Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > 748r Character??

[DaveDuc]

Apologies if this subject has been covered before but..............
Picked the bike up today '02 r and rode back from the dealers, noticed two quirks;

1. There is a very noticable flat spot between 6-7k rpm where the bike hesitates then pulls cleanly at 7+k - is this normal for a 'standard' r with termis?

2. Think I may have read this before somewhere but - when slowing down on a closed or blipping throttle the bike seems to die only to pick up again when idling. Also sometimes when I pull away the motor does not seen to want to pick up for a split second.....very disconcerting!

Just wondered whether they are known problems or anyone had experienced these before.

Any ideas gratefully received
Ta
Dave.

[andyb]

Having owned that exact bike mate, my advise would be to replacwe the ECU chip with one from JHP.
In fact go there and get them to fit it (2 sec job) the chips dont travel in the post well, x rays and all that.

cured all the problems like that i had...

[Guido]

Dave,

I have an '01 748R. When I first got the bike and put the Termi's on off my old 748 Bip, the DP chip I got from the dealer was crap. The bike just would not run and it was apparently common knowledge that there was a bad batch of DP ECU chips.

I got a JHP chip via my dealer and the bike has run like a dream ever since.

It still has a tendancy to die at junctions or roundabouts and it's not clean at pulling away from idle, but when the motor is derived from a race engine, what more can you expect.

It should sing from about 5k onwards.

As AndyB says, get the correct JHP chip and you will be larfing. As stated above tho', still expect low (2-4k rpm) rev lumpiness.

[Edited on 20-1-2004 by Guido]

[iainzx]

yep had the same problem with mine - as the others say get the jhp chip and either get them to set up the exhaust gas/fuel/air mix or take it to someone you can trust. once set up it should run smooth, shouldn't really be a big flat spot if its right and if their real good the stalling can be eliminated but as guido says its a race engine and doesn't really want to idle at 1k rpm

[Livo]

Hi Dave,

Same same really but just to add that the idle problems are really associated with the effects of the lighter weight fly wheel fitted to the 748R and also the lower weight of the reciprical parts. I compared some of these in the factory with the 9** parts and the difference in size and mass is easy to see.

This causes a loss to the normal levels of inertia and stored energy carried by the rotating mass at low revs and is not something that can easily be overcome.

As said already, the engine has evolved for the track and that is the price we have to pay..

Tough life eh?

Livo

[rcgbob44]

So, that`l be a JHP will it?

[dismay]

I had same bike to...DP chip no good at all. I have a JHP chip if your interested. my bke was a 2000 model (with the Showa)

[Lily]

Originally posted by Livo
Hi Dave,

Same same really but just to add that the idle problems are really associated with the effects of the lighter weight fly wheel fitted to the 748R and also the lower weight of the reciprical parts. I compared some of these in the factory with the 9** parts and the difference in size and mass is easy to see.

This causes a loss to the normal levels of inertia and stored energy carried by the rotating mass at low revs and is not something that can easily be overcome.

As said already, the engine has evolved for the track and that is the price we have to pay..

Tough life eh?

Livo

Hmmm, this actually sems to make sense.

Mine has all the same issues (from what I remember )

As an extra point, I was initially told that the reason the bike sometimes cuts out when sshutting off suddenly was due to the effect of the bellmouths closing and because of the shower injectors the extra fuel sitting there caused the engine to cut out when stopping suddenly ???


Seemed like a bit of a story at first, but once the chip was changed and set up it seemed a whole lot better on mine although it still does it at times.

I didn't realise the R had a lightened flywheel though?? Is this just against the 99* or against other 748 models?

[PeteB]

Excellent choice Dave I think the 02R is one of the best bikes Ducati have ever made, but then I am bias.

Mine too has the stalling problem which with more miles has decreased but still catches me out on occasions.

All the four valvers have a dip in the power and the termis do exacerbate that engine characteristic, the R also has a 2 tooth smaller rear which also adds to the flat feeling in that rev range.

If the TPS, balance and CO are set correctly you should not get the coughing or spitting problem.

I personally have not had a problem with DP chips, it has always been the set up but the consensus seems to be that the JHP chips are very good.

Enjoy the superb handling, brakes and looks, see you at Cadwell.

[Michael J]

Hmmmm.........Looks like you and I will be able to compare notes quite soon Dave. I look forward to discussions about our bikes' respective "Characters" at Grafham over a "Full English".........