The Ducati Dealer Experience

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wi_dennis

New member
So I'm 612 miles into my Ducati experience. Time to go purchase oil and filter for my first service. In doing so I find that I need to express my apprehension about the Ducati dealer network and get some opinions from the
Ducatisti at large.

Seems to me that the large majority of Ducati owners rely on the dealer for service. It's just accepted that each service will be expensive. I deal with two different dealerships and both claim to do all sorts of interesting things at the first service. Speaking with them one would think that the Ducati factory is the most inept organization on the planet.

They check the timing belts which are seemingly ALWAYS out of spec after 600 miles. They do a gas analysis and set the CO because that's never right. They go top to bottom on the bike and charge outrageous amounts of money for the service. But hey, it's a Ducati, it's expensive.

Meanwhile, the service manual on the new superbikes says change the oil and check the fastners. That's about it. So where is the disconnect here? Are the dealers right and the factory totally sucks? Or are the dealers trying to make a quick buck off the past reputation of Ducati?

I really want to know, because if the factory sucks, I may be inclined to spend some money getting things properly set up. I installed the Termi slip-on kit myself and the bike runs like a top. So I'm inclined to go with the factory being awesome and the dealerships being con artists.

I just purchased oil and filter for my 600 mile service. It cost me $95 because the dealer only uses Silkolene synthetic. They seem to get you coming and going. And when I ask questions about self service I get very vague answers. One service manager asked if I reset the TPS after installing the Termi's because "I would ruin the engine" if I didn't. Today when I asked if the CO levels were usually off after the Termi kit, at another dealership, I never did get an answer beyond, "yes they are off." Apparently different on every bike.

It all seems a bit fishy to me. I wish I could get some straight answers. But even the forums seem to be filled with folks who prefer not doing their own service. I've gotten a lot of answers online. But many go unanswered too.

Bottom line, the dealers make me nervous and I'm not liking it. How do others feel?


P.S. No more $100 oil changes for me thank you. Wonder how much an oil change costs when the dealer does the labor too.
 
See, that's what I mean. How can you say, "they sound pretty good to me?" I don't think either are particularly horrible or anything. I don't mean to be slandering them. In the world of Ducati they probably are good.

But why would they need to go over a bike in the manner they state when the official service manual, from the factory, clearly states it's not necessary. And I never get the "why" from them. I'm simply supposed to accept what they say as gospel.

Why are the belts out of spec from the factory? How do they get that way? You're telling me that a kevlar belt stretches in the first 600 miles? It's not tensioned properly on the assembly line? What?

You're telling me that an exhaust "kit" developed specifically for my bike, by Ducati engineers, with an ECU (fuel and timing maps) is off most of the time? That the service manager at a dealership and the techs in the back know better than the factory? Because that's what the dealerships are saying. That they know better than the factory. They have to tweak fuel trim and balance the cylinders? The bike is brand freakin new!

I don't buy it.
 
No and your right. I searched a link on google one day that a guy called a lot of different dealers and asked how much the first service is. They all had different prices and were all expensive. So the guy wrote an email to Ducati and told them. And they wrote him back saying its all crap and that it doesn't need all that stuff done. Oh and I forgot to say all the dealer ships said different things they would have to do on the first service. Search it on google. It was in a mag or something. Any ways the bottom line is no that stuff don't have to be done but, I would like to know that my bike is 100% so I have no problem having them do that for 400 bucks. With the pipes...yes I would get it tuned because of different climates and elevations could greatly effect the way your bike runs and could possibly damage toe engine if something was out of wack. But if you want to do your own maintenance I would go ahead if I were you. Just make sure you get the big shit done like when the valves have to be done and things like that at the dealership. And I would post a link to that page I was reading but I'm at work on my black berry and don't want to waste all that sleeping time searching for it. If you can't find it maybe ill look in the morning when I get home.
 
You know what, now I'm pissed off! This article was written over a year ago. The dealerships are still dicking around. I've saved the PDF and will be throwing it in the dealer's face at my valve adjustment services.
 
Cecil, I had my 848 in the shop today and the mechanic, a pretty straight shooting guy who also works on race bikes for a well known team, told me that Ducatis are "thrown together at the factory and shipped out." He also told me that many mods and dollars would be put into my bike to make it reach full potential... He blamed emissions a bit for the bad factory setup and also mentioned that some parts of the bike were simply products of bad design - specifically the throttle bodies. It's disheartening to hear comments like these. I enjoy perceiving my 848 as a work of art and the embodiment of GOOD design created by a company of distinguished heritage. And so, I will spend the money, install the mods, keep my bike out of the shop whenever possible and continue to think highly of my little red masterpiece.

-j
 
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