Falling to pieces!!!!

Over three weeks i have had....
week 1 - allen key bolt that retains quick shifter fall off resulting in no gears

week 2 - the small black triangle cover near your left knee fall off

week 3- both bolts holding the kickstand on fall out. when pulling up i realised it was hanging by microswitch cable.. upon further inspection other bolts were lose including the main subframe torque bolts. none of them had loctite.


has anyone else had this issue

Firstly, sorry to hear of your troubles. I would suggest a firm word with your dealer, since he should have checked the bike over during the PDI.

Regarding your issues:

week 1 - allen key bolt that retains quick shifter fall off resulting in no gears
>> If you mean the shift rod, then yes, a few guys had this problem.

week 2 - the small black triangle cover near your left knee fall off
>> I recall one guy lost this. They are secured with pegs, so can fall off if not located properly.

week 3- both bolts holding the kickstand on fall out. when pulling up i realised it was hanging by microswitch cable.. upon further inspection other bolts were lose including the main subframe torque bolts. none of them had loctite.
>> Thats a new one and sounds quite dangerous.

It must be very off putting to worry about such issues, particularly from a safety perspective. Ensure a capable technician checks everything then put your mind at rest and enjoy the bike.

t1199panigale said:

Over three weeks i have had....
week 1 - allen key bolt that retains quick shifter fall off resulting in no gears

week 2 - the small black triangle cover near your left knee fall off

week 3- both bolts holding the kickstand on fall out. when pulling up i realised it was hanging by microswitch cable.. upon further inspection other bolts were lose including the main subframe torque bolts. none of them had loctite.


has anyone else had this issue

Click to expand...

Yes, it is frustrating. I hate using this phrase, but T-CLOCS is important with these bikes. I've started being very thorough in checking before I ride.

I put a zip tie around that black plastic triangle shaped cover and no problems. I suppose I shouldn't have had to do that, but we all know ducati's history with creating masterpieces while missing insanely simple details...

Go thru your bike and check every bolt, don't count on dealer to do that.

t1199panigale said:

Over three weeks i have had....
week 1 - allen key bolt that retains quick shifter fall off resulting in no gears

week 2 - the small black triangle cover near your left knee fall off

week 3- both bolts holding the kickstand on fall out. when pulling up i realised it was hanging by microswitch cable.. upon further inspection other bolts were lose including the main subframe torque bolts. none of them had loctite.


has anyone else had this issue

Click to expand...

I have owned Ducati motorcycles for years and stuff just falls off!!

If you are not happy get a jap bike lol

i am happy with several lost screws:
- 2x silencer holding screws
- kickstand screw to motor
- 2x exhaust cover
- throttle body

i just say one word "lock tight" / loctite

I don't get it, 3500 miles and I've not had anything fall off or come loose except allen bolt on a mirror, but that was my fault as didnt tighten enough after putting mirror back on after track day.

for that matter, I can recall any parts coming loose on any of my ducs. My sf is at 20k miles and not probs there.

I once owned a Yamaha DT100 that kept breaking throttle cables right where the cable connected to the throttle slide. The engine would then ingest the small bit of cable that would break off requiring new piston, rings, cylinder and head. It did this 3 times before I decided that an aftermarket cable would be the best best. Soon afterwards I installed a 'For Sale' sign.

I owned a Honda CR125M Elsinore that kept cracking the left side lower engine mount at the frame rail. Despite being professional rewelded a number of times I decided that the bike simply did want this piece as a part of it's 'being'. The bike's will was stronger than mine. It was stolen not long afterwards. Someone else problem now.

I had a Yamaha Seca 750 that would sometimes just plain refuse to start. Usually when I was leaving from work in downtown Chicago. That bike instilled a real sense of pride in ownership as I worked up a sweat push starting it. One day I got tired of it's nonsense and left it sitting in the corner of the garage like a used whore. I sold it a year later to my brother-in-law for the cost of title transfer. He never had a problem starting it. I have never, and will never, buy another Yamaha product again. Piano, Guitar, tuning fork, bike or otherwise.

I once had a Kawasaki 900 that would empty its entire gas tank, up to the reserve level, when it was parked. Despite the petcock being on the OFF position. I learned to never have more than a gallon of gas in the tank. Despite replacing the petcock and having the tank pressure tested it continued with it's 'urge to purge' I sold it before the EPA caught up with me. Luckily gas was only 80 cents a gallon back then.

I had a Suzuki that flat refused to retain its seat bolts. Anyone have any idea how uncomfortable riding a 20 minute moto can be without a seat? I finally gave up on using bolts and resorted to zip ties. But only because in one race the seat fell off and on the next lap I actually ran over it. How humiliating!

I had another Honda that I swear had magnetic rims. That bike attracted every nail within a mile. I got real good at changing tire and repairing flats. These days I pay someone else to do that. I've gotten tired of having tire irons flying across the garage.

The point is, stuff happens. I have learned, after 40 + years of riding, a few things.

1) Bike have gotten much more reliable over time. Even Ducatis
2) Riding, and owning, a motorcycle is an adventure.
3) If you do not have the time, patience or wherewithall to deal with mechanical issues, buy a car.

Footnote: For all of the bizarre things that I have had happen to my bikes in the past both my GSXR750 and my 1199 have been dead reliable.

#YinYang

Falling to pieces

WOW. thanks for the replies and feedback. i only joined last night and will be looking forward to exchanging stories with you all. thank you.

luckily for me i went to the melbourne motorcycle expo the following day and gave the head honcho a verbal grilling. ducati roadside assist picked my bike up on monday morning at 8 am sharp in a fancy enclosed bike transporter. i rang spare parts myself and ordered in all missing bolts to speed up process. the mechanics said they noticed quite a few lose bolts and said not enough loctite was used on the production line.

i have had six ducat's now this is the first time i have had so much bad luck but they say it comes in threes.

i hope everyone is checking their bolts after reading this it may save your life.


thanks guys


christian

t1199panigale said:

WOW. thanks for the replies and feedback. i only joined last night and will be looking forward to exchanging stories with you all. thank you.

luckily for me i went to the melbourne motorcycle expo the following day and gave the head honcho a verbal grilling. ducati roadside assist picked my bike up on monday morning at 8 am sharp in a fancy enclosed bike transporter. i rang spare parts myself and ordered in all missing bolts to speed up process. the mechanics said they noticed quite a few lose bolts and said not enough loctite was used on the production line.

i have had six ducat's now this is the first time i have had so much bad luck but they say it comes in threes.

i hope everyone is checking their bolts after reading this it may save your life.


thanks guys


christian

Click to expand...

Thats what the forum is all about

But dude .... 6 Ducati's and only 2-posts .... and no pics. You gotta get busy

Falling to pieces

i only discovered this site last night whilst googling problems with the 1199.
i forgot to mention to steer clear of aftermarket carbon heat shields. after fitting mine and starting bike for two min it caught fire... bought it from race con on ebay. bad product

Ultimately it is the owners responsibility to keep tabs on his bike. I have had things that needed to be tightened back up on nearly indestructible Japanese dirt bikes. So it is not just the Ducati. I have had a 2000 996 for a long long time now.

As a motorcycle rider and an experienced aircraft mechanic I have a few suggestions.

1. Go through the bike and check for any loose fasteners. Re-torque any found loose to the service manual specs. If you don't have that ask someone or look up a std torque chart that takes into account the bolt diameter and thread pitch as well as the nut or threaded boss material.. Steel nut vs threaded AL..

2. After step one get a product called tourque stripe or torque seal. Just a little bottle of a thick consistency paint like fastener marking product. Put a single little line from the fastener to what it is mounting. If you ride a while and see the line on the bolt no longer lining up with the part it started to loosen. The point is you can visually see if something is working loose. Much faster than having to try to turn every bolt. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/f900.php

3. Things like kick stand bolts, oil plugs, oil filters, coolant drain plug... etc.. I always lockwire.. aka Safety wire them so they can't loosen. The kick stand bolts on my 996 loosened once and caused a crack in the mount.. When I replaced it I drilled the new bolts heads for lockwire and installed them to the service manual tq then wired them so they can't loosen.

^Important stuff is marked from the factory.....just needs avisual

That is true.. I just feel nearly everything should be marked and the really important stuff should be wired. Less problems and I never get the slightest hassle from a track inspector.

zvez said:

I don't get it, 3500 miles and I've not had anything fall off or come loose except allen bolt on a mirror, but that was my fault as didnt tighten enough after putting mirror back on after track day.

for that matter, I can recall any parts coming loose on any of my ducs. My sf is at 20k miles and not probs there.

Click to expand...

Ha! This is exactly the only item for me as well!

t1199panigale said:

Over three weeks i have had....
week 1 - allen key bolt that retains quick shifter fall off resulting in no gears

week 2 - the small black triangle cover near your left knee fall off

week 3- both bolts holding the kickstand on fall out. when pulling up i realised it was hanging by microswitch cable.. upon further inspection other bolts were lose including the main subframe torque bolts. none of them had loctite.


has anyone else had this issue

Click to expand...

The kick stand was on a recall, not sure about the other issues.

I've had various ducati's for the last 11 years and touch wood I've never had any unreliability problems or anything falling off. This includes commuting, track days and crossing europe to gp's. I might just have been lucky but only time one of my ducati's let me down was due to my own fault throwing it down the road at cartgena track in spain. Bikes looked after by the guy's at pro twins. Ac

falling to pieces

i will take all your suggestions on board. thanks. problem with my bike is these three items fell off just after its first service. you would think ducati technicians would check..
i have a track bike but am very tempted to give my tricolore a run around the phillip island circuit. should i?

t1199panigale said:

i will take all your suggestions on board. thanks. problem with my bike is these three items fell off just after its first service. you would think ducati technicians would check..
i have a track bike but am very tempted to give my tricolore a run around the phillip island circuit. should i?

Click to expand...

Of course you should! No better way to test all the bolts I'd ride a tricycle around Phillip Island I love that track so much. I ride Sepang often and like it but Phillip Island is in another league.

The issues you've had relate to a dodgy dealer. Normally the guys in Aus are pretty good but it only take a decent mechanic to have a bad day when your bike is being prepped and/or serviced.

In the factory they still build by hand, I kinda like that - think it contributes to the soul of the bikes - but you are always going to get more issues - robots don't have an argument with the wife before going to work.

Enjoy your bike - and totally track it. I spent an entire session just playing with engine braking settings and giggled myself stupid.

Each of the 1199 forums all have rants and posts similar to this one. I was one of the members that lost the plastic triangle thing during a track day.
My most recent loss was the exhaust heat shielding screws. These bolts can't be checked, unless you pull the exhaust completely off. And my dealer was trying to belittle be and lecture me on checking the torque of all hardware. Whatever...