I am still not 100% that a loose belt could cause a tooth to slip, which in turn could damage the distribution system by having a valve hit the piston, but I have a strong feeling it could be that (also based on what rockhopper said).
Right now the people who usually support me will check if the timing marks line up (trying to figure out what could have happened), and also assess the potential additional damage (e.g. piston crown).
Will keep you posted, since I will have a lot of free time available...
Can't believe we didn't see the damage when we first looked at it.Expert help needed protwin or simga are closest both are worth a call.Otherwise it's engine out box it up and send it back to Italy.
Guys, just a quick update on my situation, if you are interested:
My local Ducati people took the cylinder's head off and confirmed that there is a bent valve and a damaged piston. They also told me what caused this was a failure of the rocker and not the loose belts (also confirmed by Ducati factory prototype dept).
I called Ducati factory prototype dept. and explained to them what happened. They said: bring our baby home and we will fix her...free of charge!
Since on my bike there are components that never went into production on the 999 model, they are interested in analysing all these parts and in understanding what went wrong. By the way, they had also left a data logger on my bike (which I did not know about) and they will analyse all my ****-ups on computer now!
I then told them my next prototype will be Desmo16 and they told me to wait until 2006. We'll see...
Hmmm, interesting. Cant see it to be honest though. I couldnt make out in your pictures but someone said it was a closer that had broken. I would have thought that the helper spring would have shut the valve and the piston wouldnt have touched it. I guess the broken bit of rocker could have jammed the valve open somehow.
Anyhow, if they are going to fix it all then thats a right result!
antonye
Linear Mode
