Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > 749, really just doesn't quite run right.

[weeksyracing]

Been firing up the 749.

It's a tricky tricky bugger to start. Try any fast idle or touch the throttle and it dies instantly.

Read a thread on starting them and states "don't use fast idle until it starts".

Literally i have to wait until it's ALMOST there just fractionally before it's ready to die and touch the idle on a tad.

Once started it will not really tickover until over 50 deg on the display. When you rev it, it doesn't exactly sound crisp and nice, over about 4000rpm it seems a little better. But also can just cut out when revved and then allowing the rpm to drop completely.

Bike is running a cored set of cans and Akra ECU. Debating swapping the ECU out for standard just to see... Any thoughts ?

Both headers seem good and system is blowing warm from both exhaust outlets.

Sadly due to having a bent gear lever i can't take it for a test ride.

Thoughts appreciated

[weeksyracing]

Well blow me..... did more checking and it's running only on 1 cylinder. The front cylinder and exhuast are stone cold even when the rear is red hot.

[antonye]

I was going to say that this is sometimes a TPS problem, but you've found it's obviously an issue with the front cylinder - could be somewhere along the spark (coil / lead / plug) but it's also a common problem with the 5.9M ECU as well.

As you've got a spare ECU I would say swap it over and see if it runs with that first, as it's a nice easy way to check.

[weeksyracing]

Well swapped teh coil sticks over and still exactly the same symptoms. Front cylinder ice cold, rear cylinder hot. So, basically it's not the coils, so looking either the spark plug or the wiring from coil connector up to the loom. Obviously the simplest place to start on this is the spark plug so...



What size/config is the spark plug spanner i need ? Same as a 916 ?

[weeksyracing]

Got a plug spanner from a mate, fits the plug... but no good on the hole etc... I assume it's a little too fat.



So i'm kinda stuck until i hear back from Skids who'll have one.

[antonye]

Yes, common problem - the walls of the plugs spanner are too thick so you need a thin-walled box-spanner type. Usually one in the toolkit...