Ducati Monster M750

I don't like the idea of fiddling with stuff under the rocker cover, as
I don't really understand what goes on under there.

Ducati dealers, however, charge silly money for the belt changes, which
seem to be as frequent as oil changes... this is where you can save big
money, if you have the bottle to do it yourself. The rest is just
'normal' bike spannering, so easy enough to sort at home.

I probably wouldn't worry too much about a dealer history on an
air-cooled bike, so long as the owner can prove that the important oil
and belt changes have been done.

4-valve motors, however, are an entirely different proposition.

 

antonye wrote

I have never owned an engine young enough to have shimmed valves but
having read other peoples BoL it seems to me that you are supposed to
check them first and then shuffle the old shims around in such a way as
to make the purchase of new ones an absolute minimum. Or have I got it
wrong?

 

Shim shuffling is also my understanding.

 

It's also (IME) rarely possible.

Anyhow, it's normally only one or two shims at 2-3 quid a pop.

Fucking pain if you have to wait for them mail order though.

 

No, they don't charge silly money. It's an hour job to do it on
the 4v bikes, probably the same or less on the 2v, and labour at
any decent Ducati trained place is less than £30 per hour ex-vat.
Even the belts themselves are relatively cheap - less than £40
from the dealer.

Besides, the 12k/2 year service includes a belt change so it's not
something you have to have done on top.

I know a lot of guys through the club who do their own servicing
and the belts as well. Some rely on the gauge you can buy to measure
tension or they borrow it FOC from the club - they're about £90
to buy iirc. You can set the tension by feel or using the 45° twist
method, but I just leave it to the service. All belts since 2000
have been kevlar reinforced so are unlikely to snap. It's more down
to them stretching due to the belt sitting in one place when the
bike is left for any period of time.

 

400 mile first check
1000 mile first service
4000ish service.


Ok, so the first one isn't really a service.

 

Yes, but what oil... ;-)

 

Eh? Not on mine, it weren't. 600km check, then 6000km first service.

 

That was for the SV and the 750, must admit I haven't checked the book
for the Thou but it has stamps for them.

 

Er again - as Ace said - certainly not on either of the two I've had.

The first service to change the oil, check nothing's fallen off etc at circa
500-600 miles, then the first proper service at 3500-4000.

The first one has been 'free' in both cases, the first 'charged' service
being the 3500/4000 one.

 

No, they don't.

Changing the belt is a doddle. Getting the tension just right, after
changing, isn't.

You need the Ducati special tool *or* the experience of having done it a
zillion times.

I've had my Duke in for belt changes only. It costs about ukp75. Two
belts at 15 quid each and an hour's labour plus VAT.

Incidentally, shimming a Duke is a bit of a black art as well. I have
done it - well, assisted in the doing of it - but I'm happy to leave
this to SWK and pay him a hundred quid for doing it, every couple of
years.

 

Yes, but that's a bloody sight cheaper than the cost of a 'basic'
serivce at a Duke dealer. I wouldn't mind paying £75 for the belt change
and do everything else myself, but official dealers and their 'menu'
pricing seem to be ripping off owners - especially owners of older
air-cooled bikes.

 

Their prices are no different from any other big 4 dealer
given the amount of work that goes into a service, be it
the small or large one.

You don't only have the choice of these two services-
you can just pay for labour by the hour you know! You
could do a minor service then pay to get the belts done,
which is exactly what TOG said but you just seem to want
to perpetuate the myth that Ducatis are more expensive
than any other bike to service.

 

With a desmo you have the extra fun of shimming the closers as well as
the openers. Piece of piss as long as your zero thou feeler gauges
haven't got kinked and you have three hands.

Dave

 

Set the gap so that you can just twiddle the shim round in your fingers,
but can't get the thinnest feeler gauge in the gap.