Interesting, i know Nelly has shown Phillipe/Peugnet how to do several things so he can do his own work on his bike, how many dealers would do that? As for contribution to the DSC club, Nelly, along with Shazaam has for many years given loads of free advice to people he's never likely to meet, in a true club spirit.

He's done an awfull lot to help people out for ****** all return at times, not your average dealer.

Why do you think people have been so vocal in putting another side to the story?

I dont like wasting money,its too hard to earn in the first place laying bricks for a living.But I do like value for my £,thats what Ive always found at Cornerspeed be it servicing or parts.Typical example,chain/sprockets for 888,price as cheap as anywhere else,but also joined it ready to fit,no extra charge.I do the easy stuff,oil change etc,leave the belts,valves,injection etc to the expert.
This isnt hero worship,its personal experience.
Ive heard people speak equally well of GTEC,wlracing etc.Its a case of speak as you find.

Ok. Since this is a “public forum”, I’ll have my say. What started out as a question about “where can I get my bike serviced” has now evolved into an, in my opinion, unwarranted personal assault from people who have only half the information available to them, rather than answering the original question.

I was asked for a quote to service a bike, which I gave, based on the info I have from Ducati UK. Regardless of your own opinions, these people do know what they are talking about.

The bike in question is still under warranty and again, whatever your opinion, there is a schedule of service required on all Ducati based on mileage or time. If only half this schedule was completed and then something went wrong, then Ducati would be within their rights to refuse the warranty claim. Period.

Yes, I agree it’s expensive. It is a maximum, but as was mentioned earlier, would you rather be quoted £400 then get a bill for £900? I doubt it.

There is over £250 within that quote for parts, oils and fluids. There’s a lot of work in the schedule, especially if shims need doing and then the VAT man takes his slice to and there’s nowt I can do about him.
Again, most of these parts and fluids are replaced, according to the schedule set out by Ducati, regardless of mileage.
Daz has asked me about the air filters. He has a set of DP items fitted to the bike and these wouldn’t need changing hence would come out of the cost.

For what it’s worth, 3000 miles may not be a lot, but I check valve clearances regardless. I’ve adjusted shims at under 2000 miles. It’s all well and good “assuming” they should be ok, but proper inspection is the only way to do it right, and that’s what I choose to do.

As far as people doing their own servicing goes, then I’m all for that. There are several that have serviced their own bike in my workshop with my tools, taking advice when needed and paid only for the parts they've used. There are quite a few that do there own shimming and use my stock of shims etc. It’s really not that difficult, you only need some feeler gauges. ;)
Despite being tarred with the “thieving money grabbing” tag, it may come as a shock to you that I’d much rather help out someone to keep their Ducati on the road than have to sell it due to not being able to keep it serviced. I spend quite a few hours on the phone each week giving advice, freely, to people working on their own bikes, including many who I’ve never done any work for or think my personal knowledge is “sh*te”. You obviously don’t know me as well as you think you do……………..

Servicing the modern Ducati, completely, is nigh impossible by the home mechanic nowadays. You cannot reset the TPS for instance or set timing belt tensions any more without the specialist diagnostic equipment that is only available to service outlets. This isn’t a ploy to screw the customers. The bikes are getting ever more complex and the equipment required to maintain them is very expensive, the cost ultimately has to be recouped. Throw in all the overheads of just opening the workshop each week, and I doubt you’d even get out of bed for the nett result. I certainly can’t afford to drive a Porsche.

Before you go in head first offering to “service” someones bike for them to, bear in mind that if you screw up, can you afford the “no win-no fee” leeches knocking at your door?

As for the question over either mine or JHP’s skills or knowledge base……………. Well at least we can both measure and adjust the shims on Ducatis.
As to which area of Ducati you think JHP is lacking in knowledge base, god only knows. Maybe you could trade him your expertise in bolting on aftermarket parts for some shimming training??

I’ve since spoken to Daz and discussed the matter with him. Whether he chooses to bring his bike to me is entirely his own choice, as it is with everyone.

Why are you interested in REAL benefits for DSC members, why are you not a DSC member yourself???:confused: :confused: :confused:

Nelly has mentioned the thing that occured to me, that you are tied to the full service regime while you are in the warranty period. If you bitch about the cost of this, what on earth are you doing buying a new bike? If you don't like the cost, service it on the cheap but don't go crying about things not going your way if a warranty claim issue arises.

After the warranty period expires, you are perhaps a little more free to shop around for cheaper service, but you are still running the risk of
a.) not having your bike properly serviced
b.) getting a bill larger than the one quoted because the quote didn't all items that may need attention during the service.

If you can do some of the work yourself, more power to your elbow, well done. However, the service criteria for Ducatis are set by Ducati, and dealers are obliged to follow them. If you're worried about greedy grasping people, address your comments to DUK, not the dealers who have to play by DUK's rules. Bear in mind though that Ducati superbikes are highly strung, highly tuned machines - with only two cylinders, competing in a world of Jap IL4's, they have to be.

I don't enjoy service time for my 999, but I bought the bike with everything that it requires to run it. It's a package. If I was worried about servicing above all else, I would have got myself an MZ or something.

For the record, I don't have money to burn, every penny counts in my household. And as for hero-worship, like most people, I gave that up when I hit adolescence. I was astonished to read a reference to it in a grown-up forum like DSC, I thought I was back on Usenet for second.

U2U sent.

Hello

respect to nelly;)


khushy like me there is a lot of work that can be done by ourselves, personally I enjoy the garage time.

One point raised by nelly,

"There are several that have serviced their own bike in my workshop with my tools, taking advice when needed and paid only for the parts they've used. There are quite a few that do there own shimming and use my stock of shims etc. It’s really not that difficult, you only need some feeler gauges."

which I though is something that not many service centers well offer and possibly missing from the DSC as a club,

I would like to see courses run by the DSC for all levels in basic/advanced maintence,

sorry can not speak for the new models as mine is a 97yr bip with a 2001yr engine.

I did attend a course a few years back in Oxford (valve clearences checking etc) and would be happy to attend again.

Some people are under warrenty, some are not, we all love the bikes
and I am sure we would all like to know more about keeping them running sweet.:)


TopiToo

topitoo, indead.
http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/sh...ad.php?t=34761
I think it's great that people like Nelly and Wilf are prepared to follow the forum and offer the technical advise that they posesses. Never spoken to either myself but i may one day.

Just a few points to raise

To carry out a 2 year/12000m service on a 999 takes 9 hours according to schedule,this is assuming you know what you are doing,and involves such things as valve shimming/belt change/fork oil change/throttle body balance-how many of us could do even those things in that time let alone all the other items listed? -I have a pdf copy of the schedule but cannot resize it to a readable size to attach it.

Base this on a £45 per hour rate (which looks like good value compared to a solicitor/dentist and possibly Khushy!) the labour content comes to over £480 inc VAT -so if you are being charged £300-400 for this type of service you are getting someone working for nothing or the job not done properly.

If your bike has covered 3000miles then maybe things like shims may be ok but would really need checking as there may be a problem and to keep the warranty valid-If you had a problem out of warranty with such a low mileage bike would you not try and seek some form of goodwill and then your incomplete service history would be of no help then.

The best thing to do for comparisons is check like for like with dealers to compare what you are getting for your money.

I also agree about who buys a bike without not checking what is going to cost to service during ownership?
Maybe when buying a new one it might be worth including the Ducati service package(like Mini TLC) at time of purchase although its no cheaper you cuold include it on bike finance or even negoiate it in with the bike deal.

Service Costs
 

Khushy is on the right line, Speaking to Ducati Service centres is a bit like call my bluff, you get 3 different stories from each dealer, It took me a number of phone calls to establish what I need to keep my warranty based on 3,000 miles on a year old bike, I just can't be arsed with it any more, I love my Duc but compared to my R1 the service and sales network offred by Ducati is a pile of S*1t, the bike was off the road for 1 month during June for new Rotors on a 2,000 mile bike, when I only use it for 8 months of the year! Yamaha parts arrive in 24 hours

I will look at a new 1098 next year, I hear Ducati are taking on board the issues re service costs with the new models coming through from September, I don't know if that will affect older models?

So we can safely kill off that old canard Ducati came out with about the 999 being "cheaper and easier to service" than the old superbikes, then?

All that translated to for me was "We've moved the battery".

i've just looked at the service receipt for my SP2.This has K@N filters,PC3 plus Harriss high rise pipes. I had a 12000 mile service done at Whitehouse M/cycles, at Swanley. The Itemised bill came to £150.15p.I bought a Ducati 996R from a person in this Club, and He had the bike MOT'D PLus a 12000 mile ducati service.That bill ( which was unitemised) came to £790.90.The mileage on the Duc was approx 3400 mles at service and the SP2 was 11,982 miles.So ,do we have two homologation specials that are so different in their construction that the servicing costs are poles apart?

What ducati garage was that?;)

Cornerspeed. Dated 11-MAY-06.

FE,how you doing?

Just finished Sunday night-shift.....
Gotta pay for these services somehow!:lol:

Are Whitehouse Motorcycles an authorised Ducati Service centre?

I don't think they are so we have no way of knowing if they serviced the bike to the official Ducati schedule.

I think he means a H**** SP2

I guess Im out of time for the popcorn??.......................................











and breath............................................ and relax people.











I thought this sort of thread only happended in the winter time??

ah, fair enough then!

not up on all this jap stuff you see.

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.:lol:

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 !!!!

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]

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.

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

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?

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.

italia classics
 

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)

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

Duc Daz... I have a 748 and an ST3. Both were bought new from a main Ducati dealer. Apart from the initial service, I have had all my work done by Rich at Louigi Moto. The prices are always much less than the main agent and I know the jobs been done right and with care.

I'm sure there are other guys on here that can speak for his high level of service and non main dealer prices. He's a down to earth guy, that will allow you to watch and even help out when your bikes being serviced, which could help you do the smaller less complicated jobs in the future.

I know of his customers travelling as far as from Kent which given he's based just outside of Bristol speaks for itself.

I appreciate he's a bit further a field but ig it helps I would be more than willing to put you up for the night so you don't have to travel back on the same day.

Why not give him a call on 0777 5557797...perhaps this would give you the best of both worlds, between the main agent and the DIY approach.

I've been using Italia for around 10 years,great bunch of lads.

Just read this thread, it was lets say, an interesting read.
My comment is only this. I nearly bought a Multistrada that was due a 6000 mile service very soon.
I rang by chance Ducati Aylesbury who quoted £540 inc vat including a belt change labour free just the belt cost of £68.
Seemed exepnsive to me for a simple 2v bike.

I wrote a long and detailed reply after reading this board a few days ago, but our new website "lost" it. So here it is in brief. HOPEFULLY!!!

Bought my ST4s new from Phil at Italia in Lincoln in June 2001 - been serviced there ever since. Never been charged twice for the same thing on the invoice - never been overcharged for the excellent work and care n attention - never been charged for work not done, and always been given free advice over the 'phone. But most important of all - my bike has never dumped me at the side of the road anywhere in 5yrs of fantastic touring all across Europe.

Now I live in Switzerland and the round trip to Lincoln is 1,500mls door to door - when I leave Lincoln I need to do so in a complete peaceful and content frame of mind as I do not want to be dumped at the side of French N road because some spanner passers monkey failed to torque a fastner correctly or forget to refit a bolt on the calipers if you get my drift.

So if you feel you're not getting value and quality from your service - change workshop - and - if you feel Ducati Ownership costs are a rip off - change Brand.

I'm not a millionaire, nor do I earn a huge salary - I'm an ordinairy type of chap whose been motorcycling for 35yrs now, and in that time I've seen enough dreadfull servicing to know when I'm getting excellent quality and great value.

It's Italia for me - (whilst they continue to maintain their high standards)