Engine problems,

[Suba Dunc]

Can any one help I’ve had my Multistrada for a year and have had 7000 trouble free miles and love it, until last month the engine let go and the bike is now stuck in France with Ducati reneging on the road side assistance terms by refusing point blank to return the bike to the uk. Has any one had my similar experiences with either the engine of Ducati? The bike ended up at Ducati Clermont-Ferrand and there saying it could take over 3 months to repair.

[buzzardbilly]

Suba Dunc, sorry to hear about your problem  real shame. I think the issue with Ducati assistance is that they limit the recovery on the bike in their T'c & C's  to something like 30kms - so although the bike gets recovered it will only be to a nearby dealer .  However I note on page 34 of their booklet that if the bike cannot be repaired within 36 hours (your case)  then Ducati will organise the recovery of the bike to the Ducati Service Centre  nearest the owner's residence (with a limit of 1800 euros) . So on face value it looks like you should be pushing Ducati harder on that clause

[Suba Dunc]

My thoughts exactly when I presented this to Ducati France and Italy, the response was no and they will not engage I even copied the page quoting the manual part number the answer was still no unfortunately it appears to be It’s not worth the paper it’s printed on. Thanks for looking much appreciated

[buzzardbilly]

Might be worth getting some legal advice if you have any sort of cover for that under your bike or house insurance - alternatively advise Ducati that you intend to send a request for advice into the legal advice page of Ride magazine  - might frighten them a bit if they think your case will get some wider awareness. From what Ii have heard from others the BMW global support in cases like this is super - and that is what they have built their reputation on (the bikes still have problems but the problems get sorted so they immediately turn a negative experience into a positive one). Just out of interest for me , and others on the Forum, what was the nature of the failure on your Multi ?

[BrownTrousers]

Sorry to hear about these problems, sounds like a nightmare.

I agree with previous posters, the wording of the recovery is clear and it should be helping you; it appears to be a breach of contract and I would be sending a formal "letter before action" .
As suggested, making some noise in the media (social or otherwise) also seems to be a good way to accelerate things these days.

I'm about to leave on an overseas trip myself so also wondering what the underlying problem is?

[Suba Dunc]

Thanks agreed, finding some to the send the letter is a interesting quandary I’ll have a ponder and let you know currently all roads point to Italy. The engine issue manifested intially presenting with an oil leak on the lower right hand side and the oil quantity had dropped from mid way to a hairs breath above minimum the sound sounded like a “hydraulic tappets” before they fill up not that loud but very metal on metal the oil loss was over 400km I can’t get any sense out of Ducati Claremont Ferrand.

[Conman]

Any Ducati dealer should be able to cover the warranty repair on the bike. I'm assuming that the bike is still within warranty. So there should be no problem in getting the bike repaired in Claremont Ferrand at the very least. Then it's a case of you either get a cheap flight out and ride it back, or they repatriate as per the term of the cover.

I never trusted Ducati's assistance scheme that's why I got recovery included in my insurance. It's not exactly straightforward to get Ducati to cover simple warranty claims never mind more complicated overseas issues 

[Suba Dunc]

Very true, unfortunately its at the bottom of the list in Claremont and could take in excess of 3 months as there “behind” not the answer I wanted on a year old bike with rest of the summer in front to go. This dealer has taken 6 months plus for similar repairs on uk bikes the internet is a great thing some times there’s no hiding! Sent more emails and registered letters today waiting on a replys now. Local dealers been great but there reach back into Ducati is limited.

[Conman]

If all else fails get a van and drive down and pick it up yourself but that's a long trek and quite costly. Have you tried emailing Ducati customer service direct? Reports say they're quite helpful.

[Suba Dunc]

The best quote I’ve had is £607 door to door not bad for over 700 miles with tolls and a channel crossing. I have spoken to Ducati in Italy on numerous occasions  and you’re right there very helpfull as always there is an however and it is there lack of ownership with no action taken either way if they where in the UK they would have a court date by now. I have to stress the UK side of Ducati and my local dealer have been really supportive the blocker is Italy they seem to have it stitched up. When I’ve got some good news I’ll post it!