749 weird starting problem???
 

Hi guys - right I shall try to start at the beginning...... My bike has 30 miles on the clock (real new) and it's the 749s biposto my2004 that I recently bought from a yamaha dealer (import). I now have it in spain so suggestions like "take it back to the dealer" aren't really going to help even though they are likely to be well intended........

Almost third time of riding it today and I tried to start it when warm (showing 45degrees engine temp) and made the silly mistake of hitting the starter button before the self test had completed. I know "********" but my commuter is a hornet and I'm really used to riding this bike daily lately! Fact is though, that it started the start process - starter engaged, motored the engine, coughed a cuppla times and then died but the starter remained engaged (thumb removed) until I hit the kill switch. After that try as I might for about 4 starts it wouldn't fire up. Tried the choke and no choke but throttle but no help. When I tried with the throttle slightly open it backfired.

This happened to me twice today - all of the above. Only other strange thing was a backfire twice when I was cruising along at about 4500rpm in top gear.

The PDI was done by the yamaha dealer and it may be possible that the setup was poorly done but other than that I am at a loss and seeking any comfort/advice available.

Heeeeeeeeeelp!!!!

Cheers - Ian

Yeah the starter motor does keep turning untill the engine fires,(even if you release the button)..that is normal.
Sounds like the engine may be flooded with fuel,..hence the coughing and farting.
Next time try switching off the ignition a sec before attempting starting the bike again.

is it under warranty ? i may be mistaken but your warranty should be valid in any eec country.

if it works heres a link to ducati dealers in Spain

http://www.ducati.com/dealerlocator/...end.jsp?lng=en

Thanks for clearing that up keefy. Would have been nice if they had mentioned that in the manual but there we go..... Yes it felt like flooding to me.

Nigel - what claim would I have under warranty for a poor pdi if that's the cause? Or do you think there's something wrong with a component?

Quote from the 999S manual;
"This model features servo-assisted starting.Press and imediately release the start button to use the servo-assisted starting function.When you press the button,the starter motor operates automatically for a MAX time determined by engine temperature.The system disengages the starter motor as soon as the engine starts.If the engine fails to start,wait at least 2 seconds before pressing the start button again.
Allow the engine to start without turning the throttle twistgrip."
Its under the chapter 'Starting the engine',.....dunno why its not in the 749 manual.

Crikey - thats exactly the info that would have cleared this up for me if it had ben there. Have a downloaded pdf manual as well as the paper one and nothing about that! I tried a little throttle too and got the engine locking up at that as if the timing was too far advanced. Thanx again, at least I know that isn't a problem now. Seems maybe its just throttle bodies or fuel adjustment that needs looking at then........ Out of interest would you know if setup is a pdi thing or factory? Trying to justify whether it was a mistake buying from a yamaha dealer now........

It's a 2004 749S thing. They're very sensitive to cam timing settings and need to be set up correctly. From the factory it'll probably be incorrect as Ducati released updated settings after the bikes were produced. You need to go to a Ducati dealer and get a full setup - cam timing, CO2 and idle. A Ducati delaer would have done this as part of the PDI but I doubt the Yamaha dealer would have.

I know this becuase I have an '04 749S too :D

This makes no difference. To be honest I don't remember if the manual says wait til it's done, but I don't think it does. Even so, I do it all the time with no ill effects what so ever. That was not your problem in this case either way.