9000 Mile service - a story

[Conman]

When I took delivery of my Multistrada 950 I commented that 9000 miles is a lot between services and asked if it would benefit from a quick look over and perhaps an oil change at half that. I was told Ducati are quite happy for it to run to 9000 miles so it's fine. Now I don't consider myself a hard rider; I've only used sport mode once, never rev. it hard and have a good deal of mechanical sympathy having built and restored bikes and cars since I was a teenager, but having run the MTS950 the distance I'm not so sure if it’s not a bit too far. I’m using it almost every day, in all weathers, for commuting and touring and it was definitely beginning to feel tired.

I have to mention we have been riding through some pretty atrocious winter weather this year, with bucket loads of salt on the road. I also ride past some major construction work all of which coat the bike in crap within minutes and given it a bit of a neglected look at times.


However even after being side swiped by some clown in an Audi, with a quick hose down on the whole the bike is still looking pretty fresh, although on closer inspection some exposed metal is looking a bit tarnished.



It’s difficult to pin down exactly in what way the bike felt tired; a bit loose, noisy, rattily, rough around the edges perhaps. Some things change so subtly you don’t really notice until you think about it. However I found the brakes feeling spongy and the lever pulling right back to the grip was obviously something in need of a closer look at. This could just be a matter of air being drawn into the brake fluid which I’m told is something some Ducatis do and is usually caught in service schedules without any drama.


Also the cable operating the exhaust damper went twang and was due to be sorted under warranty during the service. Other than that, there’s not been much to complain about over the 9000 miles; a tweak to the clutch, 200ml of oil, one chain adjustment and a recall for a water hose, that’s it.

I was given a price of £220 for the service. If it was just a yearly service it’s cheaper, around £170, but because I need a 9000 mile service and in this the air filter is changed, the price goes up. What the price includes, tax, parts, labour I don’t know and it seems it’s an estimate not a quote. Anyway I left my bike, rode off on a loaner and looked forward to picking up a rejuvenated machine in a few hours.

[Conman]

A couple of hours later I was contacted by Mark, the service centre manager. “We’re going to have to change your brake pads, they’re all worn out. All of them. You’ll get away with the disks we think but the rear one has a lot of scoring. We’ve emailed a video”. Bit of a shock! I didn’t fancy paying Ducati prices for the pads and I can fit them myself and save £100, so I asked them to finish the service and when I get home I’ll sort it. After all with only 9000 on a set they can’t be that worn even if they’re close to the limit.

A bit later, after they’d had a closer look Mark ‘phoned me back. “We just can’t let you ride out on them, there’s nothing left on one pad and three of the others are on the wear limit! I’ve sent another video” Sure enough they were shot.


So we did a deal to tag the replacements on to the service and I ended up with new pads all round. I’ve measured the disks with a Vernier calliper and they’re half way to the limit. So next time it’ll be them as well, going on for £500 for the whole lot – gulp! Let’s hope the aftermarket guys have got their act together by then.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The head bearings are notched and the cush drive and drive sprockets are also worn. I can’t see the sprocket wear so I think it’s just normal wear for the mileage, the cush drive is not excessive either apparently. However the head bearings are not good which is unreasonable at that mileage and age so a claim has gone in for a warranty replacement. I’ve yet to hear back from Ducati but they sometimes see them as consumable parts and I may be unlucky.

A final cost of over £420 for everything is a real shock for what started as a basic service and that’s after Ducati Manchester did their best to soften the blow! We don’t know why the pads are so worn, favourite theory is the grit on the roads has ground them down. They were also not moving very freely in the calliper with all the accumulated crud. I’m not so sure, I’ve had seized pads before and I could tell while riding. I’ve also seen riders quoting 6000 to 9000 miles from pads on an MTS1200. Maybe it’s what they do, we shall see.

In the end I think my initial assessment, that 9000 miles is too long between services, is partly borne out. In future I shall be giving the bike a good going over myself, probably at 3 or 4000 mile intervals. I’m thinking a quick oil change and a strip and re-grease of the callipers. I’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on brake pad wear. I’ll maybe even clean it a bit more often (I won’t).

[ZiggyCol]

Doing your sort of riding all year round I would recommend treating exposed metal parts with ACF50 which would provide some protection from the sort of tarnishing your are experiencing.
Unfortunately keeping any bike in good condition is a struggle if you year round commute.

[Conman]

Yep that seems to be the current thinking. The dealer even sells ACF50  Apparently though you have to get the bike thoroughly clean before you apply it 

[Lambert]

You don’t have to clean it yourself. Have a look at allyearbiker and see if someone is close. Do a cracking job of cleaning and applying acf50 etc.

[Dave G]

Wow Conman you must be hard on your brakes.😲 I went through only 2 sets of pads in 58k miles on my last bike.
I'm shocked to read about the difference in service costs. A service is 9k or 12 months which ever comes sooner. Therefore I would not expect to pay more if you hit 9k before 12 months !! What a joke!!

Does that mean when I get to 9k they need me to take it in for an air filter....i don't think so.
If I'm wrong can someone confirm that?

[neilb]

Knackered pads in 9000 miles on a fairly lightweight bike! I do at least 20000 on my Pan European and then there is still life left in them. I looked at my 950 pads the other day. It's just coming up to 6000 miles and the fronts are barely worn. The rear may well need changing out in a few thousand miles but I use the rear far more than the front for stability at slow speed. I would suggest you look at your riding style and try to develop a sense of acceleration whereby you are not having to make speed adjustment through your brakes. As far as I'm concerned, front brakes are for emergency use only!

Sorry to sound patronising but to be down to the metal in 9k needs addressing.

[Dave G]

I agree. Judge your speed and distance with other road users and the brakes should hardly be used.
If the discs are worn then you seriously need to learn how to ride to use engine braking and use the gears more.

[Dave G]

Conman, How long have you been riding?
The only reason why I ask is back in 2008 I took a couple of refresher lessons after being off the bike for a couple of years.
The way they teach people to ride bikes is alarming and they teach you to brake...brake...brake to stop at a junction, then select 1st and ride off. (They also do that in new car lessons too when my daughter was learning. I taught her the original way after she passed and she has never had new brakes within 30k of driving)
IMO that's totally wrong the way they teach that and you should be in the correct gear for the speed you are going so if you need to move on you can. That's not how I was taught and found it difficult to adapt to that method. The instructor also said it's best and cheaper to wear the brakes than to use engine to brake. I disagree and soon changed back to the way I was taught and advised in recent Advanced lessons.

You need to read the road ahead and you can clearly see when traffic is slowing down so ease off and don't apply the brakes as much or as hard.

I've just checked my bike history log and I only had one replacement set of pads within 58k on my old bike and not 2 changes as mentioned earlier.

[neilb]

Dave G, I totally agree with you on learners being taught to control speed with the brakes, which all has to be undone if the new rider then goes on to take an advanced course. The other big bug-bear is being trained to ride in the centre of the lane at all times. The notion of any positioning sense is just not there. I guess it makes the job of the ‘learner” instructors easier.