Crankshaft Bearings Destroyed

Long story short, we have a 2015 899 Panigale with around 1800 miles on it. Going down the highway a few weeks ago, oil started gushing onto the left exhaust. Got it in to the closest dealer and they said there is tons of brass from the crank bearings in the oil pan and oil filter. Even though she doesn't get ridden much, I have maintained all maintenance. The dealership has never done a rebuild and is estimating a few $k to do the rebuild. Upwards of 6k. They also reached out to another dealership in another state about getting a brand new engine. They said 10k for the engine.

I tried looking for a new engine myself and no luck. I tried finding a different place to do the rebuild an no luck. Is this kind of pricing usual for this type of problem? What could have caused the bearings to fail if the bike was in tip top shape? It was ridden a few times on backroads and highways weeks leading up to the breakdown. I live in South Central PA and there is almost nowhere besides the dealer that will touch our Duc. Thanks for any advice!!

When did you do oil changes? Between 2015 and now, there should’ve been at least 8 oil changes

SuperDomestique said:

When did you do oil changes? Between 2015 and now, there should’ve been at least 8 oil changes

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I followed the manual on break in but since I couldn't ride often, everytime I had the brake fluid and transmission fluid changed (18 months), the oil got changed along with filter.

Oil passageway must’ve got cloggled and got oil starvation and spun the bearing

A $6k to $10k repair on a 899 might mean you part the bike out and cut your losses. I've heard of people asking for financial assistance from car dealerships for expensive repairs. For example, with the 3.5L ecoboost used in the F150 the cam phasers can go out, resulting in a very expensive repair. On another forum someone posted that they asked for and received financial assistance from Ford who knocked 40% off of the repair. I don't know if such a thing would exist for what's essentially a pleasure vehicle.

No amount of oil changes is going to save a spun bearing from a bike with so little miles. Was it a Ducati dealer who did the diagnosis? If they've never rebuilt an engine, I don't know if I'd want to be their first go.

SuperDomestique said:

Oil passageway must’ve got cloggled and got oil starvation and spun the bearing

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Don't know how it would get clogged. The oil and filter had less than 100 miles on it. Just bad luck I suppose. Thanks for the info.

bp_SFV4 said:

A $6k to $10k repair on a 899 might mean you part the bike out and cut your losses. I've heard of people asking for financial assistance from car dealerships for expensive repairs. For example, with the 3.5L ecoboost used in the F150 the cam phasers can go out, resulting in a very expensive repair. On another forum someone posted that they asked for and received financial assistance from Ford who knocked 40% off of the repair. I don't know if such a thing would exist for what's essentially a pleasure vehicle.

No amount of oil changes is going to save a spun bearing from a bike with so little miles. Was it a Ducati dealer who did the diagnosis? If they've never rebuilt an engine, I don't know if I'd want to be their first go.

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Its just irritating that it potentially will cost so much after the vehicle has depreciated so much. I was also like, how the hell are you an authorized dealer and never done an engine rebuild on an 899 panigale, when you sell them and service them....

It was a Duc Dealer who did the diagnosis. It's still there. They said as a third option to sell it for parts. Its crushing to see a bike in almost pristine condition (not counting the engine) just die off like that because of an engine failure. I doubt Ducati will help with anything. Ducati is now owned by Audi and I have two Audis and they want full price for everything. In 2021, I needed a new CV Joint for a 2010 Q5 S-line and Audi wanted $1500.00 just for the part. Got one from NAPA for 250.

Audi, BMW, VW, Land Rover et al are great cars to lease. Precisely for that reason. Great cars until things go bad.

I think most Ducati dealerships have never done an engine rebuild. Most sportbike owners never put the miles or a race schedule on these bikes to necessitate such an early rebuild.

That's not to say there aren't other dealers. Shipping a bike really isn't that expensive given the expense of the rebuild and you could shop out the work to a more experienced dealer. Off the top of my head, I'd consider speaking with Warhorse HSBK in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. I can't imagine they've never rebuilt an 899 or V2 before.

Depending on your means and spending priority its not an insurmountable problem, but when is the juice not worth the squeeze? It's a ...... situation and I feel for you.

DMoney said:

Don't know how it would get clogged. The oil and filter had less than 100 miles on it. Just bad luck I suppose. Thanks for the info.

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Depends how long oil has been sitting or how bike has been previously run

DMoney said:

Long story short, we have a 2015 899 Panigale with around 1800 miles on it. Going down the highway a few weeks ago, oil started gushing onto the left exhaust. Got it in to the closest dealer and they said there is tons of brass from the crank bearings in the oil pan and oil filter. Even though she doesn't get ridden much, I have maintained all maintenance. The dealership has never done a rebuild and is estimating a few $k to do the rebuild. Upwards of 6k. They also reached out to another dealership in another state about getting a brand new engine. They said 10k for the engine.

I tried looking for a new engine myself and no luck. I tried finding a different place to do the rebuild an no luck. Is this kind of pricing usual for this type of problem? What could have caused the bearings to fail if the bike was in tip top shape? It was ridden a few times on backroads and highways weeks leading up to the breakdown. I live in South Central PA and there is almost nowhere besides the dealer that will touch our Duc. Thanks for any advice!!

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899 engines in working condition go for $1,500-$2,500 on ebay all the time. That repair or a brand new engine is crazy, don't spend that money. Bike isnt even worth that amount to begin with. Keep your eye on ebay for an engine- they pop up every once in a while.

SuperDomestique said:

Depends how long oil has been sitting or how bike has been previously run

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I never tracked it but when I first bought it, I had it shipped to Germany and rode it on the Autobahn but I stayed within the break in parameters. Other then that just back rode and regular highway riding. LikenI said above, I always changed the oil when I had the brake and transmission fluid changed. Bike ran great and was inspected by the dealership for emissions and what not 4 weeks prior to the break down. I did have to have the high side O2 sensor replaced during the inspection but other than that, it ran perfect on about 5 rides in 4 weeks prior.

dude i feel your pain man! been there done that on my 1199.
https://ducatiforum.com/t/2012-1199-base-blown-vertical-piston-head-30k-miles.52413/
I just got a newer 1299 myself, and completely parted out what was still good on the 1199, took over 6mo, but I got about 6K USD.

good luck my man!
JAG

Same thing happened to my 899 earlier this year. I know the cause though. I had 13000 miles on it and last year the water pump went bad (they tend to do that) as I was going through the very hot Lincoln tunnel in NYC on a hot day. The water pump design is stupid on these Panigale and when it leaks, it leaks INSIDE the engine and the engine needs to be fully overhauled which cost a crazy amount.
I did the repair myself cleaned all the inside and replace the pump but I went the cheap way and did not split the case in half. It was a mistake because the oil channels in the crankshaft were probably still clogged and 6 months later I spun two rod bearings. I split the crankcase in half afterwards to make sure and saw it for myself. It takes so many expensive Ducati special tools and so much time to properly overhaul the engine that I am not surprised by the $6k quote for an engine repair. About ~$1500 worth of tools minimum.
And this is probably not counting the new parts needed which is probably the crankshaft which cost about 3k for a new one or ~$1500 for a resurfacing and heat treatment at: Fox Performance Ducati Crankshaft Balancing Specialists

Anyway my crankshaft is ...... as well so I've been lurking Ebay for a new engine since January and 899 seem to be pretty rare. There are a lot more 959 or 1199, 1299.
The problem is that if you swap these engine you'll need the ECU, ABS CU, BBS, Odometer and Wire harness as well.

I just found an 1199 engine this week and will be attempting to swap the 899 to an 1199. I probably got scammed because this one also has internal damage but I am hoping that it is a minimal issue (valve train).

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Either parting it out which is more financially reasonable but boring, or repairing it yourself which is more fun and fulfilling if you are into mechanical stuff and challenges.