the belts are off
My 30,000 mile service is coming up in 2 months. Hooray; more sleepless nights waiting to see if the Mutley eats itself!!! Will update ALL if mine are the same as ACT.
This is useful stuff, but doesn't apply here. Mikes a great Engineer and would spot that a mile off. No the metal it's self has started to come apart. As soon as I get my hands on them Pictures will be taken. Just waiting for the standard 5 day delivery from Italy..hopefully I'll be back on the road by next weekend.
I popped the cam covers off and I'm happy to report that the belts and guide pulleys are all on good health.
Will appreciate the photos as and when you can Paul ao the uninitiated like myself will have an idea of what we're looking for............and thanks for the headsup!
I know Mike is good, but it only takes maybe one turn on the stud, 1.5mm and that's enough. It's worth checking, sometimes only spotted with straight edge across the pulley faces..... If you're not expecting it, then you're not always looking for it. The plating on the pulleys is usually very robust, but the edge of the belt will soon break it if the belt is being forced out of line. Gotta be worth a look just to be sure if nothing else. Is it confined to one of the belts? If not, it'd be fairly unlikely that both tensioner studs have unscrewed, but while checking take a look at the lower drive pulleys. Those moving out of line would force both belt runs out of line........
I'm sorry that you experienced this 'alone-ness' Paul, the only reason you may have felt this from my input on the thread/subject is that you decided not to accept the option that this could have been caused by overtightening which apart from someone owning a bike from new/never having taken bike to a tyre fitter was always a possibility. Regardless of this, i'm glad you persevered in your quest as you revealed a genuine flaw that needed attention.
ACT was your bike making high trill like noises just before you took belt covers off? My bike has started to make very odd high pitch flute/trill/whistle like noises when hard accelerating and through all the gears. Hasn't made that noise before, most odd. Slightly worried it could be belt noise re your issues. Haven't had time to look yet.
