Mesh oil screen check interval - Ducati.ms

heffergm · May 25th, 2009, 7:28 pm

So my initial assumption after taking delivery of my bike (the dealer gave me the brief rundown on how to pull the screen, which involves rotating the forward exhaust header out of the way to get to the bolt... no biggie) was that the mesh screen got checked/cleaned with each oil change. But I'm looking through my manual now and the cleaning interval for the screen is actually 3 years or 22.5k miles.

The older I get, the more I'm happy to follow the manufacturers recommended maintenance intervals. I'm just curious if anyone is checking their mesh filter more often and has found anything warranting closer attention (i.e. it's actually got debris in it at every oil change. I plan to change my oil every 2500 miles after the 600 mile change, so 2500, 5000, 7500, etc).

**Da_Bull** · May 25th, 2009, 7:39 pm

Every oil change.

heffergm · May 25th, 2009, 7:50 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da_Bull

Every oil change.

Ok... why? Have you actually come across any debris? I just don't quite see the point checking something every 2500 miles if Ducati says I don't need to until 22,500 miles.

Now granted, some of the maintenance intervals in the manual are a bit hokey (tires for example... I've never had a set go 7500 miles!) but when it comes to the mechanical bits, I'm willing to go with their intervals.

08hyper · May 25th, 2009, 10:35 pm

For me every other oil change or 5000mi, when I cleaned the screen at 5000mi, it was fairly clean, probably could go 20,000mi but I sleep better at 5000mi. Aloha Alex

**Da_Bull** · May 26th, 2009, 1:08 am

After having owned a desmoquattro (known for flaking rocker chrome that is non-magnetic and, therefore, not picked up by the drainplug) I feel it is good practice to keep a close eye on Ducati's work, especially if it's that easy.

doon · May 26th, 2009, 3:41 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da_Bull

After having owned a desmoquattro (known for flaking rocker chrome that is non-magnetic and, therefore, not picked up by the drainplug) I feel it is good practice to keep a close eye on Ducati's work, especially if it's that easy.

yes the old desmoquattro

, I agree with da-bull its good practice to check it every time you change the oil just incase something is starting to poo itself

It only costs you a few minute of your time

heffergm · May 26th, 2009, 4:46 am

I take it you're all reusing the original header gasket on the front cylinder?

GMP · May 26th, 2009, 9:18 am

I checked mine at 1.5K and 5K. A few traces of silicone gasket sealer at 1.5K, thats it. I think you would be fine doing it once a year, or at every major service. It has quite a large surface area, so I wouldn't worry about it clogging from a few normal debris. I reused the header gasket once, replaced it the second time. Get a few and replace it if it leaks.

v12gte · May 26th, 2009, 10:52 am

"rotating the header pipe out of the way" means unhooking it at engine and downstream side, no? Or does "rotating" imply some flexibility? The allen bolt seems to located right behind the header.

heffergm · May 26th, 2009, 11:35 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by v12gte

"rotating the header pipe out of the way" means unhooking it at engine and downstream side, no? Or does "rotating" imply some flexibility? The allen bolt seems to located right behind the header.

You need to remove the bolts holding the pipe to the front cylinder and then loosen the downstream clamp holding the header pipe to the midpipe (behind the motor). Then you can just rotate the whole pipe down and out of the way of the screen bolt without removing it. When you're done, just rotate it back up. Nothing flexes.

Go take a look at the bike... it's hard to explain in words but really straight forward to do.