21 v4s motor dead at 5k miles

Ducati Forum

Help Support Ducati Forum:

R

r0hx

Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Messages
39
Location
USA
I ran the bike pretty hard over 5k miles. Developed a coolant leak right at 5k miles between the V, took it to the ducati dealer and took them about 6 months and flying out a master ducati mechanic to realize the motor is going to blow "soon". Price tag for a new one is about 17k plus shipping. I think we are hitting the limit on reliability / hp.

One thing I will say the bike was undeniably the best bike ever made, maybe sometime in the future I'll decide to get another.
 

Attachments

  • 20230406_112355_IMG_1202.JPG
    20230406_112355_IMG_1202.JPG
    152.1 KB
Last edited:
Sutki said:
Sounds BS to me…
Click to expand...

This was my initial thoughts, the bike had oil changes every 1.5k miles give or take. I think it just comes down to components getting loose from racing. The bike was raced for sure a good 70% of the miles. So it's not as if the bike was used as intended. They didn't approve warranty repair on it either and I don't really want to insurance repair it either.

Never had any metal in the oil either which makes me suspicious of what the master mechanic said. He was saying it's gon a blow up soon with no answer on how or why.
 
What exactly is going to make it blow? The desmo gear? are the bores scored or warped? did the tranny get chunked? bad crank? bent rods? Gotta be a reason.
 
bp_SFV4 said:
Is it not a warranty item?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the claim was denied with no real reason, I'm shipping the bike back to me and gonna take it apart myself to see what's actually wrong with it outside of the coolant system failure.
 
DCPanni said:
What exactly is going to make it blow? The desmo gear? are the bores scored or warped? did the tranny get chunked? bad crank? bent rods? Gotta be a reason.
Click to expand...

Apparently the master mech can use sonar from inside his ears to hear it before it blows. I'll have a real answer this weekend. Watch it's literally just needing valve lash or something stupid like that.
 
If coolant wasn't in the heads then oil likely made it into the radiator which means it will blow a head gasket soon and the heads are warped. That's my guess on the reason.
 
roadracerx said:
If coolant wasn't in the heads then oil likely made it into the radiator which means it will blow a head gasket soon and the heads are warped. That's my guess on the reason.
Click to expand...

That's a good guess the bike was seemingly running strong the day I dropped it off
 
did they change the water pump? When the pump seal goes bad, it blows coolant from the vent in the V.
 
roadracerx said:
If coolant wasn't in the heads then oil likely made it into the radiator which means it will blow a head gasket soon and the heads are warped. That's my guess on the reason.
Click to expand...

Do warped heads warrant a full heart transplant though? I assume that's what the $17k price tag represents.
 
Bring it home and do a leak down. Put a stethoscope on the motor and listen to it a various spots. If you're not sure what amount of clanking and banging is normal listen to a buddies and compare. Sounds like ......... You can buy a lot of parts for 17K.
 
r0hx said:
That's a good guess the bike was seemingly running strong the day I dropped it off
Click to expand...

You have options. My bike grenaded a motor (spun a bearing and keyholed the case) last year at ~5k miles (mostly track). We replaced it with a used 1k mile motor and it’s running well so far.

Also, I talked to Mark Sutton at DucShop (we’ll reputed Ducati engine builder). He said 5k track miles is a reasonable lifespan for one of these motors, and he wouldn’t expect them to last much longer even if built. He also said that now that the bikes have been available for a few years and have had time to accumulate 5k miles of track use, we might start seeing more failures.

Put a good used motor in the bike and keep riding it. Alternatively, if the heads warped, you might be able to have the heads and case decked and keep using the motor.
 
aque0us said:
did they change the water pump? When the pump seal goes bad, it blows coolant from the vent in the V.
Click to expand...

They did until a master ducati mechanic came down and told them to remove everything and say the motor has a short life span.
 
craig bush said:
You have options. My bike grenaded a motor (spun a bearing and keyholed the case) last year at ~5k miles (mostly track). We replaced it with a used 1k mile motor and it’s running well so far.

Also, I talked to Mark Sutton at DucShop (we’ll reputed Ducati engine builder). He said 5k track miles is a reasonable lifespan for one of these motors, and he wouldn’t expect them to last much longer even if built. He also said that now that the bikes have been available for a few years and have had time to accumulate 5k miles of track use, we might start seeing more failures.

Put a good used motor in the bike and keep riding it. Alternatively, if the heads warped, you might be able to have the heads and case decked and keep using the motor.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm keeping a eye out on ebay for another good panigale motor to show up. But I am gonna take this one apart and see what happened and why atleast.
 

Similar threads

B
V4 Blueprint. A primer sort of.
2
Replies
35
Views
1K
baggerman
B
H
SLR Tuning (my terrible experience)
2
Replies
37
Views
3K
Hok
H
Vicati
For Sale Panigale 1299s and Panigale 959 Full bolt ons
Replies
11
Views
496
Vicati
Vicati
rdmac
'23 Panigale V4S oil pressure light sporadically blinks after warmup.
Replies
2
Views
696
rdmac
rdmac
O
2023 Streetfighter V4 Euro 5 Tuning
2
Replies
37
Views
5K
Mogsal
M

Register CTA

Register on Ducati Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.

Recent Discussions

Back
Top