So I did want a ducati

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Krime

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Now not so sure. Heard all about how maintenance is no longer an issue with modern day ducati's, yet my good friend bought one and learned what seems otherwise.

He bought a used 999 with 14000 miles on it.

First ride, clutch slipped while riding on the highway. He got the clutch replaced and learned that after 10000 clicks it is normal for a ducati to go through a clutch.

Now while riding with him after he's put 6000km on it, bike puffs blue smoke between shifts, less noticeable when bike warms up. There's also the strong smell of burning oil. After 2000 miles or so he needed to add 1.5 liters of oil. He was told that this is again, normal for ducati's, especially if you ride them hard. He does ride it pretty hard.

Is this true? I wanted a ducati as my next bike, but if this is the case I'm not so sure.
 
You can't really judge a whole brand by 1 bike.
I was never interested in Ducati's until the 1098 came out and I fell in love with it. Mine has 13K on it and runs as great as the day I got it (or better).
The only maintenance I have done is oil changes and regular stuff like chain adjustments, lubricating pegs, levers etc. and cleaning the air filter. No major issues at all. No more or less than I did with all my Suzuki's.....
Hopefully next week I can get it in for the valve check/adjustment that is required acording to the maintenance schedule, but I don't anticipate any issues there either.

Find the one you and like have it checked out , if it looks good, go for it!
 
The 999 isn't new. It also was the ugliest one. And your friend bought it used.

Buy a brand new Ducati, THEN judge.
 
+1 don't judge a bushel by one bad apple. Mine has just under 37,000 and it's strong as ever. It's at GP now for the 36,000k service and besides regular maintenance the modern Duc's are strong. IMO it did need a 520 chain conversion and -1 in front but a lot of bikes are better this way.
 
999 isn't a modern Ducati and who knows what the previous owned did to it. I havent had any problems with my 1198.
 
...also +2 in the back!! Yeah, I lost some top end but man o'man the front wants to lift! :)
 
sticker said:
...also +2 in the back!! Yeah, I lost some top end but man o'man the front wants to lift! :)
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Yeah, because my 1098 was almost impossible to power wheelie with stock gearing.




























































In 5th gear.

(For those that dont recognise it, that is sarcasm)


btw, anyone want to buy a 1098?
 
I guess I didn't explain something well enough. I am not judging a brand off of one bike. What I've been surprised to hear is that he is being told these issues are normal to ducati bikes. I initially suspected it was just his bike but after having a ducati dealership tell him this is normal, i started to question.

So what you're all saying is that these symptoms are not usual to ducati's? Good to know.
 
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Ducati made a push post 2007 that their bikes now require less maintenance and cost to run...the 749 i think works out to about $1000 for every 10K you ride it...every bike is different...
 
I've put 100,000 km's on my 01 monster 900 and am only on my second clutch. Other than oil, tires and brake pads, I had to replace shims once.

Oh...... I did have to replace a couple belt rollers at around 60,000 km's
 
Utter rubbish. Ducati's don't burn oil more than any other brand. Also my 998 has 40k on it with the orginal dry clutch and my 1198 has 22k on it with the original dry clutch. I haven't heard of either of these issues being common on Ducatis and I have owned them for the last 10 years.

Like any brand the Ducati SBKs have some common issues but failing clutches and burning unusual amounts of oil are not 2 of them.

leaking base gaskets on the vertical cylinder on all SBKs, weak top left radiator mounts causing coolant leaks now these are common issues on the 1098/1198 fixed under warrantee.

The 999 is a very solid bike both electrically and mechanically. Your friend may just have a lemon simple as that.
 
Krimesf4i said:
Now not so sure. Heard all about how maintenance is no longer an issue with modern day ducati's, yet my good friend bought one and learned what seems otherwise.

He bought a used 999 with 14000 miles on it.

First ride, clutch slipped while riding on the highway. He got the clutch replaced and learned that after 10000 clicks it is normal for a ducati to go through a clutch.

Now while riding with him after he's put 6000km on it, bike puffs blue smoke between shifts, less noticeable when bike warms up. There's also the strong smell of burning oil. After 2000 miles or so he needed to add 1.5 liters of oil. He was told that this is again, normal for ducati's, especially if you ride them hard. He does ride it pretty hard.

Is this true? I wanted a ducati as my next bike, but if this is the case I'm not so sure.
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Where is your friend hearing these things? Who's telling him that all this is normal? Seems like there's a perception that Ducatis are the high-maintenance super models of the motorcycle world and whether or not this is true, he may be hearing it from people that still believe this "misconception".
 
Over 10k on my Monster 696, bought brand new, with no issues to date. Rock solid performance and reliability. Sounds like your friend bought a lemon or the previous owner beat the crap out of it.
 
My 2002 900SS is now owned by Homme de Fer.I think it has about 50,000km on it now.It's had a few valve shims and timing belts that i have replaced myself.Takes an afternoon to do the service.It had a cylinder head oil leak at 10,000km that was fixed by retorqueing that head.
My 944 trackbike with 13/1 comp ratio all out race built motor has a ton of trackdays on it.All i do is change oil and belts and check shims once a year.Bulletproof track toy.(except for me crashing it)
My 2009 1100 Hypermotard has 16,000km on it.I just checked the valves and only one shim needed changing.The only problem i have had with it was when changing the air filter.The airbox lid is held on with 6 little bolts and 2 of them were stripped from the factory.Easy fix with jb-weld.And i drilled 2 big holes in the airbox while i was in there.Tweaked the FI with my O2 manipulator and now the bike runs really smooth with a bit more grunt.
The 2 valve Ducs are super easy to own and maintain.The 4 valvers are twice as much work and the heads usually have to come off for shim changes.But the intervals are a lot longer with the modern bikes.
 
My 2004 ST4S has been 100% reliable, zero issues.It has been one of my best bikes.
Dont judge anything in life by one bad example and also never get caught up in hype.
The newer Ducatis are great machines.
 
levert said:
My 2004 ST4S has been 100% reliable, zero issues.It has been one of my best bikes.
Dont judge anything in life by one bad example and also never get caught up in hype.
The newer Ducatis are great machines.
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The ST's are super reliable.Do a search for Gary Eagan.He has done the Ironbutt on ST's and did a CDN coast to coast in i think 60 hours on a Multistrada about 5 years ago.
 
I have over 30 000km on my Monster. In 07 Ducati came out with 12 000km service intervals. I believe it was 6000 km intervals before that. I may be replacing clutch plates soon, but never heard of anyone doing it at 10K km intervals.
Buddy probably bought a bike that has been flogged like a rented mule.
 
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