Ducati John
0113 2880921 07746 175112
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Ducati John |
0113 2880921 07746 175112 |
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Ducati Points to Watch ForGenerally Ducatis are typically more reliable than they are given credit for, however here are a few points that I have found to worth watching for. 
Cush drive bushes - Single side swing-arm bikes Owners of the 748/916/996/998 range must keep an eye on the rear cush drive bushes. These are a rubber cushion element fitted into the rear sprocket. It is possible (and I've seen it too many times) for the outer steel ring to become detached from the rubber. The steel ring can then work its way out of the sprocket towards and into the wheel bearing housing, wearing it away. First signs are silver aluminium dust all over the rear of the bike. (See the Photo Gallery for the possible results of cush drive failure). New bushes are about £12 each. The Talon Quick Change rear sprocket system is cleverly designed to prevent this happening thanks to the steel ring sitting against an abutment at the bottom of its housing. Alternator wiring Most people know that the early regulator/rectifier units were unreliable and most of those have been replaced now. However most people don't realise that there is another problem in the same area. This problem occurs mainly on the early 748/916 models, the ones with the "2 wire" alternator. The wiring and connectors are only just man enough to cope with full load. What usually happens is that the connectors get very hot and melt, ultimately causing the wiring/connector fail resulting in no charging. I would recommend checking and cleaning the wiring and connectors regularly. The wires are yellow (sheathed in black) and go from the front of the alternator, across the front cylinder to the back of the battery holder. There are then 2 connectors onto the reg/rect unit. It is these connectors where most of the problems occur. Look for discolouration of the wiring and connectors. Typically I cut back the wiring towards the alternator and replace it with higher capacity wire. I then cut out the connectors replacing them with new ones of a suitable size. As mentioned above, this problem is common on certain bikes. However it is worth checking all bikes. I serviced a very clean ST4 recently that had a three way connector in the alternator wiring that had just about completely melted. The connector in question is mounted behind the fairing just to the right of the headlamp unit. The bike was running fine and charging OK, showing no signs of a problem. Slave Cylinder/Clutch Springs The old design of slave cylinder (fitted to pre 2001 bikes) wears badly leading to the unit drawing air in and ultimately loss of clutch action. A new seal usually cures things but the housing itself can wear too, so this might also need to be replaced. Alternatively the later, improved slave cylinder can be fitted, but this necessitates fitting of the later (longer) clutch pushrod. Or, try one of the many "LARGE" piston type slave cylinders that are available. These reduce the lever pressure by approx 30%. I've fitted a few without problem. I run one on my own ST2 along with the lighter 900SS clutch springs, this gives a real nice light lever. Interestingly I know of a hard ridden 999S that has a "4 post" slipper clutch, i.e only has 4 springs. Now the correct springs for this clutch are heavier to counteract there being 2 less, with me so far. So this bike has 4 of the afore mentioned 900SS springs giving it the lightest lever I've ever known on a Ducati, more like a 125 moto-crosser. It runs sintered plate pack and there has never been a mention of slippage. Now I'm not saying you should all fit these springs as your fully laden two-up ST4S might leave you clutchless at the bottom of a mountain pass. However bikes with lighter use might get away with it. Its worth saying that the clutch pack thickness should be monitored too. Too long winded to cover here but the pack should be kept as close to its "as new" thickness by adding extra or thicker plain plates. If you have your bike serviced by me it is checked for you. I guess you can ring me if you're unsure though as its not fair to leave you wondering eh! Clutches
Ducatis are not really noted for having good clutches. Graunchy at times, and noisy, split vote there, some people love the noise. The noise is caused by the plates rattling back and forth in the basket. The service limit is 0.6mm. Most I change are upto about 1.00mm, but the worst set I saw had 6mm!! There are basically three types, all are interchangeable:-
Head Gaskets All 8 valve head gaskets that are supplied are now a metal type approx. 0.5m thick. Early bikes have composite type gaskets approx 1.1mm thick. Hence, if you are replacing an old type gasket you must also fit the replace the barrel base shim with thicker one to compensate. There is a 1mm thick gasket available for this purpose. I had to replace the main bearings on an engine that had its original thick gaskets replaced with thin ones without the thicker base shims. There was evidence that the piston had just been touching the cylinder head too. A bit too close for comfort. Fuel pump feed fuses I have had a couple of bikes where the fuse holder for the electrical feed to the fuel pump relay has corroded/burnt out. In both cases it was only the fuse holder that was affected, the wiring either way was intact. Both bikes were of the single sided swing-arm type so it might be typical to this type of bike. The fuse holder is situated under the rider's seat and is a black sealed type holder. Cutting the wires back 25mm or so and installing a new fuse holder has cured the fault each time. I would recommend checking the fuse holder on you bike, it might just save you breaking down. Water in the computer! It is worth ensuring that your Ducati's computer is properly sealed against ingress of water, especially during the type of weather we're having as i write this (the summer (?) of 2004). I've just had to get a replacement computer for a customer because water had got inside it causing the bike to breakdown. It was the 1.6M ECU with the rubber bung to allow EPROM changes. I suspect the water had got in past this bung due to the sealing sticker not being replaced after an EPROM change. It also rendered the EPROM useless. New sealing stickers are available at around £3, go check yours now!! Alternator Rotor Retaining Nut
Ducati recommend having the alternator rotor retaining nut tightness checked every 6,000 miles on bikes with the 2 wire alternator. It takes about an hour during the routine service to remove the nut clean it all up, loctite and re-torque it back up. Fortunately so far I've only come across a few bikes where the nut has come loose. Unfortunately it causes quite a mess as the photo shows. This rotor split damaging the alternator and its casing too. In bad cases it can render the crank useless too. More dangerously can cause the motor to seize, luckily (?) in this case only at 30 mph, but what if?. The same can happen to the better designed system on 3 wire rotors too, mainly on hard used bikes such as race or trackday motors. It is difficult to detect without removing the casing but usually causes a rumble form the alternator cover. Try running the motor with the bike in gear and clutch dragging (to quieten the bloody thing!!), the engine should be nice and quiet. 748/916/996 Air Filters A few minor issues with these:-
Don't try and fit the LH one to the RH air tube and vice-versa. They nearly fit the wrong way round but not quite and would no doubt let a fair bit of crap through. To maintain my good reputation I would like to point out that I only found this out when my spares supplier sent me two LH filters instead of a pair and I tried to fit them. The 748/916/996 air filter design is not the best in the world. Water from high speed in heavy rain or a pressure washer can wash dirt through the filter and into the air box. I find it to be a rare case to find a completely clean air box and intake trumpets. It wouldn't harm every 1000 miles or so (or after water harassment) to lift the tank off to check the air box is clean and maybe split the air tubes to check the filters.
You could of course opt for one of the after market filters. I have only so far come across the large one-piece sponge type filters (ITG, JHP) that fit directly over the inlet trumpets. These are better at keeping the dirt out if fitted correctly, make sure they are fitted over the trumpets properly the front one is quite tricky. Some people suggest that these filters increase performance due to being freer flowing. Others reckon they make performance suffer due to mucking up the air flow characteristics directly over the inlet trumpets. They're also a sod to wash out and re-oil. You pay yer money etc.
The best aftermarket air filter system I’ve come across for this range is the Italian made BMC system. Its fits very nicely and creates a good seal around the filter element and it won’t muck up air flow. The filter elements look a little small and hence should probably be cleaned quite regularly, but this is easy enough as they can be slid out once the tank loosened. Not the cheapest option, but very nicely made. The other related point is to make sure that the grills in the nose fairing that feed into the airtubes are clear, especially after that summer evening bug bash run. Clean your visor and your tubes!! Cam Belts The most frequently asked question I receive is about cam belts, no prizes for guessing that. They are more durable than people think, I've only ever seen one snapped belt on a road bike and that was a well neglected specimen. However I do support the change every 2 year regime as the result of a snapped belt is, again no prizes for this, catastrophic!! Bikes that stand a long time are more likely to suffer I think, I've actually seen it where tiny lumps of rubber have been plucked for the belt by the tension/idler pulley. This is probably with being stood too long in one spot. I tend to run my 851 through the winter once a month or so. Neighbours love it. Anyway as they said on crime watch, don't loose any sleep over this, belt failure really isn't as frequent as most people believe. Or something like that. A tip for those that change their own belts. As you can imagine there are a few different Ducati cam belts. It is worth pointing out that the belts for the ST4S/ST4 and later 748's are almost identical to the 916/996 and early 748 belts. They are however ONE tooth shorter. The same is true about the late M600/750 belts and those for the 906/907/M900/900SS/ST2 two valvers. This seems a pretty useless bit of info until you find yourself trying to fit ST4 belts to your 916, or vice-versa etc etc. To the inexperienced it is very difficult to notice one tooth difference in length. Each belt has some printing on them. Part of this printing is a four digit number commencing in 4. Below is a list of these numbers and the bikes they fit. This might help prevent you spending ages trying to fit the wrong belt sent to you by your belt supplier, been there done that! 4011 - 748/916/996 HOWEVER!! It is important to also take note of the number/letter combination that follows these three numbers, especially on later bikes. I.e a 1997 ST2 has a belt with 4002 1A on it. A 2000 ST2 has a belt with 4002 2A on it. The 2 belts look identical, but there must be some difference and I guess must not be swapped. Tempting though as the 1A belt is about £16 and the 2A belt £26!! Monster 900i.e. (2000 - 2002) and 800 Sport/SS Engine Sprockets. For some reason these, and maybe other model appears to have a unique engine sprocket. Instead of the usual sprocket with a boss on one side it has a thinner boss on both sides. It is similar to a sprocket that used to be fitted to some Paso models but unlike that one the overall width for the Monster sprocket is 17mm, the Paso one being 16mm. This came to light when a customer told me she was concerned that her chain was catching the tyre. The engine sprocket fitted at that time (not by me I hasten to add) was the single boss type with the boss away from the engine. Now carb'ed Monster 900's have this sprocket but with the boss towards the engine, hence I thought this was the problem. Thought that is, well on turning the sprocket around I then found that the chain fouled the bolt for rear suspension loop. Plus neither way wanted to match up with the plastic chain runner. Investigation into this (mainly via Jeff Green of Gtec Performance, top bloke) unearthed the fact that for some reason these fuel injected models had been fitted with a longer gearbox output shaft. This then led to the unique sprocket. Confusingly the JT sprockets catalogue lists the standard single boss sprocket. I've emailed them to let them know so hopefully they'll correct things. I corrected the problem on Denise's bike by fitting a couple of 5.5mm spacers between the sprocket and retaining plate. AFAM do a 15 tooth sprocket to suit this bike, but not a 14. I've had some 14 tooth sprockets made by Talon Engineering as this is a real popular mod. So if you own an injected M900 or 800 Supersport and it's had a sprocket change, have a quick look to see if all is as it should be.
Testastretta Cam Belt Tensioners Now I'd have to say that well maintained belts on these models are even more robust that the oft ill thought of earlier models. However, a bit of a dodgy design on the tensioner pulley can and has led to early belt failure, the one pictured lasted 200 miles after being fitted new!!. Whilst I am not one for putting the fear of shredded belts into people I would rather those that fancy having a go at fitting new belts themselves know about this. Basically there is a thin "top hat" spacer that sits between the tensioner bearing and the cylinder head. This spacer can become unseated when fitting the pulley and results in the pulley being clamped in place at a slight angle. The pulley being at an angle tracks the belt out of position and up the pulley side flanges, these flanges then shred it until it gives up the ghost. OUCH!! A straight edge across the idler and tensioner pulleys as shown in the other picture can prove that the tensioner is on properly. The design has been improved somewhere along the line so current bikes have a better system. Ducati Monster/SS batteries It is important that you ensure that the battery breather pipe on early Monsters and SS's is routed correctly so that it isn't trapped and blocked when you lower the tank. If it gets blocked, it can if you're unlucky, or have a Yuasa battery with screw in plugs, cause the battery to split dumping the acid over the engine or worse if you're tonking on and the wind gets hold of it!!! If you're a lucky type with a "low cost" battery it just pops the filler plugs out. This happened to my brother's M900 as he travelled up the motorway. The bang that the little plastic plug made as it blew out was loud enough for him to think that the engine had gone bang!! Fortunately it happened as he approached the services so he pulled in to investigate but couldn't find anything wrong. Puzzled he carried on and made it home fine. It was only a week later when he lifted the tank for some reason that he noticed the plug missing. Lubrication, a good or bad thing
A bad thing if applied to your brakes I think you'll agree. The owner of the bike in the photo turned up after having a new tyre fitted (not by me I hasten to add). He was complaining that the brakes were poor, and could I have a look. Didn't take too much spotting why as the photo shows. Look closely and you can see grease on the spindle, disc and tyre. Nice eh!! My version of events is that an inexperienced tyre fitter had recently been told that grease helps the spindle go back in easier. So he dips the spindle end in the bucket of grease and whacks it in. The excess grease of which there was a lot then flung out as the bike was ridden away. Does that sound possible? If so remind yourself to check your bike after anything is done to it. 748/916/996/998 Coolant blockages
When the bike in the picture arrived it had a coolant leak from just about every joint plus the lower radiator hose looked like it had our budgie trapped in it. This was caused by over pressure in the coolant system due to the header tank breather being blocked. The blockage was in the outlet from the header tank filler neck that the breather tube goes onto, the one that goes to the overflow tank sat in the "V". The other small tube going to the header tank just below and in front of the filler neck can block as well. This makes it awkward to properly refill the coolant as this tube allows the vertical cylinder to fill correctly. Not a common problem, I've only seen an occurrence of each blockage once, however it could be embarrassing as you enter your local coffee bar looking like Casey Jones (a steam train driver from years ago for you young 'uns). Least you'll now know what to blame. 600SS/750SS/900SS/851/888 Handlebars
Important this one, please read on if your Duke has handlebars like the one in the photo. On more than one occasion I've found a failed clamp bolt on one of these types of handlebar. What happens is that the weld on the threaded boss fails rendering the clamp bolt ineffective. You still have one clamp bolt but I'm sure you'll agree that isn't a healthy situation. If you check these by seeing if they're tight you must use a torque wrench set to 10Nm in order that you don't progressively over tighten them as this may increase the chance of failure. Remedy if one fails, a new pair of bars, supplied as a pair only @ approx £55 inc the pair. So not too bad then. Cam followers
A well discussed topic amongst Ducati owners. Well, here’s my bit on it which is purely from my experience. The followers are hard chrome plated as an anti-wear surface for the cams to run against. What happens is that the chrome chips off allowing the cam to run against the “soft” steel of the follower. Obviously if this carries on for a while it can also damage the cam. Most don’t seem to cause too much damage. The one on the right of the picture is about as bad a follower as I’ve seen. The one on the left is a good used one, see the difference? The problem appears to affect mainly the opener rockers on 2000 to 2003 four valve head non-Testastretta engines. I’m not saying that I haven’t seen a four valve closer with dodgy chrome, but one closer to twenty openers seems about right. I’ve never seen a failed two valve rocker in all the bikes I’ve done. Pre-2000 four valvers are usually OK; in fact I buy as many early heads as possible to be able to supply the unfortunate late model owners with good used rockers at a reasonable cost. I’ve seen a couple of really well shagged early motors with perfect followers. Worst appears to be 2000 -2003 748’s, worst in fact was 5 openers in one 748 with under 8K miles. Mostly it’s one or two. It’s serious enough for me to warn customers who are bringing me such bikes of the possibility of a problem. Better to be warned than shocked, I hope you agree. 749/999 air filters
Whist these don’t give the problem with passing dirt like the 748 etc filters they aren’t the largest filters in the world and hence I think should be checked/cleaned more frequently than the 6,000 mile recommendation. The filter pictured came out of a 749 with 8K miles on. They’re worth keeping on top of as well as they’re about £65 a pair!! ST2/ST4/Monster/851/888 etc wheel spacer There is a wheel spacer on the chain side of the above type bikes that is often fitted wrong, if fitted at all. The spacer is tapered in section, the tapered bit goes towards the wheel and the flat face against the swing arm. Fit it the wrong way around and the spacer interferes with the circlip in the sprocket hub making the wheel hard to turn. Leave it out and the sprocket carrier face interferes with the swing arm, damaging both. Check this spacer is in when you’ve had your bike to the tyre fitters. There should be a gap of approx 2mm between the swing arm and sprocket carrier. If possible check the wheel spins freely too. ST2/ST4/Monster/851/888 etc Wheel alignment The chain alignment on these bikes can often be inaccurate due to the ever so slightly poor design of the spindle plates that you’re supposed to use to read against the alignment marks. These plates often bend or twist when tightening the spindle nuts hence giving possible inaccurate wheel alignment. On one ST2 I had in it was so bad that the chain was catching the tyre, granted the use of a 187mm wide 180 section Avon didn’t help the situation!! If in doubt use a tape measure to check the swing arm spindle to wheel spindle distance on both sides. The plastic bush in the swing arm spindle gives a nice little centre marker. The wheel spindle is trickier, I use a tool that fits in the hollow spindle to mark the centre. What the F@*k??
The yellowish thing just above the timing belt is some kind of seed pod. Rock hard and wedged in well it was actually tracking the belt over a bit. The thing was as big as my thumb, god knows how it got there!! It was too big to fit through any gaps on the belts covers. Did it grow there?? Was it placed there by a Honda (spit, yak) mechanic?? Monster Battery Leaks Late (fuel injected) Monsters often have a gel type battery that is laid flat on top of the vertical head. If you've got one of these or are thinking of buying one then have a look to make sure the battery isn't leaking. It isn't a big leak but it is enough to sometimes dribble down the head/barrel and onto the back of the cases. It of course, makes a bit of a mess. Electrical Relays All Ducatis have relays somewhere in their electrical system, mostly they're reliable too. However the yellow topped ones under the seat of early Monsters can cause a problem with not switching main power on. More of a problem it seems are the smaller black ones fitted to later Monsters. These are used to switch on main power and ECU power. They're situated near the battery, maybe 2 or 3 of them depending on the bike. They are possibly too puny for their job. If your Monster has these consider carrying a spare or 2, er or 3!!.. Part no is 54140031A. Battery Leads Multistrada fuel leak Water in fuel tanks CALL: 0113 2880921 OR 07746 175112 |
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