ECU And ABS confusion

[Kierantaylor]

Ok. I have determined that I want an 02 or 03 because the DD headlight is classic to me (subjective I know)

I have heard that the 02 was not an ecu bike? Makes no sense to me but I couldn't easily find info on that.

Secondly, ABS on the 03. Good thing or another thing to go wrong?

I promise ton give back to forum once i have my ST4s in hand

Thx

kT

[pgeller]

You clearly have refined tastes!

What does this mean - "not an ecu bike"?

2002+ bikes use a Marelli 5.9M engine control unit, all of it dedicated to engine functions. They do not have the electronic instrument panel and can-line communications bus of 2004+ models, so functions like turn signals are still handled the old-fashioned way (relays, etc). There are several suppliers out there that offer remapping to match exhaust and intake changes.

I'm a fan of ABS on the ikes I've tried it on. In extreme situations, it can help you avoid a crash. The Ducati implementation is lightweight and fairly non-intrusive, allowing the bike to be ridden very aggressively without interfering. Unlike some other bikes, Ducati's ABS was easily disabled by the rider. I think it has proven reliable over the years.

Good luck in your search!

pg
DD

[Bill_Anderson]

Good pick on an ST4s. It can travel coast-to-coast out of the box with very few mods. When it first came out, Ducati's ABS was rated the best of the lot by Motorcycle Consumer Magazine.

[Corse1]

I like my ABS. It ha never come on in the front but the rear has been activated on the odd occasion. It has never caused me trouble although I here that if you get air in your brake system it is a right bastard to remove due to the height of the ABS unit under the seat not relinquishing the trapped Air.

If I had ABS on my Aprilia racing I wouldn't have written it off two weeks ago by locking the rear wheel....maybe

[Kierantaylor]

Thanks so much for the replies. I met with an 2002 ST4s seller who had staintunes on and I asked him if he had reset the ECU for the new exhaust system. His reply was "oh, they didn't get the ECUs till 2003".
I thought he was wrong but didn't say anything. I guess if doesn't know, either the shop did it for him or he never did it!


So to get even more specific, using the forum's input I think I want a 2003 Senna ST4S ABS. I have my eye on the bike below but it has some issues.
Namely mismatched bags, scratches galore, and the lock in the underseat is jammed somehow (is that common )

2003 Ducati ST4S ABS | Martin Motorsports

Then there's this one.

2003 Ducati St4s Abs, Andover NJ - 98630244 - Cycletrader.com

I can get either for 6k. Which would you guys go with. I am thinking the second but unsure as it apparently has some road rash on one side (that I cannot see in the photos).

BEst
Kieran

[Bob92]

The one in andover has the better saddle

[C-simian]

The one at Martin Motorsports has half the miles as the other. Any way you can find out the maintenance history of either bike?

Ron

[pgeller]

The NJ one has a DD headlight already and stock exhaust. The Martin one has an upgrade (lloks like sargent or DP comfort) seat and DP exhaust (and possibly the ECU and air filter bits from the DP kit). you really need to see, ride and look at service records of each. A major service (12K increments) can cost >$1k.

pg
DD

[Kierantaylor]

Wow. Thanks guys. Both dealers gave me VIN and the shops that recently serviced them (not sure for how long though).

I will check that out. I just found an 02 (not ABS) in MD
Ducati ST4s 2002

One owner, every single record from purchase to the fork oil and Ohlins rebuild at 18k. He swears its right out of the wrapper. Even the bags are in the boxes that he got in 02.

No steering head bearings or wheel bearings issues or rebuild. Seems the 30k mile bikes ive seen have had that done.

One interesting point. In 2005 he found that the tank was spraying fuel like a pinhole in copper tube. Dealer found that Ducati had done a bad weld and used bondo to fix it! He fought Ducati and got a new tank. Stories like that make me wonder about how tightly they run their line but that is true with anything.

I am going to see all the bikes in person (except MD) this weekend. Will report back. Thanks again.

KT

[tomd4s]

In 2002, Ducati sold the DP exaust and open air box . They did not have the DP ecu.