Spark plug replacement ??

Has anyone completed this task yet with the bike clothes on ?

The rear is a piece of piss obviously but the front is a dog. Ive seen the section in the workshop manual and it's quite hilarious really - it says you need to remove the small cover as is obvious but then in the next picture shows the front head exposed sans front wheel, all fairings, and radiators ! I think I see now why they haven't made the workshop manual public - there would be blood in the streets !
Anyways if you remove the front plug cover you find that the plug cap is pinned in placed by the front radiator and impossible to remove ! I spent 15 mins trying, my dealer declined the opportunity to clean my front plug recently, and another member said his dealer advised that the motor needed to be lowered in order to gain access ! What gives ?

Anyone done a change yet ?

It's quite ironic too that the tool kit includes a plug spanner but the owners manual says report to dealer for a plug change. But I pity them if all the info they have is the pages I have seen in the shop manual.

It's a Nightmare!

Hi, I have; or rather the dealer did. It was apparently about 6 hours labour! I accidentally put diesel in the bike ( don't go there) and they had to change the plugs. This you will find is not normally done until the 15k service which is why that is expensive. I wouldn't attempt it if it took them 6 hours. Having said that I reckon you can knock off an hour for whatever else they had to do.

Hope this helps a bit

Yup that confirms what I thought - radiator has to come off! I guess that's why a plug change is a dealer job - cos if that ever went public it'd be a fkn embarrassment !!
Ah well the rads come off rather neatly and I'm getting the hang of it by now.
Bit annoyed by the shop manual though which is plainly fraudulent !

Diesel: just been there - not Pani fortunately but petrol into my diesel Hilux (I think you call them Tacoma there) truck - spent the following hour pumping it out and flushing it clean :-/

Pouakai said:

Yup that confirms what I thought - radiator has to come off! I guess that's why a plug change is a dealer job - cos if that ever went public it'd be a fkn embarrassment !!
Ah well the rads come off rather neatly and I'm getting the hang of it by now.
Bit annoyed by the shop manual though which is plainly fraudulent !

Diesel: just been there - not Pani fortunately but petrol into my diesel Hilux (I think you call them Tacoma there) truck - spent the following hour pumping it out and flushing it clean :-/

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Rad removal isn't all that bad :l.

If you are ever tempted to change to front plug via the access cover as detailed in the workshop manual do yourself a big favour and don't bother!
I just don't know what Ducati were thinking, maybe there was a clearance in the radiator that never made it off the drafting table....

Pouakai said:

If you are ever tempted to change to front plug via the access cover as detailed in the workshop manual do yourself a big favour and don't bother!
I just don't know what Ducati were thinking, maybe there was a clearance in the radiator that never made it off the drafting table....

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Just unmount it, but don't remove the hosing and you may be able to get the clearance you need.

TransNone13 said:

Just unmount it, but don't remove the hosing and you may be able to get the clearance you need.

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Gave that ago, don't bother unmounting the top radiator from the support and dropping the support frame away from the bike.

YOU WONT GET THE CLEARANCE YOU NEED

Have to remove the radiators

Thanks ,good advice, it cuts the anxiety when you know what your in for !

Also be gently on the spark plug leads mine snapped at the head without much pressure/force there $160 each

Don't bother following the guide on ducati.org its a crock of ....

Pouakai said:

If you are ever tempted to change to front plug via the access cover as detailed in the workshop manual do yourself a big favour and don't bother!
I just don't know what Ducati were thinking, maybe there was a clearance in the radiator that never made it off the drafting table....

Click to expand...

Im guessing it was originally designed to be removed and accessed through that hole but then through testing found out the top radiator needed to be bigger.

Also the ignition coils must be high resistant coils, open when on ohms but meggaring it's a dead short.