Now Ive’ Done It, - A Ducati?!

[inditx]

Due to weather I won''t be able to pick it up for a bit but I “shook hands” on this one today.
Be kind as I’ve heard all the maintenance woes.







inditx

[Scout63]

I've always loved the look of the Scramblers, especially in the classic yellow.  Nice going and please let us know how you like it.

[inditx]

Thanks will do!

[audiowize]

That's a nice looking bike! 

[Kev m]

If it's anything like Jenn's Monster in sure you'll love it.

Enjoy!

[usedtobefast]

I've had 4 Ducati's and I think the maintenance stories are just fun stories for non Ducati owners to spread around.   

Checking the valve clearance isn't hard.  Adjusting them is different from any other bike.  Several youtube videos on how to do it, not really hard, just different.  And many times the clearance is OK so no need to adjust them.

And the cam belt breaking thing ... I asked a Ducati expert repair shop how many bikes they've seen with broken cam belts, they said 1 or 2, and that was back in like 1992 before the belts had Kevlar in them ... and zero since the belts went to Kevlar. 

So not really an issue. 

Congrats on the "new" bike! 

[inditx]

If it's anything like Jenn's Monster in sure you'll love it.

Enjoy!

Thanks Kev m and usedtobefast!
inditx

[LowRyter]

congrats.

I've enjoyed my Ducati more than any bike I've owned.  Hope you do too.

[twowheeladdict]

I enjoyed my test rides.  Wouldn't mind a desert sled.

[rschrum]

I have had 5, still have 2. No maintenance problems I couldn't handle. Think you will like it.



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[Brand X]

The air cooled 1100 is a great engine.. One of my all time favorite V-twins  Best fuel mileage of any big bore unit I have owned. Low end grunt is additive, Fit, and finish was excellent too.. 

[larrys]

You will love it. I bought mine as a bucket list purchase. Never had one, always thought they were cool, etc. It's put excitement back into riding for me.
Larry

[jpv7]

I've had 4 Ducati's and I think the maintenance stories are just fun stories for non Ducati owners to spread around.   

Checking the valve clearance isn't hard.  Adjusting them is different from any other bike.  Several youtube videos on how to do it, not really hard, just different.  And many times the clearance is OK so no need to adjust them.

And the cam belt breaking thing ... I asked a Ducati expert repair shop how many bikes they've seen with broken cam belts, they said 1 or 2, and that was back in like 1992 before the belts had Kevlar in them ... and zero since the belts went to Kevlar. 

So not really an issue. 

Congrats on the "new" bike! 

Agreed.  The air cooled ducs are great engines and easily serviceable.  You don’t need to be a genius to service them.  My last Monster 1000 was a bit too “fast” and encouraged me to ride like a delinquent.  The injected 800s are perfect road bikes.

[fotoguzzi]

I've had 4 Ducati's and I think the maintenance stories are just fun stories for non Ducati owners to spread around.   

Checking the valve clearance isn't hard.  Adjusting them is different from any other bike.  Several youtube videos on how to do it, not really hard, just different.  And many times the clearance is OK so no need to adjust them.

And the cam belt breaking thing ... I asked a Ducati expert repair shop how many bikes they've seen with broken cam belts, they said 1 or 2, and that was back in like 1992 before the belts had Kevlar in them ... and zero since the belts went to Kevlar. 

So not really an issue. 

Congrats on the "new" bike! 

of course if it does break you'll pretty much need a whole new engine.I'd follow the factory recommendation.

[Kev m]

of course if it does break you'll pretty much need a whole new engine.I'd follow the factory recommendation.

OPINION INCOMING.

The factory recommendation is beyond ridiculously conservative, and I've confirmed this with a number of very experienced Ducati techs.

The belts are recommended to be replaced every 2 years, but they are manufactured by Gates who recommends 10 years on that same belt material in other applications.

My local guys always recommended at least doubling the factory 2 years.

I personally run ~5 years on them, but with full disclosure, the bike is pampered - I mean it only averages about 1500 miles a year, generally in good weather, isn't bounced off the rev limiter much, kept in an insulated/attached garage etc.

I might be more aggressive with one that is ridden harder, more often, and/or kept under ambient conditions that are more harsh.

If I was say putting enough miles on it yearly for yearly clearance checks, I would be much more likely to go somewhere closer to the 2 years.

YMMV etc.

[JJ]

CONGRATULATIONS on acquiring this fine machine!!      I have always liked these.

You will have fun, no doubt, and I too, have also always believed the horror stories about Ducati maintenance issues are totally blown out of proportion.

Ride it and enjoy it...and don't look back!!

[spmoto]

Congrats on the new DUC. I agree that you should love it. Servicing the valve train can be a little intimidating the first time, especially compared to Guzzi's. I strongly recommend getting LT Snyders maintenance manual for the 2 valve Ducati's. It's available on his website: www.desmotimes.com.
Lots of useful step by step instruction with pictures and some video links.
Steve M

[Motormike]

I've owned several Ducatis and have never had a bit of trouble with any of them.  Just sold my first-gen. aircooled Multistrada with 30,000 miles on it.  A great bike I will miss.  Like others have said, I change the timing belts every 5 years.  I know from experience it's the tensioner bearings that tend to be a problem that can lead to belt failure.  If the tensioner starts to seize up, the belt will slide and the friction and heat will cause the belt to fail in short order.  Never broke a belt but have had a close call with a seized tensioner bearing that I luckily caught in time.

[larrys]

Congrats on the new DUC. I agree that you should love it. Servicing the valve train can be a little intimidating the first time, especially compared to Guzzi's. I strongly recommend getting LT Snyders maintenance manual for the 2 valve Ducati's. It's available on his website: www.desmotimes.com.
Lots of useful step by step instruction with pictures and some video links.
Steve M

Just ordered that manual. Thanks, been looking for a shop manual for the Monster.
Larry

[LowRyter]

OPINION INCOMING.

The factory recommendation is beyond ridiculously conservative, and I've confirmed this with a number of very experienced Ducati techs.

The belts are recommended to be replaced every 2 years, but they are manufactured by Gates who recommends 10 years on that same belt material in other applications.

My local guys always recommended at least doubling the factory 2 years.

I personally run ~5 years on them, but with full disclosure, the bike is pampered - I mean it only averages about 1500 miles a year, generally in good weather, isn't bounced off the rev limiter much, kept in an insulated/attached garage etc.

I might be more aggressive with one that is ridden harder, more often, and/or kept under ambient conditions that are more harsh.

If I was say putting enough miles on it yearly for yearly clearance checks, I would be much more likely to go somewhere closer to the 2 years.

YMMV etc.

The book on my bike is 18k mile for belt changes.  I'll caution anyone to shop around to the belts:

Duc belts from the dealer co$t $90 EACH.   OTOH California Cycleworks has then for $60.  I think CCW sells them for $45 for the air-cooled bikes.  Considering how timing belts go 100k+ in a car, I'd agree that it's a conservative service interval but failure is not an option.

[Bill929]

I've had two Ducatis and loved them both.  My last was an 1100 Hypermotard, which was a fabulous motorcycle.  I only sold it because I wanted to travel/camp and the Hyper was just not that capable in that area.  I sold it to a Deputy Sheriff... Hmmm.  In retrospect, I should have kept it and bought something reasonable to take on weekend trips, but that's not what I did... 

[fotoguzzi]

The book on my bike is 18k mile for belt changes.  I'll caution anyone to shop around to the belts:

same for my Hyperstrada 18k or FIVE years not two.

That name Hyper was just perfect, the bike was so many levels above any Guzzi it was like another world. Shoulda never sold it.

These belts had 6k

[Kev m]

Who knew people here were so reasonable?!? 

And yeah, Ducs are very cool and awesome to ride.

I still wouldn't own one if my wife didn't want/love it

Same is true for our Land Rover.

But crap they are both very capable, very cool, very fun, and I'm glad she lets me play with them.

[LowRyter]

same for my Hyperstrada 18k or FIVE years not two.

That name Hyper was just perfect, the bike was so many levels above any Guzzi it was like another world. Shoulda never sold it.

These belts had 6k

it seems like you just bought it. 

[jpv7]

I've owned several Ducatis and have never had a bit of trouble with any of them.  Just sold my first-gen. aircooled Multistrada with 30,000 miles on it.  A great bike I will miss.  Like others have said, I change the timing belts every 5 years.  I know from experience it's the tensioner bearings that tend to be a problem that can lead to belt failure.  If the tensioner starts to seize up, the belt will slide and the friction and heat will cause the belt to fail in short order.  Never broke a belt but have had a close call with a seized tensioner bearing that I luckily caught in time.

Yes that happened to a friend of mine on the way home from a long road trip.  His tensioner started to seize up, and the warning it gave him was the smell of the belt.  He made it home no problem, and then brought it to the shop.   

[Tusayan]

I have a belt SS, ST4 and 996 in addition to my bevel SS - I do like the 90s Cagiva-era belt drive bikes, but newer ones than that don’t turn me on much.  Mine don’t get ridden a huge mileage and that is a factor in belt replacement.  If you look at the shelf life for the belts, i.e. when they aren’t heated for long and are run a fraction of the specified replacement mileage, you’ll find it’s a whole lot longer than two years.  In my experience and in my service they are good for 5-10 years, much like those on a Centauro etc, depending on how much the bike is ridden.

In the 90s it was fairly common to see broken belts on Ducatis, especially if ridden even a little bit over 12,000 miles.  I was on several group rides where a snapped belt occurred, I can think of three or four now.  Since then the Gates belts have improved a lot in quality and you don’t seem to see failures anymore on any age Ducati.

[audiowize]

Man, how do I tell my wife I need a scrambler?

[DesertPilot]

That Scrambler looks beautiful!  You'll love it!  I've most certainly been enjoying mine 





I do prefer enjoy my Guzzi, but in one of life's little ironies -- not entirely unrelated to questions of reliability and maintenance -- the Ducati is the one I'll have to enjoy for the moment until the shop can sort out whatever electrical gremlins have been causing the Guzzi to stop running without any warning at Inconvenient Moments.

[Bpreynolds2]

I’ve previously owned 3 Ducatis - a 1000DS MTS, a GT1000, and a MTS 1200.  All wonderful bikes but I actually enjoyed the older 1000 engine the best and I suspect your Scrambler will be rewarding in same manner.  Mostly very reliable machines as well.  I drove my GT for 24k pleasing miles.  Yes, I did sell it to get back on a Guzzi but that was when I was a 1 bike, no garage guy.  No offense to the fine advice you’ll get from the red suspenders here but just kinda disregard all the “maintenance” meh that’s coming up.  Good points?  Yes.  But I know this is not your only bike and because you’ll be spreading your miles out upon others as well, I suspect it will be easy for you to follow Duc’s service guidelines as per mileage and still not break the bank.  Ride on dude  I like that yellow. 

[inditx]

You guys/gals are the best!
Thank you.

More comments welcome.
inditx