265,000 mile Ducati monster

[Rough Edge racing]

   Interesting, his mileage on the bike is well known by Ducati guys  it may have gone longer if not for the crash

    http://www.ducati.ms/forums/42-monster/687729-end-era-patina-my-93-m900-dead-265k.html

     

[Vagrant]

I told you those damm air cooled bikes wouldn't last.
I bet he ran nothing but dino oil in it too.

[huub]

impressive!
i wonder how often he changed pistons, valves and guides.
my ducati engines usually need a complete rebuild after 60.000 miles (pistons , valves , guides, bearings)
a friend managed 100.000 miles with a 600 ducati engine , but by that time riding behind him was guaranteed to result in a headache because of the smoke..

[fotoguzzi]

impressive!
i wonder how often he changed pistons, valves and guides.
my ducati engines usually need a complete rebuild after 60.000 miles (pistons , valves , guides, bearings)
a friend managed 100.000 miles with a 600 ducati engine , but by that time riding behind him was guaranteed to result in a headache because of the smoke..

"
I decided a long time ago, as I was running this experiment, that I wasn't going to fall into the trap of replacing so many things that I couldn't tell if it was the same bike or not. I had replaced, over the years, everything in the brake, clutch, and suspension systems, for example. But my resolve was that the essential nature of the bike was in the frame, engine, and transmission. As long as those were basically original, I could claim to have that many miles on the bike. Start replacing those core bits, though, and the numbers (and experience) get fuzzy and lose meaning."

[Gino]

One of my good friends has a 93 monster 900, at 113,000 miles it got sent to Baines at Silverstone for a freshen up, big job, I think a new front cylinder was required, many other parts but now still going strong at 140k I'd guess. It surprised the shit out of me

[Bonaventure]

Dang it, that sucks but glad he's okay. I used to be a regular on ducati.ms and familiar with the high mileage of that Monster.  Real glad they caught the hit and run scum bag that caused it. 

[SmithSwede]

That Ducati guy is thinking about buying a Griso.  Good luck wearing that out.

[Chuck in Indiana]

That Ducati guy is thinking about buying a Griso.  Good luck wearing that out.

  True..

[oldbike54]

 Grandpa's hatchet comes to mind 

 Dusty

[SmithSwede]

Ship of Theseus

[oldbike54]

Ship of Theseus

 Yeah , for you edumicated types 

 Jay and I encountered a Shovelhead rider from San Antonio named Fritz . He told us the Harley had 250K miles on it , and then explained that the only thing original to the bike were the HD emblems on the gas tank 

 Dusty

[Rough Edge racing]

 From the Ducati's owner's brief statement how do you come up with it's a  Ship of Theseus ?

[kirb]

That guy showed up on the Motus owners page on FB asking questions about the bike and mentioned his Duc and the mileage. He was looking for a long-running replacement.

[Bonaventure]

Ship of Theseus

Ummm... No. 

No rebuild, just reg maintenance:  http://www.ducati.ms/forums/120-oil-lubrication/585217-redline-4k-miles-vs-rotella-2k-miles-2.html#post5795889

[huub]

Ummm... No. 

No rebuild, just reg maintenance:  http://www.ducati.ms/forums/120-oil-lubrication/585217-redline-4k-miles-vs-rotella-2k-miles-2.html#post5795889

oil thread?

[Bonaventure]

oil thread?

Owner's statement of engine/bike history professed in an oil thread, yes.   He'd never had to do a rebuild on it and had only done routine maintenance.

[waxi]

That Ducati guy is thinking about buying a Griso.  Good luck wearing that out.

 

Ducati guys should follow Paul Van Hooff. What he does is impressive!

[SmithSwede]

Re-holster your weapons please!   I was referring to the ship of Theseus concept, the older version of Dusty’s reference to grandpa’s hammer.    I wasn’t claiming that Phil’s Ducati was akin to it. 

Quite interesting how original that bike was.   

[sign216]

Hey, I'm happy to see how many miles a Ducati Monster got.  It's a lower end cycle for them, and that means a Guzzi should go on essentially forever. 

[cruzziguzzi]

Probably a "Washington's axe" scenario but still, pretty damn cool.

One of my Brothers had a Harley with over a quarter million and I think in the end the frame, rear wheel and maybe transmission were original.


Todd.

[Bonaventure]

Probably a "Washington's axe" scenario but still, pretty damn cool.

One of my Brothers had a Harley with over a quarter million and I think in the end the frame, rear wheel and maybe transmission were original.


Todd.

Maybe re-read Reply #13...

[gentlemanjim]

I love my Monster, but the complexity scares me.  Jap bikes with shims, buckets you have to ask why.  And the simplicity of my Guzzi is amazing. Only bike simpler to maintain is a 2 stroke and I'm not even certain about that.

[Rough Edge racing]

 I posted this because it's interesting and reasonably documented...Many stories of long engine life are just stories..
  But I believe most Ducati air cooled engines will need a rebuild well before 265,000 miles, probably 100K is more common?
  What's the highest mileage of  Guzzi that can be documented? You know, an engine that's never been disassembled? What is typical Guzzi mileage for valve or ring work?

   Of course how the bike is ridden drastically effects lifespan...Running the engine hard before it's fully warmed up and lots time near redline will reduce engine life. And generally speaking, higher tuned engines may not last as long.....

[Murray]

I posted this because it's interesting and reasonably documented...Many stories of long engine life are just stories..
  But I believe most Ducati air cooled engines will need a rebuild well before 265,000 miles, probably 100K is more common?
  What's the highest mileage of  Guzzi that can be documented? You know, an engine that's never been disassembled? What is typical Guzzi mileage for valve or ring work?

   Of course how the bike is ridden drastically effects lifespan...Running the engine hard before it's fully warmed up and lots time near redline will reduce engine life. And generally speaking, higher tuned engines may not last as long.....

Thunderbikes in Perth had a loaner T5 that supposedly was up over 340 000kms, the final drive and gearbox had been done but not the motor, she was pretty rattely and slow in the early 2000's no idea if it is still alive although you'd have to assume the timing chain has been done at least once.

Having said that the skirt of the pistons in the 1100 sport were fairly heavily stained with fuel at 140 000kms although state of tune and time spent at redline the sport motor ticks all the boxes.