996 poor running - Ducati.ms

skippz · May 13th, 2008, 8:05 am

On purchasing my 99 996 bip i've found that the bike is running a ducati performance chip(08054/11) but has standard exhaust,could this cause the poor running on part throttle under 5,000rpm that i'm experiencing,can't keep a smooth line through corners as the power just comes on and off like a switch,i noticed that its been fitted with a jhp air filter in the airbox and assumed that the original filters in the intake tubes would have been removed,on investigation found these to be still fitted and caked in crap should the originals be removed?starting to regret selling my 900ss,any help would be welcome,cheers skip.

1fast750ss · May 13th, 2008, 8:50 am

The JHP filter is a good filter, however not really an upgrade compared to the stock filters, flow wise. You can keep either and it won't hurt the bike, but definitely not both at the same time. You have a serious rich running problem partly because of having both filters in, so pull one or the other. Does the bike have the air runner restrictors in? If so, pull them too. The 996 has dual injectors so any air restricted to the TB's will just make the bike run like crap.

The chip is really intended to run with a set of after market mufflers, so you may want to find a pair on fleabay or somewhere. A dyno run with A/F will determine the exact problem though, so maybe one should be in your future. It is common for a PCIII or custom chip(to your bike) to be used in order to take out the rich running low end rpms. Another option is the single injector modification.

This will make you feel better about your choice, however you will still miss your 900SS.

skippz · May 13th, 2008, 9:38 am

Thanks Brian,i needed the encourgement to persivere with my new bike choice thanks for the tip's will try out a few things and let you know how i get on,all part of the biking experience i guess,must not waste too much time as English summer is short,take care,skip.

1fast750ss · May 13th, 2008, 10:19 am

No problem Skip. If you are near London, I have a friend moving there from Prague(originally from the London area) that races a 996. He is a wealth of information on that bike.

Kawtipping · May 14th, 2008, 12:38 am

Removing the air restrictors makes a huge difference! I couldn't believe the difference that it made! I never knew there was such a thing in the air tubes until I was swapping filters from one bike to another. My 01 had them still...other than an Ohlins shock, the bike seems to have been an unmolested 4100 mile bike before I got it! Not so my 10k mile 00. Someone has been into the computer on the 00...but have not gone poking around to see why yet.

Anyways, sorry for the hijack...but welcome to the 996. They seem to be great bikes, and luckily easy to work on so far (for me) as well.

If you end up looking for an exhaust, I have a new set of Arrow slip-ons in titanium that are still in the box.