2001 748s rockers
 

i have seen talk of 'new' rockers replacing old ones - when would the new ones have come in and if looking at the above bike should it have had them done - if not what is the likely ballpark ? thanks

You can't really go by the year.

I had a '97 748 that never needed any doing.

My current '95 916SP has had one.

You will hear of other with newer bikes needing several more than that...whats important is how the bike has been treated by the previous owner(s).

Unfortunately there is no way of confirming things without having the cams pulled and taking a look!

If any need replacing...then it gets expensive, at approx £80-90 for each rocker, and then allow for several hours labour for fitting.

If you are buying from a dealer, DEFINATELY get them to include a rocker check/replacement before you take it away. If they won't, then allow for this in your budget/haggling.

If not, at your first service, you could get hit with a big suprise!:o

silly question but if they all needed doing what would it likely cost ie whats the worst hit for rockers i could get? am looking to buy private you see

Unlikely to be all of them, but 16 x whatever you pay for them plus labour. You can buy them from the States for less than a third of what you'd pay here ($50-60), plus VAT and postage.

16 = ouch!

is there any way i can be safe as regards rockers then if i buy private? the bike i am looking at is a 2001 bike with 2000 miles only

I know someone who need 12 rockers plus a cam shaft!

You could ask the seller if you could pay for a check-up at the nearest Ducati shop, shouldn't be more than an hour's labour.

Quite a lot more than an hours labour i would think. All four cam shafts have to come out for starters.

so do people just buy and take the risk? how much of an issue is it and therefore how careful should one be? are loads of bikes affected or just a few? would it affect older bikes or is it specific to the 748 range?

Despite what people say about the newer the better, I see no evidence to suggest that this is the case. It can happen to any age bike at any time of its lifespan.

Many have reported no problems upto 15K miles, and then suddenly 2 or 3 need changing. Other have problems after only a few thousand.

The key appears to be that the bike need to be warmed up properly. It has been shown that it can take upto 90 seonds for the oil to be delivered to the rocker surfaces on start-up, so if you have a habbit of getting on the bike and gunning it from the off, then the rockers get a bashing before fully lubed up. Not good.

To answer your question, yes, people do buy the bike and worry about it if and when. I would suggest that if it is a big deal to you, then perhaps you should be lloking at another manufacturer. The fact is you could buy a bike, have it checked and its fine. 2000 miles later it could need X amount of new rockers...you just never know.

But you'll also find that most peps on here don't really give a toss about that, and ride the bike of their dreams and put up with the 'problems' that may come with it:o