The_Doctor Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 Hi all, Ive just sold my nc 30 and got myself a Ducati 748 the bike had yearly services up untill 2005 and has all reciepts/stamps however in the last 4 years it hasnt had much other than an oil and filter change last year but it has only done 300 miles in those last 4 years. so here is my dilema....do i change the belts before i ride it properly? I have been told to get them changed before summer and going out on it properly by a ducati dealer and i suppose its better to do that for peace of mind and at least i know its been done and when. But is he trying to milk some more money out of me? it sucks to spend another £200+ before ive done 20 miles on the bike. Do the belts perish? obviously they will have done less than 1000 miles but they are coming on 5 years old so i guess the main reason to fail will be father time and the degredation of the rubber. How long do they last? or probably better to say how often do you guys change them? ive been told they last 2 years no mater the usage which will mean mine will be well overdue! Also would you recommend doing them myself? know my way around 2 strokes but never really done much to 4 strokes.....haynes say it is a four spanner job and you need a special ducati tensioning tool. out f my reach? prob would rather spend £200 for the dealer to do it than risk me doing it wrong and doing £££,s of engine damage..... Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernster Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 Give me Ducati mate a ring, he's an ex JR mechanic and own's his own bike shop. He'll give you the low down on the belt change and do it (with a warranty) cheaper than most but better than most too. Plus he'll tell you The Truth, he's a g0d of the Ducati world. If your in Nott's it's not too far away, I commute up that way nearly every day 01827261866 - Bike Tech Motorcycles. If you book it in, he won't have a problem with you leaving it there a few days so you don't have to rush around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IforB Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 It's usually 12,000 miles or 2 years, whichever comes sooner. If they haven't been done in 4 years, then they are due. You can change them yourself, but you do need to tension them properly, You can knock something up, but as the belts are rather important, I'm happier to leave them to someone who knows what they are doing. Everything else I do myself on my 748, it's not the hardest machine to work on, but there are things you need to keep an eye on, such as flakes of chrome in the oil (which usually spells problems with the cam followers.) So, spank the £200. It's not worth risking it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjr999r Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 If it hasnt been touched for four years,the belts would be the very first thing i would do and an oil/filter change,ive had 3 dukes,i never did very many miles(too much work) so with peace in mind i changed mine every year...dukes are fantastic motorbikes,they like attention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fran9r Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Change the belts asap - unless they have been stored with the tension taken off them they will have taken a permemenatn bend where they have sat round the pulleys and tension rollers and this will cause uneven loading on the bearings if you run the engine. Changing the belts isn't a particularly difficult job - just make sure that the marks on the pulleys line up with the marks on the crankcases and heads and be aware that when they are all lined up the rear cam is under load and will kick back by at least one tooth. So when you fit the rear cylinde rbelt you need to either use a holding tool to pull the cam round to the correct position and then fit the belt or take the misalignment into account and wind the crank and other cam back one tooth. Tensioning the belts is the, potentially, tricky bit. The tension sets the timing and needs to take into account the changes in belt tension due to heat. There are only two ways to set the belt tension correctly - use the sprung belt tension tool that clips over the belt between the two cam pulleys on each head (but the ducati tool - which is a rebadged and slightly tweaked general motor factors belt tension tool - is about £250+) or use the harmonic frequency method with a guitar tuner that is capable of displaying Hz rather than notes. You are looking for 110Hz when the belt is plucked like a guitar string. You cannot use the spring balance method that is used on the 2V ducati engines and you definitely cannot use the old 'belt twist' method - 4v ducati belts are, when tensioned correctly, a lot tighter than people normally expect when the engine is cold. Also, CHECK THE ROCKER CHROMING. Fanny-tastic stuff. So can desmos be played in a band then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonkeyJim Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Fanny-tastic stuff. So can desmos be played in a band then? Only if they are rockers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted January 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 hmmmm thought that would be the case but was holding out for one of you to come along and tell me they last forever and its a conspiricy of ducati to get more money out of me lol on a side note shall we set up a pb ducati band! may be limited on song choice but ive always wanted to be in a band!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobert23 Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 If you do decide to do the belts yourself, then it's worthwhile joining up with one of the clubs. Some (not all) have access to all the Ducati service tools and will be willing to lend you the thigns you need, assuming that you've paid your fees, of course. I've bought the Facom tensioner tool, which was considerably cheaper than the Ducati service item. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkati Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 hmmmm thought that would be the case but was holding out for one of you to come along and tell me they last forever and its a conspiricy of ducati to get more money out of me lol on a side note shall we set up a pb ducati band! may be limited on song choice but ive always wanted to be in a band!!!!!!!!!!!! after removing the dubious self made silencing, i do believe i can get a fiendish low B resonation out of the 996.... 12,000 miles if you use the bike regular like, and half that if you lay it up for ages. Like you wouldn't use old tyres* decent synthetic oil - 15/50 -see thread on 916/996 special in readers bikes section. *um,er,um.....do as i say, not as i do.** ** 12 year old 207gps used and abused at anglesey and beyond, year before last! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=JK=- Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Belts need doing every 12k or two years, whichever comes first. take it along to a decent Ducati-savvy independant if you want to save a few squid. Sounds like you already have a good recommendation near Notts. riding your bike without replacing the belts first is akin to mechanical russian-roulette. "Hello Mr Piston, my name is Mr Valve. Enchanted to meet you in person. please allow me to quickly introduce my identical brothers". Four valves per piston = Quite a party = FAIL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted January 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Thanks for the replies everyone, looks like I shall be booking it in then after pay day...the closest ducati dealer to me is Italia moto in Lincoln, anyone heard any stories about them? Good or bad.... When I went in last he said to bring it in before the end of feb as they have a reduced labour rate... Anything else I shoud know before setting off on the road of ducati ownership? One thing I have found odd since getting it is that it didn't have a main air filter in it, it had the two side ones but the last owner had tken the main one out, I asume due to the fact he was using those inlet trumpet things, velosity stacks??? Excuse my lack of knowledge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2moto Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 If you're in Notts (or even if you're not) you want to try Cornerspeed in Mansfield. They are a fully authorised Ducati Service Centre. Highly recommended and well known in the Ducati circles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted January 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Er, there is no main air filter that you speak of. The two panel filters, one in each air tube are the oem or oem type. Hmmm so it should only have those 2 then? It came with a large oval jhp air filter and I assumed it was suposed to go in the space undar the tank, its not in there yet but had a look around and in the haynes manual, I was supprised it didn't mention it more but there is one reference to a filter under The tank, . I have so much to learn about these bikes maybe I've bitten.off more than I can chew having this as a first big bike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2moto Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Lots of people fitted the under tank filter like the JHP one. There are (were) lots of other makes as well. This was done mainly for better filtration, but at the expense of performance. This trade-off was well documented over the years. The OE filters in the air tubes are best for performance. The fuel filter is inside the fuel tank, IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted January 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 The JHP filter that fits over the inlet trumpets in the air box is an aftermarket performance air filter - it replaces the oem ones in the air tubes. Could it be that the filter under the tank mentioned in the manual is the fuel filter? Thanks Mille, I think I should check if the other filters are still in before I go out on it as in the pile of spares I got were also a pair of the small filters.....im hoping that they are a spare pair and there are some in there but im not hopefull.... have you used a jhp filter or similar or am i better off with just using the two air tube ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsprocket Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 Thanks for the replies everyone, looks like I shall be booking it in then after pay day...the closest ducati dealer to me is Italia moto in Lincoln, anyone heard any stories about them? Good or bad.... When I went in last he said to bring it in before the end of feb as they have a reduced labour rate... Anything else I shoud know before setting off on the road of ducati ownership? One thing I have found odd since getting it is that it didn't have a main air filter in it, it had the two side ones but the last owner had tken the main one out, I asume due to the fact he was using those inlet trumpet things, velosity stacks??? Excuse my lack of knowledge! Hi, Moto italia are fine, but Ducati Dealer prices........ I have used for my 996 and 944 SP GP Motorcycles in Grantham. Pete is a gent and knows a thing or two about Dukes. He is also a very well priced Independent. (01476 569880) Enjoy the bike!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobert23 Posted January 14, 2010 Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 <snip> John Hackett (JHP = John Hackett Performance) is probably the UK's No1 ducati expert and if he said his design of filter was better than oem I trusted his opinion. There's a mountain of information, opinion and otherwise on Ducati airfilters... So I'll not go there. Talking of JHP though, my top tip would be to buy one of their own design clutch slave cylinders. Brilliant piece of kit (and greatly reduces the effort required at the bar). G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted January 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 Gulp ..........Just got paid so thought i would get some quotes..... First one......£500 just to change the belts and check valve clearances! he also said that it would be likely that i would need rocker arms too! so i would imagine it will be the best part of a grand in the end. anyone want to buy a 748? last owner did 10 miles on it..... Going to get some more quotes tomorrow but i cant see it being that much less anywhere else....the barsteward said it would be around £200 when i went in last time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=JK=- Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 Try a quote from a Ducati "independant", or a bike mechanic who is familiar with working on them. Mine snotted its lower gasket on the upright cylinder, and my local Ducati-familiar bike shop did the repair & a belt & full service for £350 incl. vat. Rockers can be expensive, but there can also be ways around. Take a look at ducatisti.co.uk & search on "rockers". Hang in there......get your bike right & you won't regret it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=JK=- Posted January 25, 2010 Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 double post, ffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted January 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2010 my local Ducati-familiar bike shop did the repair & a belt & full service for £350 incl. vat. That's more managable! Yeah going to get some more quotes tomorrow, tried the other two shops mentioned in the thread tonight but both were shut. its going to be worth hunting around for the right place even if its pretty far away as i can always trailer it there if needs be. Got to get it done soon though, sick of it just being an expensive ornament! I do love just standing back and looking at it though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 Good news! woo! just picked my bike up from a service, took it to GP motorcycles in Grantham on redsproket's advice, he was great, got the belts and fluids done for £240! less than half what the main dealers were quoting, only hassle was taking it there and getting it back.... on the way there set off in nice sunshine and arrived 10 miles away to an inch of snow! lots of 5p/50p moments but made it there ok on the way back thought i would open it up on the A1 seeing as i have the peice of mind that the engine isnt going to eat itself and my visor ripped of my helmet taking the side pods and gubins with it, oh well needed a new one anyway, it was blue and didnt go with the bike! rest of the journey was a lot of streaming eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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