I'm off to Wales tomorrow for 4 days. Doing 300-400 miles in total... Naturally, the Multi has thrown an issue in the last few days to put me at serious concern about using the bike. Through all gears bar 4, I can give it the beans and not worry one bit and the bike performs brilliantly. However, in 4th, the moment I touch the power, the chain slaps, rapidly. I will try record a video. The chain has been adjusted, checked and readjusted multiple times. There is nothing wrong with it. The usual tight spots but nothing extreme. It's been well looked after. Sadly, the chain is now over 10k miles old so naturally I had it planned to change it after Wales. Has anyone heard of this issue before? It's very random and I can't work out why... Is it an early warning my chain will fail? Should I cancel the trip to Wales with my misses (she will be fuming considering the cost of the hotel I put down!). Other than 4th, the bike is perfectly fine, absolutely no excessive rattle, no different to any other gear. I'm riding to London tonight to pick up some stuff (a 100 mile round trip) which I will try test further and adjust on the fly if I need to. Thanks
And loaded, on the road and off. 4th gear just seems to have this knocking, the chain slaps more than other gears. Lot's more...
I can't see any possible/logical way the chain can loose tension in one gear. If your off to Wales with the intention of doing 300 -400 miles you could take the push bike.
I just did a quick stint on the motorway, all other gears, silky smooth, 4th, there is a knock that increases and decreases with rev count, on and off the power. 4th sounds like something is loose... But all other gears are perfect. Chain tension is spot on using the guide and the difference between the tightest spot and saggiest spot is maybe 5-7mm. I'm calling the local Ducati garage to see if they have a last min spot with a loan bike I can pinch whilst over the period. If not, I guess I will just ride to Wales and not use 4th lol...
Sorry to say, from an engineer, I think your missing a tooth or two somewhere in the 4th gear train, or the roller cage has collapsed and it spinning your cog off centre. I honestly cant see how it would only affect 4th if it was the chain. sorry to scare monger but that's my thoughts.
I assume that's game over for riding it and also an expensive fix? It's out of warranty by 6 months and has done just over 10k miles. I assume I have no leg to stand on if I protest to Ducati?
I would say don't panic until you've had it officially confirmed by a qualified mechanic. But you may need to hire an Aston Martin for your trip.
If it's got a full service history I don't see why they wouldn't cover it for you, after all 10k in nothing.
What an annoying twat, Gears are what a group of "cogs" make. i.e if you have 2 or more "cogs" then it becomes a gear or gear train. As I was talking about single "cog" on the lay-shaft then I chose "cog" so not to confuse people into thinking I meant the whole gear train.
