As I put my bike into storage for the 7th time,
I thought I'd reflect a little on the past 7 years ownership experience.
I purchased my 2005 ST3 new, still in the crate, 7 seasons ago. For those of you lucky enough to not know what a season is, it’s approx 7out of 12 months. So for me, that means out of approx 84 months of ownership, I’ve had the bike on the road approximately 49 of them. Yes, that sucks, and that’s why I need a bike that provides a very enjoyable ownership experience, and the ST3 has filled the prescription very nicely indeed in more ways than 1. Here’s a brief report on that experience:
Pros:
Joining Ducati ms. A great place to learn about Ducati bikes and ownership experiences and where the good guys who truly like to share and help still out number the not so good guys who are here to prove they are smarter than the rest.
Pride of ownership. Nothing before has kept me as happy as my Ducati has in terms of feeling “good” about owning it. When I get off the bike after a nice ride, I can look at it and still feel the same passion I felt for it when it was new. I hope if not expect this will not diminish.
Reliability. Instrument panel replaced under warranty 2 times, second was dealer’s fault. *That was my only warranty claim.*
I’ve pushed my bike home twice. The first time from about 8 blocks away, the second time from about 1.5 miles out. The first time was when a fuel line popped off the filter. The second time was because I thought I fixed it.
Otherwise, no major repairs required, other than the usual suspects, ie repaired the crispy VR connector, and replaced a leaky slave. I did need to address an oil weep from the left side engine cover, (three times. I think I now have it now)
Consumables: 2 sets of belts, 4 sets of tires, one battery, one set of chains and sprockets, oil, coolant etc. other than the belts nothing out of the ordinary.
Maintenance: During the 24 month warranty period, I had 2 major services at the dealership @ 1 large a piece. After that, I’ve spent 200.00 for belts and shims, plus considerable personal time and effort. Therefore, over 7 seasons, I’ve spent approximately 1000.00 on shims and belts if I adjust the dealer service charges to 400.00 a piece for shims and belts. That’s 143.00 a year, (plus considerable personal time) for shims and belts maintenance. So much for the myth about expensive Ducati maintenance.
But then again, I don’t mind spending time and effort doing the labour myself to save a lot of cash and making sure it’s done right, if only buttoned up properly.
Parts: Absolutely no problem getting parts within a week’s time. If Ducati has a parts availability problem, I didn’t experience it at all. My dealership provides excellent parts support.
Cons/Concerns:
Takes a lot of time and effort to get to the serviceable parts.
Removing and replacing the body panels is a major pita, even if one can get it down to an “art.” The upside is the panels are very sturdy once buttoned up. The double nutted rear axle sucks ass too.
Brake judder. It took a lot of time for my bike to start with the brake juddering, but once it did, it was really bad. I have undertaken several work arounds and am happy with the outcomes at present, ie different pads and modified buttons. I may move to iron full floaters in the future.
Moisture in instrument pod. I wasn’t able to seal it up as I would have liked to and moisture will still condense on the back side of the clear panels under certain circumstances. I will try to source some gortex and place panels over the vent in the rear of the pod.
CPS. I have resorted to cleaning it once a year as part of my seasonal maintenance, but I think it may be on its way out as I get an error code and hard starting every once in a while. My work around when the amber EBDO engine light comes on, is to crank it for a second or 2, cut it with the ignition key, and try again,. Usually the light goes off and it starts no problem, instead of with a long turn over period followed by a loud after fire.
Cracking cases/engine bolts. This was always been on my mind as I did do some research into Ducati ST bikes before and after buying mine and was fully aware of the issue. I did replace the stock bolts with new OEM ones this year, and have always checked the torque settings on both rear and front bolts regularly, and even more so lately, ie each oil change. I have never had to tighten them down.
So after approx 27+K miles, in seven season, (I have 2 bikes and ride an average of 7K miles a year, that’s 1K miles a month, between them) I’m still happy, and the grass still looks emerald on my side. I see no changes in the foreseeable future, unless Ducati does the right thing and comes out with a new, killer ST, then I may take a look.
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