748 oil change...
 

Ok I'm gonna give the 748 a oil and filter change today.

I have a new oil filter and 2ltrs of oil left over from when I did the last oil change on the 750ss I had. Just need to know if the filter / oil grade is right for 748...

Oil filter is a Ducati part with 44440034A on it

And oil is Castrol R4 Superbike Fully Synth 10W - 50

Would these be right for a 1999 748BP with 2500 on engine?

Cheers,

Diehard

P.S. How much oil do I put in? And before I get RTFM... It ain't arrived yet...

Diehard
forstly see my question about the 748 you were offered.
You dont need fully synth in dukes, semi is enough. Check your manual for the correct type, but if you dont have it go here, and download both the workshop and owners manuals for your bike -
http://www.duc.nu/manuals/

you will need to check the filter number too, plus you'll get the correct amount of oil required from these manuals too (think it is around 3 - 4 litres).

When doing the change, make sure you remove the magnet attachment form the sump, which collects metallic particles, clean and replace it.

hope that helps

Cheers for that mate, will go downloading now...

Sent you a PM regarding the 748 I was offered to.

Personally a Ducati is one of the few bikes around that i would only ever put fully synthetic oil in.

I agree with rockhopper.

Oil capacity of a 748 BP is 3.5 litres. You probably won't get quite that much in, but that's the sort of amount you should have available. Put the bike on the paddock stand and fill it until oil fills the sight glass. Replace the oil filler cap. Start it up, and make sure the red oil light goes out straightaway (if you have one, unlike me :rolleyes: ). The oil level in the sight glass will drop. Stop the engine. Fill it up until the oil reaches the top line. Restart the engine and re-check the oil level.

And check the sump filter, as Demon says.

Agree, fully synth only and changed every 1000 miles.
Real synth as well not that fancy hydro crack marketing nonsense.

The whole reason for synth oils is longer periods between changes, and the ability to keep its stability under severe conditions....so why change your oil every 1000 miles...Doh !!

Demon, there are many many people on here with many years being Ducati 'experts'.... sadly for you... i'll listen to the ones who have "Ducati specialist" above their workshops and go with fully Synth :)

Fully synth is better suited to the harsh conditions found in the heads of Ducati's especially the rockers and cam shafts.

Plus its what Ducati specify.

Fully syth, and I change mine every 3000 miles (have a 748S, 2002 model).

Sadly for you...I happen to work for exxon mobil in the lubes division !! so i tend to know a lot more than the average joe on the street...ie you !

would that be in packaging or labelling??:D

Ray.

My sincere apologies in advance if you are the head of product development:eek:

Wots rong wiv Mazola?

So old hat. The Next Big Thing is "sunseed oil". Whatever that is!

LOL no worries Demon.... Tell me this then fella.. Why do Ducati recommend Fully synth? why do dealerships also use Fully synth ?

I'm not saying you don't know your stuff.... but i'd rather go with them.

I'm not saying you don't know your stuff.... but i'd rather go with them.[/quote]


weeksy2
Member of the over 1K posts Club! Posts: 1,504
Join Date: Nov 2005
Mood: daydreaming of a S4RS

I want to see pics of the 2 daughters


We know all about you......

:-)

Fully Synth it is then......and not made by the company that gave us the Exxon Valdiz.

Hi demon
A little logic
Longer change intervals because it degrades more slowly than non synthetic, true enough.
It still degrades all the same. New synthetic oil is better than only slightly degraded 1000 mile oil.
Exxon mobil eh! what kind of base stock are they using in Mobil 1 these days?

Let's be honest here, if you can't afford to put a bit of decent oil in your pride and joy Ducati, then you ahoulsdn't have a Duc!!

We all know how pricey they become, no good complaining about it now! It's like buying a Ferrari and then complaining about the servicing costs.

;-)

Weeksy..dont take it personally mate, but synth oils give uip to 7 times longer between oil changes on average. Do ducati recommend these oils ? check your owners book.

On another note, one which none of you have considered is the environmental one...synth is harder to dispose of, especially when you are undertaking more than the recommended intervals between changes ?

If you are doing your own changes, then I bet you are all not disposing of it properly ?

Me ..id rather spend my money with the recommended oil and spend the rest putting petrol in, and riding it.

quite clearly some of you dont understand the concept of synth oils.

Fully synth is not always 100% synth either, manufacturers are allowed to use a mineral oil, then top the rest with the synth product, this being down to SAE standards.

suggest you all do some research into them?
happy oil changes !

I understand the concept well enough to realise that clean oil is better than not.
I buy synthetic not for its longer drain interval but because it has a vastly superior film strength. And as for manufacturers using mineral base and topping up with the minimum required synth to qualify. Lets just say i'd rather buy Motul than Mobil 1

Hello

speaking from expierence I used 10w40 silkolene for a year and a half
replaced three rockers, then the engine seized, main bearings shot

replaced the engine now use Silkolene Pro 4 15w50 changed every three thousand miles, just had my 12k service no rockers.

works for me.


TopiToo

What did I start here!!!

Well might as well put in my input...

I am always the type to listen to the masses and make my own mind up on such subject depending on responses and oppinions.

In Demon's defence, he was a great help with the manual thing and the initial replay (also info on a local bike I was gonna buy), so cheers for that, also amount of posts can't go against someone... Sure the person with the most posts may have been aroung the forum longer and picked up more knowledge and expirience but hell, what heppens if the MD of Ducati's R&D dept registered themselves up? Not likley I know but stranger things have happened and I wouldn't like to question their knowledge... You never know (esp on the net) someone's backround knowledge (unless ya know them obviously).

As for the debate over oil...

I have no quarms over spending top dollar if it is recomended and I know the bike will bennefit off it as I'm sure most people on here do the same. The mineral / semi / fully question's beased on cost firstly are irrelivent in my oppinion as anyone who ownes a Duacti is not gonna skimp on price of such a vital thing.

It all comes down to personal expirience, advice and (in some cases), confidence in the product (as in I always prefer castrol for oil). I have found people swear by one product (in this case oil) as their machine (whatever they have) has never let them down, yet other's who would spit on the said product because their machine chucked a bearing or rod etc (but who's to say it wasn't a faulty bearing / rod or a prob with the machine before the product was introduced into the equation)?

Whatever is decided on in one person's mind, isn't going to guarentee a 'bomb proof' machine or one that will disintergrate 10 mile down the line... In my expirience what's gone on before hand is generally the cause of the fault (e.g. I changed the oil in a Subaru Impreza I owned to the said 'best if the best' and with-in 2 weeks the engine was gone. Reason, bad oil in the past (and riving by previous owner) and the introduction of new oil uncovered the fault... But I blamed the oil until I found this out).

But in all, nothing wrong with a healthy debate... I'm just more confused than ever at the mo... :o)

At least have I got the weight of the oil correct? Anyone?

Without getting caught up in the rights or wrongs of this debate over semi or fully synth, my own preference is to use a 15w/50 fully synth, especially in the 4V bikes. I only put Shell Ultra in the bikes I service. Motul is a long standing favourite with Ducati owners and tuners alike.
You can use a 10W/40 in 2V, but i'd only use this in road only use bikes.

My simple reason is that i've seen a few engines like Topitoo's with blown shells. Flickering oil pressure lights on trackdays are eevn more common. The pressure falls dangerously low when very hot in some cases.

Regardless of the rights or wrongs, that's my personal experience.

btw the oil filter is the correct part. Unless you're running a RS, then the filters are the same across the ranges :)

I use Shell Ultra every 3000 miles.

I compared the old oil to the new oil and the old was beat, so I am happy spending £50 every 3000 miles that equates to less than a penny a mile. Bloody cheap skates some of you.