New Member Ducati 1199 Smoking

Hi! I've been reading up on this forum for a while now and finally joined. I recently bought my dream bike, 2012 1199. I know there are multiple threads about these bikes smoking, but I haven't seen any recent ones. Mine had 1200 miles when I bought it a few weeks back, I'm now a little over 1400 miles. It will blow white smoke on start up until it's warm and it definitely smells like oil. I'm not too worried about it. Just thought I'd ask if anything more has been found out 8 years later or if I need to watch anything other than oil levels?

I would venture a guess that the piston rings haven't completely seated yet. That is extremely low mileage for a bike that is 8-9 years old. Really that's not even broken in yet. Once you start riding it regularly, it should stop.

cmh210 said:

I would venture a guess that the piston rings haven't completely seated yet. That is extremely low mileage for a bike that is 8-9 years old. Really that's not even broken in yet. Once you start riding it regularly, it should stop.

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Thank you for the reply! Yeah that's what I was thinking. I've been taking it out and riding it pretty hard. Noticed if I ride it harder and heat it up it doesn't smoke as bad the next time. Was happy to find one with such low mileage. I'm getting the exhaust cored soon and getting Brentuning to tune it. Any other good rideability/reliability mods to know about? It's had the charcoal canister removed since the day it was delivered.

I had an 1199 for a short time until somebody pulled out in front of me. A fun bike for sure. Any mods from here on out are pretty much just rider preference.

cmh210 said:

I had an 1199 for a short time until somebody pulled out in front of me. A fun bike for sure. Any mods from here on out are pretty much just rider preference.

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Sorry to hear that brother. What are you riding now? Yeah those are the only mods planned for now. The bike is already better than I'll ever be, just want to get it a little smoother in the middle and low end. Thanks again for the replies. Everything you said lines up.

Thank you, it did suck but I came out ok. I'm on a 2015 Multistrada now.

Awesome bike! I like the look a lot.

Stay_Shmackin said:

I've been taking it out and riding it pretty hard. Noticed if I ride it harder and heat it up it doesn't smoke as bad the next time

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Ppl always accuse me of “beating the balls off of it”
I have a 1299, it’s a Ducati. It belongs at the racetrack.

similar to you, I purchased my 2015 1299S in August 2019. It had under 1,800 miles on it and the fancy Akrapovic slip ons
Dude bought it and put 1,700 miles on it in 3 years, it was his piece of art for the office

I put 1,700 on it in the first month! And then a brand new Pirelli Supercorsa on the rear haha

anyway, you are now going to find all the “teething issues” and I like to call them “privileges of ownership”

I don’t think blowing smoke on startup is a big deal, I’d say it’s normal, but then another member will come on here and tell me I’m wrong. However, the 2019 V4 916 Aniversary with full Akra at Ducati Miami smoked on startup sooo

Pay attention to the friction zone of your clutch lever. The grab point on mine kept creeping in and I would have to bleed that master clutch cylinder before every ride. The cure is linked below


you should be thrilled that pesky EVAP canister is outta there

Change your oil, filter and seals now, not next week. ..... prolly been in there since 600 miles service 8 years ago

renew your Clutch action fluid & Front brake and rear brake fluids. Replace with Motul 5.1

sooner than later you’re going to want to install the fancy HM quickshift module so you can have perfect up AND downshifts. It’s like $800 but it’s a must have:




After u do that oil change, the most important thing is to ride it. It was engineered and manufactured to be a race bike. Mine sees redline every ride. It’s good for it



Welcome to the Ducati Club, bud
Kev

DucatiKev said:

Ppl always accuse me of “beating the balls off of it”
I have a 1299, it’s a Ducati. It belongs at the racetrack.

similar to you, I purchased my 2015 1299S in August 2019. It had under 1,800 miles on it and the fancy Akrapovic slip ons
Dude bought it and put 1,700 miles on it in 3 years, it was his piece of art for the office

I put 1,700 on it in the first month! And then a brand new Pirelli Supercorsa on the rear haha

anyway, you are now going to find all the “teething issues” and I like to call them “privileges of ownership”

I don’t think blowing smoke on startup is a big deal, I’d say it’s normal, but then another member will come on here and tell me I’m wrong. However, the 2019 V4 916 Aniversary with full Akra at Ducati Miami smoked on startup sooo

Pay attention to the friction zone of your clutch lever. The grab point on mine kept creeping in and I would have to bleed that master clutch cylinder before every ride. The cure is linked below

Ducabike AF04 Billet Clutch Slave Cylinder for Ducati Panigale V2 L2 | Motomillion

Ducabike AF04 billet clutch slave cylinder for Ducati Panigale 899 959 1199 1299 1199S 1299S 1199R 1299R. Direct replacement of OEM clutch slave, significantly reduces judder. Smoother take offs from a stop thanks to the enlarged piston. A must upgrade! Free shipping within USA and affordable...

www.motomillion.com

you should be thrilled that pesky EVAP canister is outta there

Change your oil, filter and seals now, not next week. ..... prolly been in there since 600 miles service 8 years ago

renew your Clutch action fluid & Front brake and rear brake fluids. Replace with Motul 5.1

sooner than later you’re going to want to install the fancy HM quickshift module so you can have perfect up AND downshifts. It’s like $800 but it’s a must have:

Stand Alone Blipper Shift Online - Blipper Range | Plug and Play System | HM Quickshifter

This simple plug and play system will add shift / backshift functionality to any bike. Shop your brand new stand alone shift today.

hmquickshifter.com

After u do that oil change, the most important thing is to ride it. It was engineered and manufactured to be a race bike. Mine sees redline every ride. It’s good for it

View attachment 30462

Welcome to the Ducati Club, bud
Kev

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I really appreciate all the advice and support brother! You have a beautiful bike! I will 100% keep an eye on all of the following you mentioned and take a look at everything you sent. Luckily the previous owner changed the oil in the previous year and had the paperwork. I agree with everything you've said. They are built to be ridden and ridden hard. Yeah I kind of expected the smoking to be not a big deal. I'm just very OCD about some of my stuff and this is something I've wanted for a long time, so just making sure I can do everything I can for it. And yes, it having never seen any emissions equipment was a huge selling point for me. Thank you so much again for all the helpful info brother. Feels great to be part of the club.

Pay attention to the friction zone of your clutch lever. The grab point on mine kept creeping in and I would have to bleed that master clutch cylinder before every ride. The cure is linked below

As soon as I start to feel it giving a little I will order and put that on. It just looks good too. Lol. Great fix to be aware of. Thank you! And as for the auto blipper, I've always enjoyed manually rev matching so hopefully I can hold off on it for a while. Hoping this Brentune and cored exhaust will clear up some of the jerking at low speed and the "dead spot" in the mid range. Those are the only things about the bike I wanted to fix a little. But I fully expected it after reading up on people's experiences. Thanks again. I'll get some pictures up soon!

I’ve gotten real good at manually clutchlessly shifting up and down on my dads Harley. It’s fun and it’s neat

1299 has auto up and down “quickshift”

my triumph Daytona has auto up only, and every time I get on it I think “this bike is outdated” cause it doesn’t auto shift down.

where it really matters is on the track when you’re trying to carefully apply front brake and u need to give the throttle a quick twist for downshift.

These transmissions are very robust, so it really doesn’t matter if u leave it stock, definitely more of a personal preference. It’s like desiring to have “soft close doors” on a BMW

if you have a YouTube account, post a video of a cold start, I wanna see how much it’s smoking. I feel like as long as there isn’t a trail of white smoke behind you like the airplanes leave, you’ll be fine. Maybe the original owner never twisted the throttle enough

Yessir! I also have a Harley Softail Deluxe in the garage. I like all types of bikes and cars. Just nothing comes close to the 1199/1299 for me. Yeah the quickshift is nice. Ill wait and see if I really want the auto blipper down. And yeah I can post a youtube video. It is barely noticeable and goes away after heating up. Ill try to get it on camera. My biggest complaint about this bike so far is this stupid coolant sight glass. I cant see anything at all. lol Has anyone come up with anything smart for that? Something to add color?

Hahaha take that fairing off so u can see the coolant. Should be pink if it’s original Ducati fluid.

I like the VP Stay Frosty stuff but when you’re ready to flush the coolant, get the Samco hoses. They will last forever and come in red or black. That’s next on my list.

DucatiKev said:

Hahaha take that fairing off so u can see the coolant. Should be pink if it’s original Ducati fluid.

I like the VP Stay Frosty stuff but when you’re ready to flush the coolant, get the Samco hoses. They will last forever and come in red or black. That’s next on my list.

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Yeah im going to take it off today. Can't thank you enough brother. You've answered all my questions. When I bought it I only had enough time to do my usual checks and ride it and he had all the paperwork on it. I called the dealership that had done the maintenance and everything was good to go. Just haven't dug completely into everything but it runs great!

Also, hold a small flashlight directly onto the coolant reservoir and shake the bike. You will see where the level is a lot easier.

cmh210 said:

Also, hold a small flashlight directly onto the coolant reservoir and shake the bike. You will see where the level is a lot easier.

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I tried the other day, but it was pretty bright out. I'm gunna turn all the lights out in the shop and try it. Lol. I appreciate the advice brother!

Been riding the bike hard and bringing it up to temp every time it gets started. The smoke on startup has completely stopped other than from basic condensation. I wasn't too worried from the start but this just further backs a lot of people's points on here. The bike is meant to be ridden hard.

How’s she riding?

DucatiKev said:

How’s she riding?

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Absolutely perfect. Just walked in the door from another ride brother. I will say, coming from various other bikes, this thing gets hottt. Lol.

Stay_Shmackin said:

hottt.

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Heat shield kit:


the tune will also cool it down. Maybe some VP stay frosty or Engine Ice