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Forum index -   Wanna buy: The Desmo Decision
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wcs
MTS: Not specified

   

Joined: 11 Jan 2005
Posts: 2
Location: Georgia

PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 2:50 pm Reply with quote

Hello all, my name is alex, and i have for sometime been addicted to the strada. My biggest issues with Ducati, as with most italian machines, is the maintenance.
I always have and always will perform my own up keep to a somewhat obsessive degree. a buddy of mine with an st4 was chatting with his mechanic, and in an effort to turn me over to the desmo side, asked him what he thought of the two valve maintenance. (as far as adjusting the valves) the mechanic said it was a no brainer, and i was hoping someone here could second that for me. ive read several articles on how to perform the operation, and understand the issues with negative tolerances and what not, but is this really that simple as long as you take your time and measure your shims and clearances properly?

I am a year round rider as i do not own a car, and dont intend to for quite some time. currently my stable includes a triumph thruxton and a ninja 250, which desperately needs to be retired. on average, ill run well over 1500 miles per month, and often over 2000. is the multistrada a good decision for someone who does not want to spend money on anything except tires and oil(and cool accessories)?

thanks!
-alex-
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Jantah
Site Admin
MTS: 2003 1000 DS (Red)

   

Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 763
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:21 pm Reply with quote

wcs wrote:
... is this really that simple as long as you take your time and measure your shims and clearances properly?...

I think it is, though I've never done this myself. On my old 2 valve Duc you need to remove the camshaft in order to access all shims. On the 1000DS engine, just remove the valve covers, pull a metal clip off the opening rocker shaft and slide the rocker to the side. This will give full access to everything you need.

Things to look out for:
- Removing the tank will probably take a lot of time the first time.
- Be carefull to mount the 2 "C" shaped locking clips on the valve stem for the closing rocker the same direction they came off, because they only wear at one side.
- Especially the valves of the rear cilinder will have a habit of falling back into the cilinder. My dealer adapted an old spark plug to accept a hose to a compressor. Putting 8 bar into the cilinder will hold the valves into place Smile.
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doctor_john
MTS: Not specified

   

Joined: 07 Jan 2005
Posts: 151
Location: Hellas / Athens

PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 4:38 pm Reply with quote

ok i 've never had to maintenance a multi!

but just tires and oil?

in my opinion 2 valve twins have an easier (cheaper) and understundable maintenance...
That doesn't means "just tires and oil", ofcource they have a lot of "small thinks" that need the experience of a pro! NOT that is a bad think to know how your motorcycle works for the fun of understanding experience or for a bad moment on a trip...

I 'm in love with the simpliest and more enthusiastic motorcycles, but i can't see myself trying to perform full service rutine on them!
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lotus54
Moderator
MTS: 2005 1000S DS (Red)

   

Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 4884
Location: Port Angeles, WA USA

PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 6:21 pm Reply with quote

I've done a things on the Pantah based engines from valve adjust to a complete tear-down.
They are pretty easy to work on in general.
The valves on everything newer than about 1990 are quite easy for the 2-valve engine. Like mentioned, there are a few things to watch for.
The biggest hassle is having the correct shim. If you live near a dealer that is no problem. If you have access to a valve grinder- still not a huge deal.
From my experience (especially in the water cooled bikes) is that once the valves 'settle in' (maybe 6 to 10k miles) the valves stay pretty much in spec for fairly normal riding. If you are doing a lot of track days, I woudl guess more adjustmen may be necassary.

So you could have the shop to the first adjustment at 6k- then just check them yourself afterward.
I have not worked on the DS engine yet, but it looks really easy to at least check the valves, and I'll bet they will stay quite good also.

I think I rememer Gary Egan saying they stay really stable on the MTS also.

Mark

wcs wrote:
Hello all, my name is alex, and i have for sometime been addicted to the strada. My biggest issues with Ducati, as with most italian machines, is the maintenance.
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wcs
MTS: Not specified

   

Joined: 11 Jan 2005
Posts: 2
Location: Georgia

PostPosted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 12:07 pm Reply with quote

awesome, thanks alot guys for the info. ive started looking things over and i think the strada will wait until the end of this year, or the beginning of next. i just picked up my thruxton and want to put some more mileage on it before i look at adding another. not to mention my dealer will give me enormous discounts as this will be my third bike bought from them in 2 years. (especially if its the end of the current model year and they need it to go....) my other was a speed four which sadly was just about to go over 12k (in 6 months, boo yah!) when the rear wheel locked up in a turn and low sided. rest in pieces baby 'speed.

and of course, if there are any of you in the north georgia area who want to go riding, duc or no duc, feel free to email me. with the winter weve been having, im trying to get out even more.

thanks all, and hope to see you while atop a strada real soon!
-alex-
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