Worth it? - Ducati.ms

volleykinginnc · Nov 28th, 2011, 8:24 am

Hello all...so I'm up for my first (first for me) major valve adjustment/belt change and service. The Ducati dealer is telling me this is a $1700 that also includes brake fluid change, fork oil change, fuel filter change.

This does NOT include the price for the valve adjustment that will run another $200 if I want it to the specs laid out by LT Snyder.

So my question is the extra $200 worth it?

Also, in the book he shows recommended valve clearances but mentions that it does not apply to the 996 SPS....Is this my engine....i have a 2002 ST4S?

stryder · Nov 28th, 2011, 9:02 am

Remove the lower and middle ferrings yourself, and have the dealer set the shims and change the belts. You can do the rest yourself at home and save a bundle. 1900.00 for a major service seems expensive IMO. NOT worth it.

I can't imagine why they would charge an *extra* 200.00 to set the specs a little differently.

erikrichard · Nov 28th, 2011, 9:06 am

How on earth are they arriving at $1700? I'd like to see a breakdown on that. I could do all those things well inside a day with $100 worth of parts, and I'm not a pro.
If I was of a mindset to pay a dealer for maintenance, a Ducati is the last bike I'd own. Not to start an argument, but have you thought about obtaining a service manual and doing this stuff yourself? It's actually quite theraputic, much more enjoyable than watching tv or surfing.

WakeDude · Nov 28th, 2011, 9:09 am

My dealer sets the specs to the tighter end of LT Snyder, and I paid $1,200 for my 12k service. I would ask your Tech what tolerance he sets the valves to and then decide if you want to pay the extra $200. They might set them within the window that LT Snyder recommends and therefore you wouldn't have to pay the extra $200 for them to look at the LT Manuel.

volleykinginnc · Nov 28th, 2011, 9:36 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikrichard

How on earth are they arriving at $1700? I'd like to see a breakdown on that. I could do all those things well inside a day with $100 worth of parts, and I'm not a pro.
If I was of a mindset to pay a dealer for maintenance, a Ducati is the last bike I'd own. Not to start an argument, but have you thought about obtaining a service manual and doing this stuff yourself? It's actually quite theraputic, much more enjoyable than watching tv or surfing.

yeah I try to do most myself but the valve is probably more than I can chew. I don't have any specialized tools to do it. Anyone near Charlotte that I can pay to teach me?

erikrichard · Nov 28th, 2011, 9:44 am

In that case, replace the lines/filter in the tank, remove the lower/mid fairings and replace the fork fluid, replace the belts and brake/clutch fluid. Then, take the bike with fairings removed to a reasonable shop for the valves (I'd forget about the one you've already visited). When reinstalling the fairings, install the DT fairing brackets, next time they come off you won't need to take the upper off first.

volleykinginnc · Nov 28th, 2011, 9:47 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikrichard

In that case, replace the lines/filter in the tank, remove the lower/mid fairings and replace the fork fluid, replace the belts and brake/clutch fluid. Then, take the bike with fairings removed to a reasonable shop for the valves (I'd forget about the one you've already visited). When reinstalling the fairings, install the DT fairing brackets, next time they come off you won't need to take the upper off first.

Yup this is sound advice! Thanks.

MTScott2 · Nov 28th, 2011, 10:06 am

That is a huge chunk of change...
what does the parts total up to ?
and the hours they are going to spend on it?
Do the math...8 hrs @ $100.oo an hour still leaves them with $1,200.oo for parts ...

Bob92 · Nov 28th, 2011, 11:11 am

That's too high. I agree that this is 8 hours MAX, and that would probably allow all the openers and cloders to be changed. Actually, my ST4 hardly ever needs anything adjusted, so 8 hours would be very generous.

Some dealers just charge by the "book" and won't give you a break if you take off the body work, you just end up doing their work for them. Check before you do anything.

Side comment, for me it is easier to check valve clearances with the belts off, so if you decide to do the belts it might be better to do that after the valve adjustment.

The biggest hassle of doing them yourself is not having a collection of shims. But, for $1700 you could buy all the tools, and a whole set of shims, and still have cash in your pocket. I think that YouTube has several videos on doing the adjustment. I would also recommend getting a real tool for setting belt tension, the frequency method is pretty inexpensive to cobble up, or look on ebay for a belt tension meter.

**Gearbox** · Nov 28th, 2011, 12:49 pm

I do everything on my bike except adjusting the valves.

I check the clearances (which is pretty easy and does not need much in the way of tools or expertise but , as said above , they dont vary much (only 1 shim in 50,000 Mls on my old '02)

Everything else i pretty straightforward and not specific to Ducati so do the general work yourself and check the valves at the same time , you may find they dont need altering (I must say that I only look for the standard Ducati tolerances which may not suit the more pedantic amongst our brethren.......)