So Much Blue Smoke Normal?

I've got nearly 5k on my 1299 and on start up it blows a bit of smoke but once warmed up no smoke, asked my ducati dealer they said it's nothing to worry about.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

FastQ67 said:

Hi there, I am an unregular reader in this forum, live in Switzerland and ride my Panigale R (2015) only on the racetrack. Since two months it stands at the dealer due to the same problem as described by RD16RR. Ducati has not yet decided to replace pistons and cylinders by guarantee, but most likely will do. Anyway the question for me is, if this engine is reliable or if it breaks systematically under the stress of racetrack use (or the replacement of parts is only a temporary fix until it leaks again). Any opinions out there.

Click to expand...

...well, you've got me as an example....they replaced everything and the issue returned...i'm guessing its the inherent nature of this motor, i may be wrong, but the motor feels perfect and correct in every way.....the high level of pressure build up & only 2 piston rings must be the weakness...

NorCalDuke said:

Yeah no, took this bike on track days and hammering the canyons so if anything, it's due to too hard of a break-in.

Click to expand...

That's possible as well, loading too much heat into the motor too fast is also bad. The idea is short trips with occasional bursts of throttle and cool down between

New Engine Break-in Procedure

It's also important to change the oil early and often (100, 500, 1500 miles), this engine is particularly bad, it runs very rich (fuel dilution) and sees unusually high particulate accumulation

stop please you're like a broken record of bad info
you might as well diagnosing cervical cancer over the phone.

99.0% of ring seating problems are due to tolerances issues at the factory
(a.) cylinder (a.) piston (b.)cylinder (b.) piston etc. etc.

its not the motor oil or break in

Is your pipes gutted, if so that is definitely the reason for smoke

Gunny said:

Is your pipes gutted, if so that is definitely the reason for smoke

Click to expand...

Nope, 100% stock no mods...

Macattack said:

you're like a broken record of bad info

Click to expand...

No, it's a world of many fools who deny facts

99.0% of ring seating problems are due to tolerances issues at the factory (a.) cylinder (a.) piston (b.)cylinder (b.) piston etc. etc.

its not the motor oil or break in

Click to expand...

Break-in in fact has a significant impact on proper ring seating, and I've seen it many times in 25 years, pops

Modern tolerances are extremely good, they simply don't change much from motor to motor - what does change is the user/operator

ultra300x said:

No, it's a world of many fools who deny facts



Break-in in fact has a significant impact on proper ring seating, and I've seen it many times in 25 years, pops

Modern tolerances are extremely good, they simply don't change much from motor to motor - what does change is the user/operator

Click to expand...

I love it when people state no facts to prove their insane beliefs and still call others fools.

your article you posted is stale based on (by its own admission) info that is thirty to fifty years old. Modern motorcycles and cars today come with synthetic motor oil . there is no difference between synthetic and non synthetic motor oil in lubricity contrary to what your link says.
Of the hundreds or possibly thousands of motorcycles I've seen start up brand new from the factory I've never seen ONE that ever smoked at 600 miles that didn't smoke at 1 mile.
Of the 20+ brand new motorcycles I've broken in with synthetic and non synthetic , on the track off the track , wheelie and burn out from mile one to baby it for the first 600 mile - I've never seen any real difference.
Most Ducati technicians recommend breaking in a ducati somewhat aggressively and progressively for the first 600 miles and simply put they know more than you
I agree with their break in procedure ,
my point was though, you cannot diagnose or even claim this guys bike problems are from break in. that is completely insane . bringing up this break in procedure thing every time someone has an engine problem big or small is ........ . please stop

Aaaaaaaand cue the running in/don't run it in thread................

ZZZzzzZZZzzzzzzz.......

RD16RR said:

...well, you've got me as an example....they replaced everything and the issue returned...i'm guessing its the inherent nature of this motor, i may be wrong, but the motor feels perfect and correct in every way.....the high level of pressure build up & only 2 piston rings must be the weakness...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! That is exactly what I also fear. The bike is like nothing else to ride on the racetrack. Power is on the level of the 4 cylinder peers. But unfortunately there seems to be a downside to this performance ...

I have not yet decided how to go on next season. Would be a pity to switch to another model, but my trackdays are limited and I have no patience to care about leaking engines.

We will see!

Mechanically speaking, either worn rings (not likely) or leaking valve guide seals (certainly possible). I'd take it back to the dealer myself, it shouldn't be smoking at all with only 1600 miles on it.

I've decided to put 5,000 miles on it before May and see if it stops

Macattack said:

Modern motorcycles and cars today come with synthetic motor oil . there is no difference between synthetic and non synthetic motor oil in lubricity contrary to what your link says.

Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by "lubricity" but the whole point of that article was an explanation of how break-in occurs, not synthetic vs. non synthetic, you're rabbit trailing the argument

Of the hundreds or possibly thousands of motorcycles I've seen start up brand new from the factory I've never seen ONE that ever smoked at 600 miles that didn't smoke at 1 mile.

Click to expand...

duke didn't indicate if this was cold start-up. All these bikes puff a little from a cold start. Once hot, there shouldn't be any blowby (I say blowby because it occurs on throttle) - that's with no load - he also didn't say how much oil it's using

dadams said:

Mechanically speaking, either worn rings (not likely) or leaking valve guide seals (certainly possible). I'd take it back to the dealer myself, it shouldn't be smoking at all with only 1600 miles on it.

Click to expand...

This is my feeling as well. Rings may not be seated properly and may bed in later on but unlikely I think. Valve guide seals seem to be most likely, but on most engines I've had with faulty seals they leak a little oil into the cylinder when stopped and blow smoke on startup but clean up after that.

If it were my bike I would be a little concerned and get it checked if you know a real mechanic. I'm very weary of some of the local "Experts" at dealerships.

I don't think you will hurt it any more by riding it though, so maybe give it a few thousand Ks, to see if it is ring seal.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Cosmik de Bris said:

This is my feeling as well. Rings may not be seated properly and may bed in later on but unlikely I think. Valve guide seals seem to be most likely, but on most engines I've had with faulty seals they leak a little oil into the cylinder when stopped and blow smoke on startup but clean up after that.

If it were my bike I would be a little concerned and get it checked if you know a real mechanic. I'm very weary of some of the local "Experts" at dealerships.

I don't think you will hurt it any more by riding it though, so maybe give it a few thousand Ks, to see if it is ring seal.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Click to expand...

My local Ducati dealer has one of the few certified Ducati Technician in the Bay. I'll pay them a visit and see what they have to say about it and will keep you guys posted...

I just got my bike back from the impound - started her up and it smoked my entire garage - the color of the smoke were blue as well i thought my engine was f88ked took it to ducati stealership for 1000 km service they didn't find anything wrong - they also upgraded my software for me as well.

My court date is about 2 weeks away, i could be without a license for 6 months - i am going to convert the fines to community service or go to jail to do my time.

NorCalDuke said:

[youtube]q6tvgzp3VNU[/youtube]

• 1,650 miles on it
• Not revving more than 6K
• Not overfilled with oil

Normal? Bad valve stem seals? Need to take it to my Ducati dealer?

Thanks for the feedback!

Click to expand...

This is my experience. It wont hurt to ask and try. Next time you start your bike go for a nice spirited ride. Take it out for a good bit and do not turn the bike off during your ride. When you get home just park it and come the next day or two restart and see if you still have the blue smoke. The reason I ask is that I had this same problem but found out that the reason it was happening was due to friends and neighbors coming by to ck out my new bike. They would ask me to start it so they could listen. The bike would always smoke the second time I started it after showing how it sounded. Didn't matter if I didn't start it for days after showing it or 2 hrs later. It would smoke blue. Now however if I take it for a ride and get everything up to temp. It will not smoke on start up. To this day I never just start it up for people to listen to unless I am going to keep it running and ride off. I really think this is due to the massive size of our pistons in this bike and the rings sealing against the cylinder wall once they come up to operating temperature.

Blade Runner said:

This is my experience. It wont hurt to ask and try. Next time you start your bike go for a nice spirited ride. Take it out for a good bit and do not turn the bike off during your ride. When you get home just park it and come the next day or two restart and see if you still have the blue smoke. The reason I ask is that I had this same problem but found out that the reason it was happening was due to friends and neighbors coming by to ck out my new bike. They would ask me to start it so they could listen. The bike would always smoke the second time I started it after showing how it sounded. Didn't matter if I didn't start it for days after showing it or 2 hrs later. It would smoke blue. Now however if I take it for a ride and get everything up to temp. It will not smoke on start up. To this day I never just start it up for people to listen to unless I am going to keep it running and ride off. I really think this is due to the massive size of our pistons in this bike and the rings sealing against the cylinder wall once they come up to operating temperature.

Click to expand...

When the 1199 was first released they sent a few around for people to see, but not as test rides. The bike at my dealers was started and stopped so many times it oiled up and was blowing so much smoke until they gave it a service and took it for rides, sounds like the same problem you had with yours, to much turning on and off.

Blade Runner said:

This is my experience. It wont hurt to ask and try. Next time you start your bike go for a nice spirited ride. Take it out for a good bit and do not turn the bike off during your ride. When you get home just park it and come the next day or two restart and see if you still have the blue smoke. The reason I ask is that I had this same problem but found out that the reason it was happening was due to friends and neighbors coming by to ck out my new bike. They would ask me to start it so they could listen. The bike would always smoke the second time I started it after showing how it sounded. Didn't matter if I didn't start it for days after showing it or 2 hrs later. It would smoke blue. Now however if I take it for a ride and get everything up to temp. It will not smoke on start up. To this day I never just start it up for people to listen to unless I am going to keep it running and ride off. I really think this is due to the massive size of our pistons in this bike and the rings sealing against the cylinder wall once they come up to operating temperature.

Click to expand...

Just got back from a nice ride on the freeway and was able to hit 11K rpm several times
Parked in the garage and will see how it behaves tomorrow before I go to the dealer!

I made exactly the same experiences (on 1199 and 1299) as Blade Runner. The engine doesn't like short idle runs. I have never seen the blue smoke after long rides.