Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > My bike is eating its Cambelt

[ben998]

Got home last night and took the fairings off ready to install the side stand modification so that bike will run with the stand down, and noticed some odd looking material sticking out of the cambelt cover.. uh oh..

Removed the horizontal and smaller cambelt cover to the left, and found lots of bits of rubber and strands of twine looking stuff - presumably kevlar from the belt. The horizontal belt is fine ( apart from where the material has got caught in the cog and rubbed and melted the inside fo the cover) but the vertical belt is missing between one third and one half of its thickness...

Phoned the dealer and they said get it to them using Ducati Assist. Ok, fair enough. Phoned Ducati Assist and they said they would only take it to the local dealer and not the supplying dealer (even though its booked in for work there). Phoned Ducati UK and explained the situation and they authorised the transportation of the bike to the supplying dealer (about 90 miles away). Ducati Assist (The AA) are having none of it and say its a fixed contract and there is no way for them to cross charge the extra of transporting the bike to the supplying dealer (who also got involved with Ducati Assist but couldn't get anything resolved).
At the moment Im left with taking the bike to the dealer in a hire van (Ducati UK will pay for it if I get a receipt) but its not an ideal resolution...

[Mark]

Sounds like a good old bound over by a contract.

But good on Ducati and their dealers in trying to resolve the situation, and even pay for the cost of hiring a vehicle.

Just a question tho, why don't you want the local dealer to carry out the repairs, and only supplying dealer?

[dickieducati]

i had the same problem when my bike needed to go back to ducati ashford to get the fueling sorted and also a new panel. ducati assist (a.k.a the AA) said they would only take it to the nearest dealer, not alot of use as ducati ashofrd knew the probelm and had the panel! anyway to cut a long story short (too late) after much toing and froing they did relent and took the bike where i wanted it. i would not take no for an answer and just keep at them untill they take it where you want

[ben998]

The bike is going back to the suppling dealer for its first major service (6000miles or 1 year) and fitting the single seat and exhausts (all sorted out in the deal) so it really has to go back there. I'm really impressed with them (Ducati Ashford) as well, they have been really helpful in trying to resolve this matter and when I purchased the bike they spent ages answering questions and showing me round their workshop and a bike they were working on at the time.
The local dealers is down to one mechanic and couldn't do it this week. Im going on holiday on Monday and needed to get the bike to Ducati Ashford before then. If the local dealers could have fixed the problem before Saturday I'd have let them do it, then ridden the bike down to Ashford and left it with them for the service and other bits.
cheers,
Ben

[Felix]

Would the additional charge from AA to take it to your preferred dealer not be about the same as hiring a van, maybe even less? And therefore, would Ducati not be willling to pay for that additional charge instead?

[ben998]

Apparently the AA do not have anyway of cross charging the cost to Ducati UK. Everytime Ducati Ashford or Ducati UK speak to the AA they get someone else in a different call centre on the line who doesn't know whats happening. Makes you wonder how such a National Organisation survives.

Ive hired the van for Saturday.. looks like a slightly slower trip down to Ashford for me.

[Felix]

I guess I meant that you'd pay the AA for the extra and then get reimbursed by Ducati. Sounds like you're sorted, though.