Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > On my Soapbox

[posidenuk]

On my Soap box.
I’m just getting to the end of my first 12 months of owning a 749S.
This has been my first Ducati and the bike has been excellent to own and ride.
However I am now seriously ****ed off.
Last April the bike went in for its first 600 mile service. No Problems there.
It has since only clocked up another 1600 miles (poor summer, no time to play etc.)
My Dealer now tells me it’s due it’s 12 month / 6000 mile service and that will £420 please.
Why does a bike that has only covered 2200 miles need a 6000 mile service?
My last Japanese bike got serviced at 1000 miles and the dealer said
“see you when you get 6K on the clock” which happened to be 16 months later.
If I follow the warranty requirements, the bike will have been to the dealers three times in two years regardless of how many miles its done and I will have paid about £1000 for the privilege. It doesn’t help when a run to the dealers is a 200 mile round trip.
Has Ducati got so little faith in their products that they need to look at it every 12 months or are we just getting ripped off (sorry should that read “enjoying the ownership of a prestige Icon.”
Anyway Mr Ducati I really do think my next bike will be Japanese one.
What are your thoughs on this and Thanks for listening.

[Steve M]

I though all bikes including the Jap ones had to be serviced by miles or every 12 months whichever is sooner to keep the warranty?

But I don't see why you had to have a 6000 mile (major) service with only 2200 done, - I think this needs to be questioned. What does it say in your service book?

[antonye]

It's not the mileage but the time that causes damage.

A Ducati uses cam belts. The route of the cam belts is quite tight, and leaving the belts in this position for any amount of time, which a low mileage bike will, means that they can stretch around the tight pulleys.

A stretched cam belt means it can jump off the pulley ... and that usually results in a bill for a new engine!

Although the cam belts are not changed in the 6K mile service, you would be surprised at the amount of work (read: time) which goes into a 6K service as it includes a valve check and replacement of the fuel filter - both jobs are a right pain and take ages. It's not so much the cost of the parts but the labour that's the killer.

The one thing you need to remember when buying a Ducati is that it was built to be ridden and not to be sat in a shed for 9 months of the year. It's also not a Japanese motorcycle which is built to cost with plenty of safety margins (read: compromise) in their engines so they last a lot longer.

The Ducati twin is also a very different motorcycle engine to your average UJM and thus it requires specialist knowledge and usually Ducati run courses before a mechanic will be competant to work on them - again this is where the money goes. Just think of it as the difference between a cook and a chef!

[Loz]

I sympathise a little, especially if you weren't aware of the servicing requirements of your new bike at the time you bought it. There again, didn't you know what to expect? Ducatis are not Japanese bikes and cannot be thought of as such. The rules are different.
My 999S is twelve months old now - by chance, it's covered the 6K miles as well, but I knew when I bought it that it has different requirements to the rank and file.
I suppose the answer is to find out what you are in for before you pay your cash. The fact that a Ducati's total cost of ownership is, at least in the first few years, likely to be more than an equivalent Kwack or a Suz is something I accept as the cost of owning something special.

Now, had my Dukes proved proved to be unreliable - that's a different matter. But I'm happy to pay the extra to keep them reliable, cos I knew the score right at the start.

[Rushjob]

The service schedule is there for a reason.
You will note that it is both mileage & time dependant.
That is because some items degrade with a lack of use as well as a lot of use.
If you had seen the state of a set of belts that had only done 2000 miles in 2 years, you would have been happy to pay for the service which found them rather than wait until it had 6000 miles on it ( not that they would have lasted that long. )

[beancounter]

Rule number 1 : Ducatis are expensive ! (to service as well as to buy).

Rule number 2 : it seems even more expensive if you don't use them very much.

So : ride plenty, enjoy, don't worry about the cost(s).

If unable to do so : buy UJM.

[electricsheep]

Both my R1's and my CBR600FS were on both a time and distance service schedule. Of course the servies were alot cheaper.

[antonye]

This, of course, is the other thing that happens on the service - the mechanic will spot a set of belts which are about to snap through degrading over time and advise you to get them replaced. If you don't have the service done these things won't get spotted and you could end up with a nasty bill.

Everyone seems to ignore servicing when buying UJM but if you do the comparison you'll realise that it's not that much more expensive and sometimes cheaper!

[guest1]

[soapbox]
Get a copy of Ride (I think?) and check out the service cost comparisons.
In the first instance, who said it was going to be cheap?. Whoever it was take 'em to the civil courts and sue 'em.
Now check out the Aprilia service costs, slightly more than Ducati as I remember...but you ain't got an Aprilia.

Sympathy is a wasted emotion.
There's a saying "If you can't do the time, then don't do the crime". Well good news, there's one for Dukes as well, "If you can't pay the bills, then don't take the thrills"

did you really go into buying a Duke so blinded by the hype and glitzey half clad girlies on their little seats with tight.......sorry, off topic.

Anyhow, it ain't cheap, so get rid and buy a come day go day rice burner[/soapbox]
oops, sorry, stressful workday=ranting post

Bask in the glory that is riding a Duke

[BDG]

Well said Antoney, Beancounter & guest1

Best get out and ride the things.

I've owned loads of UJM's and even dare i say it in a quiet whisper (a couple of BM's, just for work of course!).

I would much rather keep the money in my own pocket but accept the extra servicing costs to ride something that is far more satsifying to ride than a UJM for me.