Well, Having previously posted a couple of warranty issues back in September 2020, which Ducati brilliantly responded to and resolved, one of which was rear shocker spring coating deterioration, caused primarily IMO, due to the pretty useless lack of adequate drainage where the shocker mounting slots into the swing arm, retaining water and grit, which acted like a grinder thereby removing the protective coating. It's happened again, as I spotted when cleaning the bike after the Desmo service carried-out very diligently by Riders, Bridgwater earlier this week. The coating is delaminating and rusting too! I've been in contact with Riders and they were as helpful as they always are and suggested I take the bike in for them to check out, take some photos and then to get in touch with Ducati to see what they say about 'round 2'. An additional part of the chat also clarified that I was in good company with respect to this defect and wondered if anyone else had seen the same happen to their bike and if anyone had any suggestions as to how to improve the drainage issue that I've experienced, like perhaps enlarging the drainage hole in the swingarm, so that both water and grit retention is at least reduced, if not dealt with totally?
It's the same problem with drainage on the 1200 and I've thought about enlarging the drain hole, but it is rather awkward to get at. Anyone succeeded in doing it?
Easy enough to drill drain hole larger as long as your bottom suspension bolt comes out. Definitely helps with drainage but little stones still sit in the well and damage the spring coating. I have a blower and also try to blow out any debris as often as possible
I also try to keep that area clear of debris and water, whenever possible, however, no matter how frequently, it doesn't seem to have that much, if any, positive benefit with maintaining the integrity of the spring coating. The rear suspension unit still seems to function properly, but it's the overall longevity and eventual effects that I'm concerned about. As I see it, definitely a design defect, which from a touring bike perspective, really ought to have been thought about more intuitively.
yes I enlarged the drain hole to 6mm as I recall, it has cured the water problem as it no longer gets blcoked with silt etc, but you do have to keep an eye on small stones stuck in with road tar usually
