Wanna buy » Cost of Ownership.

[Multibound]

The only time my bike ever goes to the dealer will be for valves, or serious warranty work. Other than that i will do all maintanance myself. The good thing is that you guys who just drop the bike off and say "fix it" keeps these dealers in bussiness.
Its your money.

[Tomster330]

Well, I called two Texas Dealers that sell both Aprilia and Ducati. Both service department managers said the same thing......that the Multistrada will cost roughly twice as much to maintain as the Tuono. As mentioned above, Ducati must adjust valves every 6,000 miles while maintenance on the Aprilia is every 10,000 miles and a valve adjustment is not necessarily always needed. They said to expect to pay around $750 every time I bring in the Ducati for scheduled maintenance.

I have no reason not to believe them. Not like they want to sell the Aprilia over the Duc....especially since no Tuonos will hit the States until March '04. The one technician said he has extensive race experience and favored the Multistrada over the Tuono. He said the Aprilia gets a little unstable over 100 mph.

Doesn't lookk like I can really go wrong no matter what I decide.

[Steve B 2013 1200S (Corse)]

Many dealers will tell you that desmo valve checks don't need to be done more often than 10k miles. I had the Ducati North America eastern sales manager tell me that at a Ducati rally this summer too. Ducati officially specifies 6k miles, and if the dealers can get you to bring them in every 6k, then it's that much more for them. My dealer doesn't charge for a valve check if they don't need adjusted either. I think Ducati would be doing themselves a favor if they stretched out the recommended intervals. This aspect scares away many potential buyers. My ST4 I sold this summer didn't have any valves out of spec until 20k miles.

[don pussehl]

Since there is no amount of money that will replace the fun of riding I tend to view the service costs at the dealer as the price to pay so that when He sees me coming he is ready and able to solve any problem I might have. It is like always picking up the lunch tab so somebody else pays for dinner. Support your dealer{within reason }and he will still be in business when you need his help Don

[danphoto 2004 1000 DS (Gray)]

I've heard tell of aftermarket Ti valve keepers for the Desmo engines. These keepers are supposed to be more resistant to the wear that causes the valves to drift from specs.

Anyone have any experience with these? I'd love to reduce the valve check intervals!

Dan

[Tomster330]

I talked to my dealer here in Austin and he said to expect to pay about $700 for the first 6,000 checkup. The 12,000 mile check will be closer to $1,000.

It's not that I can't afford this but it really is ludicrous to pay these outrageous maintenance fees. They'll all give you this crap about it being a Ducati and the maintenance keeps it in perfect spec and what a great heritage it has......blah, blah, blah. Then they'll say that other manufacturers are cheaper to maintain but its really because they don't do nearly as much to the bikes during maintenance and they all eventually run like crap. Nonsense.

If Honda can build an engine that will go 250,000 miles with maintenance costs of $300-$500 per year, why can't the Italians? Even Ferrarri builds cars for daily use, relative comfort, and decent reliability these days. They're still ridiculously expensive to maintain but that's because they know the owner can afford it.

I'm still leaning heavily towards this bike but it irritates me that in the 21st century companys still use 20th century manufacturing standards. You cant tell me that Ducati can't build a powerful engine that runs for hundreds of thousands of miles and is simple to maintain. Others do.

[JohnC]

If Honda can build an engine that will go 250,000 miles with maintenance costs of $300-$500 per year, why can't the Italians? Even Ferrarri builds cars for daily use, relative comfort, and decent reliability these days. They're still ridiculously expensive to maintain but that's because they know the owner can afford it.

I agree but, I still own a Multistrada. It's my second Duc, so I knew what I was getting into. Expensive maintenance, and lots of quirks. There is just something about their engine and handling feel that I haven't found in other bikes, including Aprilia's. I'm faster & quicker on my 954, but the MTS has a fun-factor that isn't there with the Honda. I'd love to have the Honda Power, sure-footedness and near zero maintenance with the Duc feel, but I've yet to find suck a bike. So, I'll continue to keep a Duc in the garage(but probably never be my ONLY bike).

[Greg]

I just had my 600 mile service. The dealer did not know that I had a free service voucher from Ducati (my bike is a 2003 model and came with service vouchers) The cost on the ticket for the service was just under $400(he took it off ) he only had to adjust one valve in the rear head. This should be a good guide line as my bike was the first one this dealer had done the 6000 mile sevice on.

[stisma 2004 1000 DS (Red)]

Interesting approach at least to say and it makes sence.
http://www.mbpducati.com/2v/index.htm

[Greg]

I have a correction the sevice I spoke of above was the 6000 mile service not the 600 mile

[Mark]

The cost on the ticket for the service was just under $400(he took it off ) he only had to adjust one valve in the rear head. This should be a good guide line as my bike was the first one this dealer had done the 6000 mile sevice on.

$400 is a good price for a normal valve check, about €370 in Europe.
That is, if nothing stange happens to your engine.... My 900SS had burned valvesteel-quides, witch result in oil-consuption, so changing them added a mere €250 tot the price...

I just bought my MTS at a local dealer, with 12.300 kilometers and it received the 10.000 valvecheck when i picked it up.

From my former Duc's (pantah and 900ss) I remember a valvecheck every 12.000 kilometers. When did this changed to 10.000?

[ian916 2004 1000 DS (Red)]

well at last we see something where the US pays more than the UK!

http://ducatisportingclub.com/control/b ... p?tid=4993
UK:
"1st service at 600 miles or 6 months,oil and filter,labour free.(Tho some dealers charge)About35quid.
2nd service,6000 miles or 1 year about 150.
3rd service,12,000 or 2 years.As yearly plus cambelts about 200 quid. "

oh a quid is a pound (slang term)

No wonder Ducatis don't sell so well in the US, - and we are talking about a US owned company - TPG.
I nearly bought an RSV Mille a while back but was put off my cost of service, very poor spares avaliabilty and service intervals. IMO Ducati's are not expensive to run, - 6000 miles interval is better than most, - belt change before that is well worth doing even if the bike is sitting doing nothing, do them every 2 years (they cost very little and if you go to the right dealer they don't take long to do). Change your oil and filters yourself every 2000 miles (ALWAYS fully synth) and always always warm your engine on tick over before riding off.

[Rocker]

Ian Please can you tell me which dealer quotes these prices as I have heard tells of higher prices being charged.
BTW I joined the Ducati Sporting Club but the first time I went on to their site to post a message I made an error which meant that my Avatar came out far too large. I corrected this but some guy was so aggressive about it I have not bothered with them again.
I am far happier on this much more friendly forum