Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > service time

[rockhopper]

That is a good option.

[duc daz]

had u2u of a mate about bike tec in tamworth where i live has any one else used them????

[moto748]

Well if people are chipping in with servicing recommndations, then I ought to include louigimoto, near Bristol, who does a superb job of keeping my bike (and quite a few other DSC members bikes too, most of them much tidier than mine ) on the road and in fine fettle.

And I'll give my two-penn'orth again on this shims business.

1. Shims shouldn't need changing often. If they do, it indicates some other problem with your bike.

2. It shouldn't be necessary to check then every five minutes. Many mechanics just do a compression test initially, and leave it at that if the results are within spec. If they appear a bit dodgy, the shimming is checked. There's nothing wrong with this approach.

3. On my last two Ducatis I've done (thus far) about 95,000 miles. That's ninety-five thousand! In that times, shims have checked 4 times (I think), twice on each bike. Of those four times, shims were actually changed only once.

4. The labour time spent checking shims that were only looked at a few thousand miles previously could be better spent on things that aren't part of the official service schedule, but still are well worth doing, such as stripping and thoroughly cleaning brake calipers, doing the same to clutches, and so on.

[Martinp]

Originally Posted by duc daz

had u2u of a mate about bike tec in tamworth where i live has any one else used them????

U2U sent.

[TopiToo]

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

[doogalman]

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.

[bolds]

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.

[martins]

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?

[moto748]

Originally Posted by bolds

Just a few points to raise

To carry out a 2 year/12000m service on a 999 takes 9 hours according to schedule

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".