New to Ducati ownership and thought I would canvass people's opinion on home servicing. Mechanical Technician by trade and always do all my own servicing. I like a job doing right and who takes more care and passion than an OCD fanatical owner I have had other bikes dealer serviced in the past and come back with rounded nuts, stripped cables, paintwork stuffs etc. I always right a full and detailed report and use OEM parts with services carried out in line with manufacturers recommendations and schedules. I normally go above and beyond and enjoy spending a day in the man cave spinning the spanners. I guess my question is how would it effect residual value and would it put anyone off if I had a well documented home service history?
I think as a general rule Ducati's within the warranty period should be serviced by a Ducati service centre,i am sure most on here a well capable of changing fluids and filters but updating the ecu and turning off the service indicator is beyond the home mechanic.I would have no problem buying a older bike that has been serviced by the owner,it only takes a look around a bike to gauge how well the owner has looked after his bike.As for a modern bike i would expect full dealer history.
Ducati main dealer service costs are an absolute piss take, but people still like to see that stamp in the book on a newer bike. How old is the bike you have ??
All depends on age and condition. My bike is 19 years old, I do most of my own servicing leaving just the shims to the experts. Steve
I would agree with this except to say that with the help of knowledgeable people on this forum, even ecu related stuff such as you describe can be undertaken. When it comes to using oem service parts, that is not necessarily the best option. Oem plugs are Champion but few people use them as they are expensive and not that great. Similarly, oem cam belts made by Gates, are now a silly price. That has left a market niche for ExactFit belts which are every bit as good as oem and arguably even better. These are available from a forum member with a forum discount, lots of us now use them with no problems whatsoever. Mahle filters are held in higher regard then the Ducati branded ones and are much cheaper. Just buy one for a 2cv
Cheers some good feedback. Bike has just come out of warranty so no issues there. Can you get a tool for resetting the service indicator ?
I can reset my Bmw service indidicator on my car. Is it possible for the owner to reset the Ducati service indicator without going to a main dealer?
Necessary evil while in warranty then a specialist independent. If I were looking at one home-serviced, I’d be expecting a fair bit less in price if it was a fairly new model, say 1198 onwards. Funny enough, jap bike wouldn’t be the same issue nor impact on price imho. Maybe that’s the belts and valves that make the difference?!
