Another Panigale with oil leak on exhaust after first service.. with video

Unfortunately, I think my 1199 has the dreaded oil leaking on left side exhaust after first service.. luckily, the bike or fairing didn't catch on fire, but I can confirm parts of the story that led to the fire of elitesolder's panigale from one of the prior posts..

Got my first service done last week and so far drove only 100 miles.. Prior to l last couple rides, when I first started I noticed a mechanical type ('tick' ) sound after I started up the bike, but I looked around and didn't notice anything. Yesterday, I smelled a burning fuel type smell and looked down by exhaust and barely some burned stuff on end of the left exhaust pipe. Still, naive me, didn't want to believe that my bike would have the problem.

Today, I fired up the bike and went to my friends house about 10 miles away. First thing I noticed, the pops from exhausts were too frequent and occurred even when I wasn't shifting and just idling at red lights. Then the engine felt like it heated up too fast and I could smell the fuel/oil burning and it felt like this wasn't the bike I rode up until last week and the exhaust pops were even more frequent. By this time, I was at my friends house and turned off the bike immediately, then I head these frequent mechanical 'tick' sounds (quite loud and they were still present five minutes after I turned the bike off). Then I proceeded to look down the left exhaust by the fairing, and voila! , there was a nice thick line of oil coming down on the exhaust (yes, I confirmed by touching it and it felt like oil) and more of the burned oil noticed on the top of the exhaust.
I got the footage of the mechanical noises and the oil on the exhaust for the records.

Least to say, I was super pissed, and proceed to call Ducati Roadside assistance and explained them the situation and told them that I won't be riding the bike as there may be danger of fire. The guy got my information and said since its night, just park the bike at your friends house and the dealer will pick up the bike tomorrow.

I just wanted to get some advise on anything else I should keep in mind when I discuss this with the dealer tomorrow. And I must thank all the users who posted on the issue, as I wouldn't have known about it if it wasn't for this forum.

Video 1 - shows the oil on exhaust

Video 2 - starts off by the rear shock, as I was only recording the mechanical sounds and then I slowly went to the exhaust.

Thanks for posting, I have the same thing happen 1 days ago when I rode my bike from 600KM to 1000KM. Now my bike is at the shop for first oil change and a full system installation. I see what the dealer got to say about this and post the comment here later.

I think ducati is Italian for oil leak personally. My 1198 leaked like a mofo.

Got a reply from dealer in regards to this incident, Dealer replied "those are cause by excessive grease melt when the bike is hot, nothing to do with engine oil leak, similar incident happen also happen to other new bike too". I am not sure that a true statment but I will monitor this from now on..

gnance said:

I think ducati is Italian for oil leak personally. My 1198 leaked like a mofo.

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LMAO, I know where you are coming from.

I had a fuel leak on my 848 for awhile(those pesky quick connectors on the tank, the Orings go fast) used to leak fuel on my exhaust at start up!!!!! Made for an intersting ride, Looking down all the time incase I was on fire.

Had the Oil cooler seals go also, ruined a nice pair of jeans.

AKDAve Sorry to hear that mate, hope they set you right! A small comfort, but Atleast it didn't catch fire.

Anxious to know if you were there to see him do the oil filter change and drop the oil too? Reason I ask is that they should be removing the entire black belly pan, and even side fairings when doing oil change at dealer. Too much of a chance to have oil pool up in plastic areas with the crazy ... fwd facing oil plug and wild filter (which should also use two O-rings on it) So just curious if you got to see them do this process?

Gunny Fitz said:

Anxious to know if you were there to see him do the oil filter change and drop the oil too? Reason I ask is that they should be removing the entire black belly pan, and even side fairings when doing oil change at dealer. Too much of a chance to have oil pool up in plastic areas with the crazy ... fwd facing oil plug and wild filter (which should also use two O-rings on it) So just curious if you got to see them do this process?

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I was informed that some dealers did not get the special oil change service kit which has specific tools for this application of filter removal and replacement...could it be that dealers are causing their own problems by not having the proper tools/service kits?....curious...I'd ask my dealers if they have said kit prior to them opening up the filter.

Put the bike on the side stand when removing the filter.

My tech showed me this nifty little hand made funnel-like gizmo that he made that slips under the filter housing and serves as a lip onto which the oil from the filter hole runs thereby draining AWAY from the cans and preventing the pooling of oil underneath.

I watched him do three bikes the exact same way and not a drop got on the bike!

Picture a funnel basically cut in half, or a little more than half. That's all it was. A plastic milk jug would likely work just as well and it will be flexible enough to maneuver it well in and under the filter hole.

With the Termi headers there is no longer a location for any spilled oil to pool.

And, chances are it is not leaking after the filter is reinstalled since the filter hole is sealed with TWO rubber gaskets. That is, unless it is installed incorrectly...

May I recommend you do this yourself and clean the area with brake cleaner to remove the spilled oil?

I think the dealer either isnt using the correct oil filter or that Ducati has a leak from somewhere on the bike and hasn't done a recall yet. They really need to step up their game and figure out what is happening to cause this.

elitesoldier357 said:

I think the dealer either isnt using the correct oil filter or that Ducati has a leak from somewhere on the bike and hasn't done a recall yet. They really need to step up their game and figure out what is happening to cause this.

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There is an o-ring kit that needs to be installed with the filter. I would hope the technicians would know this but if not this could lead to the leak. For anyone who is experiencing the leak and have not had it fixed yet, would it be possible to check and see if the 2 o-rings were installed.

I've Done three oil changes so far on the same O-rings no problems. I have spares, but you only need to replace them when they're damaged.

Oil overfilled!!!!!!!!!!

George Villar said:

Oil overfilled!!!!!!!!!!

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Seconded

Thanks guys for the ideas.
Dealer just picked up the bike from friend's house. He didn't even want to admit there could be an oil leak. I kept saying its there and he's like 'oh its probably just the burned oil from extra lubricated chain'. I'm finally said just come and pick it up and you'll see. I emailed them the videos too.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to check and see what they did during first service, as I dropped off the bike and picked it up the next day. I hope its a simple issue like oil being overfilled. They said the Ducati rep would be in today or tomorrow and they'll have him look at the bike as well just to make sure nothing major is happening with the bike.

Will keep you guys updated as I find out more info.

Getting ready to do my first oil change myself. Does the oil filter cap come with two o-rings on it ? Or , is that what Ducati is doing now to try to avoid any leaks ?

2012DUCATI1199 said:

Getting ready to do my first oil change myself. Does the oil filter cap come with two o-rings on it ? Or , is that what Ducati is doing now to try to avoid any leaks ?

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The cap comes from the factory with two o rings.
I really think a lot of the problems people are having with oil getting on the exhausts is from the removal of the filter cover and oil filter. If you look at the stock exhaust there is a brushed aluminum heat shield that is separate from the rest of the exhaust. Oil will seep right into that area between the heat shield and the actual exhaust if you just take the oil filter cover off and let the oil run everywhere!

Guys,

I asked my dealer about the oil leaks reported on various forums when I piced up my S. He said the the cover plate over the oil filter can be put on upside down. The index mark is on the inside. If it is installed upside down it will leak and you have ruined the cover and it will have to be replaced. I've not verified his myself but it's worth a look and marking your cover before removing it.

Cheers

Called the dealer today and they made it seem like a minute issue.
They said there was a very minor oil leak due to some screw/sealant issue by the ring and that it wouldn't be a major safety hazard. He said majority was chain oil lube. I'm not sure if a minor leak would show this much oil tho. Supposedly, there is no mechanical 'tick' sounds they heard, so I'm not sure why that was present in the videos and how I heard it. I guess I'll get the bike back tomorrow and will see if there's any persistent issue.

These are the things that are making me reconsider buying a Pani. I'm willing to deal with soft paint, wrong suspension linkage settings, clutch slave cylinder issues, tremendous heat, but to have the possibility of oil leaks setting the bike on fire is too much.. (has happened to two bikes already) C'mon Ducati, this is a $25K bike, you guys have been developing it for 4 or 5 years, seriously in all that time they couldn't engineer out this problem? Or did they even test for it or even notice that it was happening? The fact is this bike has many issues as some brand new bikes do, but these are serious issues that can kill someone or total the bike. You would never see these issues on a Japanese bike or the BMW. Before the deluge of posts telling me to get a Japanese bike or BMW instead of the Pani begins, let me say I don't want one of those bikes, I want the Pani. It would be my 4th Ducati. I just wish Ducati had done more R & D on this bike before they released it. I would rather have had them release it a year later as a 2013 model with the bugs ironed out..