Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > service time

[BDG]

I know that Nelly actually does extra stuff above and beyond the standard service schedules i.e. taking the cams out to check for the dreaded rocker problems, which isn't part of the service schedule.

He has always treated my bikes like he would treat his own, except for the fact that he hasn't painted them yellow, thank god for that bit.

[gordonparker]

I have been to several official and "specialist" Ducati service centers over the past 14 years of ownership and the only place for an exellent job and peace of mind is Cornerspeed. As stated earlier in this thread Nelly is always willing to help a fellow owner and gives all of us his time/advice freely.
He has a schedule from DUK and this has to be applied - the service may be expensive but can save you money down the line because it has been done proffesionally !!!!

[Rushjob]

Khushy posted.....
If you want to join the Nelly/JHP etc fan club - I am sure they will be delighted to take your money - but I for one refuse - they are not that good and as far as I am concerned - their customer service/knowledge is sh*te - except for a few specialist areas - I can do a better quality job myself.

Hmmm.
Whatever your thoughts on service pricing structures, I think this comment may have gone a bit far.
If that was about me in my professional capacity, I'd suggest you got a good solicitor cause you'd have mail....
Definite defamation IMHO.......

[749er]

Originally Posted by Rushjob

Hmmm.
Whatever your thoughts on service pricing structures, I think this comment may have gone a bit far.
If that was about me in my professional capacity, I'd suggest you got a good solicitor cause you'd have mail....
Definite defamation IMHO.......

ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA

Modern law
English law allows actions for libel to be brought in the High Court for any published statements which defame a named or identifiable individual or individuals in a manner which causes them loss in their trade or profession, or causes a reasonable person to think worse of him, her or them.

A statement can include an implication. A large photograph of Tony Blair above a headline saying "Corrupt Politicians" might be held to be an allegation that Tony Blair was personally corrupt.

The allowable defences against libel are:

Justification: the defendant proves that the statement was true. If the defence fails, a court may treat any material produced by the defence to substantiate it, and any ensuing media coverage, as factors aggravating the libel and increasing the damages.
Fair Comment: the defendant shows that the statement was a view that a reasonable person could have held, even if they were motivated by dislike or hatred of the plaintiff.
Privilege: the defendant's comments were made in Parliament or under oath in court of law or were an accurate and neutral report of such comments. There is also a defence of 'qualified privilege' under which people, who are not acting out of malice, may claim privilege for fair reporting of allegations which if true were in the public interest to be published. The leading modern English case on qualified privilege in the context of newspaper articles which are claimed to defame a public figure is now Reynolds v. Times Newspapers Ltd and Others, 1999 UKHL 45.
An offer of amends - typically a combination of correction, apology and/or financial compensation - is a barrier to litigation in the courts.

[edit]
Burden of Proof on the Plaintiff
In most legal systems the courts give the benefit of the doubt to people being tried. They are presumed innocent until the prosecution can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (in criminal law), or the plaintiff can show liability on a balance of probabilities (in civil law). However, at first glance, this burden of proof, in defamation laws - in some countries' legal systems, e.g. in the UK and Australia - seems to be reversed. In other countries, e.g. the USA, the burden of proof is on the accuser, consistent with other laws.

In systems where the burden of proof is said to be reversed, once the plaintiff meets the burden of proof that the publisher made the allegedly defamatory statement, the untruth of that statement is then presumed — the innocence of the person allegedly defamed is presumed, rather than the innocence of the person allegedly defaming.

So the burden of proof falls onto the defendant in the case, which can be called a reversal of the burden of proof.

The English laws on libel have traditionally favored the plaintiffs. A recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights (in the so-called "McLibel case") held that, on the (exceptional) facts of that case, the burden on the defendants in the English courts was too high. However, it is unlikely that the case will provoke any considerable change in substantive English law, despite strong academic criticism of the current position. [1]

[crm250]

Originally Posted by JPM

Billy? not an authorised dealer and doesn't do servicing as such, all his engines are done by Gtec (Geoff Green ex JHP), he's more bolt on thus the name bolt on billy

John, thats well out of order, and to post that really is a bit of a cheap shot.
Lets get the facts here.
Most full rebuilds are done by geoff green and customers are not duped and are made well aware of this. We are talking race stuff and RS's here. Road or race bikes requiring top end work or work with the motor in situ is done on the ramps.
All servicing is done in house either by billy or ducati trained lads.
As for authorised, i think you will find that now with the backing from ducati manchester he is not far from being authorised.
Also worth noting, the dyno is not far from completion.

To say "bolt on" is harsh, he knows his stuff and i have no problem entrusting my full top end rebuild to him, and can confirm that the bike since i have had it back and managed over 1200 miles on has never felt so good and ran so well. Ok it may be an old crappy 916 which hardly is the latest cream of the crop, but it still requires the same eye for detail and effort spent in setting it up. The only bolt on bit was the ducati tool which detected a faulty coil when plugged into my ECU which i didnt even know about when riding it.

I think anyone thats had anything done by billy would have no problem in using him again, and was more than happy with the service he offers. Granted being a mate i would say that, and i am always at the back of the queue for work done, but having seen him work and his knowledge even if i didnt know him i would still entrust him with my bike. Besides if he was simply bolt on why is he always busy with a long waiting list for work to be booked in ?

If it wasnt for people like billy and nelly's then i bet that there would be a large chunk less of people owning ducati's. Its these guys that keep the small guys like me living the dream and offering workmanship and service that the majority of the dealers can only dream about and picking and choosing the work they take on. Infact if more people used good independants like the two above then perhaps some of the dealers would find it hard to keep going if they didnt have that little rubber stamp for the service book and people so worried about ducati's warranty.
However the way i see it, with sales figures dropping for the superbike range, it will mean alot less bikes needed the dealer stamp in the near future, and once the 3 years is up these owners may look at getting work done elsewhere as that ducati stamp is less of an issue.

[twpd]

Originally Posted by DIBBLE

A 999 is a specialist bit of kit

It's a motorcycle. Nothing special about it at all. It's not an R or a race bike. It's a road bike.

[twpd]

Originally Posted by DIBBLE

that would mean getting serviced 3 times eavery 12k rather than twice, as most Jap bikes run 4k intervals.

also IL4's are generally cheaper to maintain ....

Why is an online 4 cheaper to maintain? Rather than make a blank statement why not back it up with a bit of good reasoning or a proper explanation why?

[twpd]

Ducati servicing costs or quoted servicing costs really dick me off. This puts so many people off from owning them and is a large reason why I will never buy another new 4 valver (in addition to the fact that the 749/999 is so ugly - but that is another story).

If you shop around you can get an independent to do that job for a lot less and providing that you can demonstrate that it has been serviced in accordance with the schedule by a competent person then Ducati will have to honour the warranty under European legislation.

I service my own bikes except for doing valve clearances. The software to reset the TPS can be obtained fairly cheaply online from somewhere like California Cycleworks or from less scrupulous sources if you so wish. A set of balance gauges cost £50 - balancing the throttle is easy. A twice-a-year run on a dyno to check fuelling costs about £50. Belts I do myself at about £36/pair - it takes me about 30 minutes to do them - it's not difficult. Smae goes for oil, filter and gauze filter. We're not talking leading edge technology here.

£800+ for a routine service on a common-or-garden 999 is a joke - whichever way you look at it and whoever is doing it...no personal criticism of Nelly or anyone else intended in making this comment by the way.

People who are prepared to pay £800+ for a service are being ripped off and are not doing the rest of us any favours at all. If people are prepared to continue paying such prices then there is no incentive whatsoever to reduce those prices.

Ducati please take note.

[daniel_keenan_2004]

You can give these guys a try, i just bought a 749 dark off them, they seem ok so far, got its first service next wednesday, i will post my experiences on here after.

Italia moto/classics 01522 511851 (in lincoln)

[duc daz]

nice one dan...still shopping around at the moment ..cant make my mind up