It's pitty Audi don't inject a bit more of their know how on how to run a company onto Ducati. I know all brands of motor vehciles have their moments, some worse than others but this situation with the display screen is extracting the urine at the highest level for me.
I work for a British manufacturer, we warranty our products for life, if fault related to poor manufacturing.
Thats how it should be, thanks for speaking up. The company I work for imports and sells musical instruments throughout the UK. I often get customers contact us who bought a guitar worth £300 10 years ago looking for spares. I and the rest of our company go out of our way to still look after those customers. Without customers we would be nothing. If the problem is blatantly caused through neglect then of course we don't repair for free but even then we try to keep the costs down just to cover labour and parts.
I could be wrong, but I don't think you can simply swap your dash for a 2nd hand one without more headache, the immobiliser is in the dash and is paired to the key so you either need a full set of locks & keys as well as the dash or the dash needs recoding to the existing key. Like I said could be wrong but I'm sure @chrisw can give a definitive answer on this :Bookworm:
Thankfully as part of my role within our company I look after marketing. I have good contacts within a good few publishers who also look after some motorbike magazines. If this isn't resolved fairly I'll most definately be pushing as hard as I can to kick up a fuss. Perhaps some justified bad press will make Ducati think a little more about how they treat customers in future. But, I will be waiting to see what Ducati UK come back to me with first. I must reserve judgement for now.
You are correct - but the brief would be to buy a whole dash only to take it appart to re-use the front bezel and screen on the rear of my existing dash unit. If I wanted to use a second hand unit as a swap over Id need to get it programed, the Ducati dealer I spoke to today were not sure if they would be able to correct the mileage etc... even on a brand new unit!
@Spoonz Well.... I emailed MTA / Digitek. I got to speak to a guy called Stephano they initially told me to contact Ducati, so I explained the lack of care and concern that Ducati have for this issue and explained that the cost of a complete new unit for the sake of just replacing the front half of the unit. He responded asking for photos so sent photographs showing how the unit comes apart in to two sections etc... But they are saying they cannot manufacture any spares, it would seem that they have nothing left in stock and are not going to manufacture more. I'm at the stage where I think I have hit a brick wall! I have sent one last email back to Stephano asking him to speak to Digitek to see if they have anything hidden away in any dark corners of the factory but I'm not holding my breath. Joy! I have a saved search on eBay so I guess it's a case of waiting for a knackered unit to come up for sale with a decent surround and lens. When I spoke to Riders in Cardiff I enquired about the PX value of my bike, he said that with the screen cracked and crazed it would likely knock around 1K off the bikes value! WTF! Snookered! I maintain, this will be the last Ducati I ever buy or associate with.
How many people would be prepaired to sign a petition to lobby Ducati and MTA on this matter of the replacement front half of our speedo units? My thinking is that if there were enough people to come forward that it might help sway the situation. Especially if we can get Fast bikes magazine or MCN to cover this and publish the fact.
least Digitek gave you the time of day which is more than I got. When mine first cracked the dealer I contacted did confirm that Ducati had sent them some fronts only for repairs under warranty so either they stripped down full dashes or some spares were made. As my bike was out of warranty it was buy a new dash or do one essentially. Ducati UK never replied to my email to them. My friend has a KTM Superduke which cracked it's screen. KTM offer new dash fronts as a spare part. Think he said it was £45 or something like that. How hard can it be, forcing people to buy a whole dash and messing up the mileage etc (which probably has resale implications to a dealer) is either pure profiteering or a lack of interest in your customers once your warranty obligation has finished. As I found out with my radiator, the level of out of warranty support is often down to the dealer but I shopped around with the dash issue and it was the same story everywhere, Sorry can't help you. As luck would have it thanks to the goodwill of a member on this forum I got a replacement from his spare dash. I just got lucky. Given how many pani's I have heard of cracking screens, I suspect this is going to be an on going issue when they are out of warranty. I dread to think what a colour Pani TFT screen is to buy new.
I have had a chat with MCN and asked if they would be interested in covering this situation as a story, perhaps because of the politics they won't but I'm waiting to hear back from Chris Dabbs who is the publications consumer expert. I know they can sometimes roll with controversial stories so I'll wait and see. I'm also writing to Fast Bikes and will use my contacts through the publishers at work to try see to it that ducati are highlighted for thier poor after care. It's so frustrating because MTA said: 'We are still supplying spare parts to Ducati, it is not about having or not the material. But unfortunately for business agreements, MTA not from this service to the private, I'm sorry! Stefano Zanoni Racing Dept.
I really feel that unless everyone that this has effected steps forward as one, Ducati will dodge the bullet! Be it new or old bikes everyone needs to stand up and be counted! I certainly will not rest, even if I do not get resolution I shall make sure that I blacken the name to all that I meet and speak to both in person and on as many online forums as I possibly can.
Is this so that he can try to help? I have already started the conversation. But I am prepaired to revoke everything if Ducati actually pull their finger out and help here.
If you haven't already try Simon Toyne who has been involved in most motorcycle publications and will have contacts. I can put you in touch if it comes to it as we have worked together on a project in the past. See what, if any perspective Ducati have on it. Even if they give MTA the green light to sell you the part direct that would be something. If they don't want direct involvement.
Thanks Spoonz, I appreciate that and I may well be asking you for his contact details if Martin Maccabee isn't able to help. For the moment I'll give Ducati UK the opportunity to put this right, but if I haven't heard anything by 5:30pm on 2nd May I'll be persuing my original plans.
This would seem like the most logical and reasonable way for the issue to become less bitter for owners to live with. Even if they set up an agreement with MTA to supply the front parts to Authorised dealers for owners to have access to and make their own choice on whether to use Ducati to supply and fit or supply only... I'm sure this would benefit all parties involved, so long as a realistic price for the part was set obviously!
From my quite extensive talks with MTA it would seem that they do offer the front section as a spare part to Ducati - Another forum member has stated that they know that Ducati had bought some front sections some time ago to use under warranty, but only if the customers were persistant enough! So it's clear either someone can't be bothered or they are playing dull in order to get the consumer to stump up the rediculous cost for a complete brand new unit! Licence to print money! It's plain to see that MTA used a material that wasn't 100% up to the job in the first instance, it's durability couldn't have been proven - You can garantee that although there are some reported issues with the coloured Panigale displays that the material being used today is not the same as used on the older units found on the 848, 1098, 1198. The reason being the material was not up to the job! With the unit suspended on rubber backing posts vibration cannot be blamed. Double bubble screens - thats a load of horse shit! Brake fluid, sorry No none of those excuses cut it! The material simply breaks down then crazed and cracks because it was never good enough. When they test materials intended for use in the automotive industry they are meant to be taken to extreme temperatures, they bake components in heat and UV light then instantly expose them to freezing temperatures. They test for waterproofing - The whole thing is governed and therefore not speculation, it is fact. Someone at some stage didn't do their job properly! So why should any owner faced with this take it on the chin for some lazy person who cut corners?
