So the problem here is that you've used a cleaner that has effected the coating on part of the bike. The manufacturer of the bike has said they won't replace the part as you've used the wrong product to clean it. The wording is harsh but if I'd poured bleach all over my paintwork I could hardly expect Ducati to replace it. I've used some Castrol stuff in the past that's taken lacquer off carbon. IMHO it was a rapid cleaning product as it damaged the bike. I avoid harsh cleaning chemicals now like the plague. Whilst you have my sympathy I'd just buy a renthal and get on with your life chucking the offending cleaning products in the bin on the way.
Yes, I know not to use bleach as a cleaner But is it really so obvious that a high-quality motorcycle cleaner (as opposed to the cheap stuff that's probably just acid) shouldn't be used to clean a motorbike? Especially considering that dealers themselves sell cleaning products. The Renthal sprocket was fitted a while ago, and it does look better than the OEM sprocket. 've continued to use SDoc100 and will do so throughout the coming winter because it's definitely not causing any damage whatsoever to any parts of my bike. The only part affected by the SDoc100 was the OEM sprocket, and that's gone now.
Just checking out the state of your chain in your avatar - did you ride through sand or is that a lot of rust?? Just wondering if Ducati UK asked you to send the sprocket back to them for analysis, or pay for a new sprocket for you? Pretty sure that they would also look out for similar cases after hearing about yours too, what do you think?
The chain does look bad, but it's actually a combination of the camera angle, the light and the fact it's got a good coating of Motul C5 Chain Paste on it. When completely cleaned it is evident that the chain has a few spots of corrosion on the side plates, but I assume that's normal when a bike has been ridden during the winter. When my dealer rang me to say that the warranty claim had been rejected they didn't offer any further assistance. They just said it was my own fault and that was the end of it. They didn't even bother trying to do me a deal on a replacement. (So I just bought the Renthal off the web and fitted it myself). Ducati UK were so confident in the quality of their OEM sprocket, and their assumption that I'd been a complete idiot, that they didn't even ask for the sprocket after I emailed the details of my investigation (including the video evidence). It was only after I sent a letter to Tim Macabbe that I received a response from the Aftersales Department in which they asked for the sprocket. Unfortunately I no longer have it. SDoc sent it to their labs in Germany and I rather foolishly told them that there was no need for them to incur the cost of returning it to me. I thought that my video was conclusive proof. What I'd really like to do is try my SDoc experiment on a brand new OEM sprocket. I suspect that the coating would remain intact, and thus prove that there was indeed something wrong with my sprocket.
So they requested the sprocket back from you, but you didn't send it? Did they offer to pay for a replacement for you?
I wrote to Mike Whiles at Ducati UK on 30/06/15 to explain that the coating had been stripped by SDoc100. He replied on 09/07/15 saying that there'd been no other reports of problems and what I'd experienced was a "freak one-off occurrence". He didn't ask for my sprocket and ended by saying "It is unfortunate that this has happened however do not feel that the you have been unfairly treated or handled in a way that is substandard to Ducati customer service.". I felt that Mike Whiles' response was inadequate and wrote to Tim Maccabee (via recorded letter) on 13/07/15. I received a response from B Cowley on 17/07/15. In that letter Mr Cowley made some inflamatory comments and said: "If you still have possession of the sprocket, are you able to send it to us and we will forward it onto the factory in Italy for further tests." Because I no longer have the sprocket I was not able to send it to Ducati. If they'd asked for it earlier then obviously I could have and would have. But they were so convinced that the sprocket damage was entirely caused by my negligence that they didn't ask for it. As I said earlier in the thread, I'm not wound up by the cost of replacing the sprocket (in the grand scheme of running a 899 it isn't really significant). What I'm wound up about is the way in which both my dealer and Ducati UK have continually been so dismissive towards me. In business some customers really are idiots, but you tend not to tell them that directly.
I've never used cleaning products on the bike, damp cloths only and seriously, it looks mint. Only used on dry roads though.
I'm from Cumbria and my 899 is my only bike. If I had to wait for dry roads to ride then I'd go crazy(er). Having said that, September and October have been pretty good weatherwise.
Maybe if the approach was to say the sprocket had lost the coating and offer to meet a percentage of the cost. That way no one is at fault and liable.
But that's just crap from the road. A quick wash down with water and damp clothes. I don't use chemicals on the bike. I've seen too many complain about the damage they can do. You have a new bike, it doesn't need chemicals. Only my opinion, I'm sure someone will say I'm talking through my backside
I wouldn't worry too much about a flaky sprocket as it's easy enough to change and is, in effect a consumable item anyway. As long as if some critical engine component such as, maybe as Rocker arms? didn't randomly start flaking? But then I imagine they'd be good about admitting fault for such a problem and go out of their way to offer replacements for all those that failed? Yes, I'm sure they would. Wouldn't they?...
That would actually be more than I wanted from them. I made it clear to Ducati UK that all I wanted was an apology for them handling things badly. And clearly it was handled badly because I'm still pretty annoyed 6 months later :Sour:
But isn't an apology an admittance of liability, which in this case, they are not willing to accept. 6 months later, you're flogging a dead horse. It's a lovely bike, enjoy it. Sometimes it's best to just accept an outcome, can't win them all.
