[RidingTom]

Hey Guys,

I picked up my new Ducati V4S from the dealer a few weeks ago. Every single morning it failed to start. I would literally waste 5-10 minutes each morning hitting the starter on-and-off.

After some troubleshooting I discovered that my bike has been overfilled by Ducati Italy (or the dealer?) with 1.5 litres of excess oil! I drained out the excess and now it starts within a few sounds. Although it does still sound like it’s struggling.

Would you guys mind watching this video of my bike and let me know if yours sounds the same? Does you’re bike also stutter for 10-20 seconds if you try and take off immediately from cold?

https://youtu.be/YWT-cUaNRBw
(Fires 2-3 times, stutters, fires and then starts up)

Do you think my bike could have been damaged by running 500km with 1.5 litres of excess oil? Compromised seals? Flooded air filter? Flooded starter maybe?

Sorry guys, freaking out a bit ? Can’t believe the Ducati factory would send out a bike like this. Pretty shocking.

 

[Strega]

Overfilling will often result in oil being discharged into the airbox via the crankcase ventilation system. So, you could have oil-fouled spark plugs that would cause starting and running problems.

 

[duc96cr]

I hope you’ve personally stopped by the dealer to report this in case it does result in problems. Talk directly to the manager and be pissed off but civil and tell him you want his personal assurance it will be made right if problems ensue. Avoid being told later that he never heard anything about it.

 

[rennsportmotorrad]

I would at the very least just because it's easy replace your Spark Plugs & look at your Air filter-if any oil is on the filter replace it & inside the Air box--if you see any oil in the box clean it out well. Look around the engine just because you can and see if you see any leakage when a seal may be weeping ---But then again If this is a New Bike under warranty let it be the dealers problem and it cost you nothing.

 

[draganc]

If the bike is under warranty, which most likely it is, stop doing any work yourself until the initial PROBLEM (not maintenance) is fixed.

How are you going to prove that there was 1.5 liter to much oil in the engine?




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[Rex Coil 7]

Overfilling will often result in oil being discharged into the airbox via the crankcase ventilation system. So, you could have oil-fouled spark plugs that would cause starting and running problems.

True, but I saw no mention of excessive smoking ... the engine would produce a good deal of the dreaded ~blue smoke~ if it were burning that much oil, wouldn't it (legit question, not a dig)?

I hope you’ve personally stopped by the dealer to report this in case it does result in problems. Talk directly to the manager and be pissed off but civil and tell him you want his personal assurance it will be made right if problems ensue. Avoid being told later that he never heard anything about it.

This ^ ... above all other things. Do not perform any more work to the bike until you (rightfully) file a complaint with the dealer you bought it from. Don't be wishy-washy about it, you've gone into a lot of debt (or paid out a lot of cash ... or both) and you deserve to get what you've paid for. Stand your ground.

If the bike is under warranty, which most likely it is, stop doing any work yourself until the initial PROBLEM (not maintenance) is fixed.

Exactly!

How are you going to prove that there was 1.5 liter to much oil in the engine?

Two things; 1.) Do no further work to the bike ... none. Take it to the dealer, express your findings so far (overfilled engine cases, hard starting, et al), and let THEM look at the exhaust pipes, sparks, and the airbox etc. 2.) Your ~word~ as a customer must be given credence. Other than that, there is no way to "prove" anything. Even if you had left the engine in an overfilled state that's still not "proof" that the dealer did it. So this notion of "proof" must be taken on the word of the customer. Keep in mind the dealer has more to lose than you do. If they're worth their salt, they'll accept responsibility for the problem.

The main thing is getting the entire ordeal documented by the dealer. Fully and in detail. It will be your only leg to stand upon should related issues pop up later on down the line.

Don't touch it anymore than you already have. Do not pull the plugs, do not open the airbox, do not wash it, do not even wipe it down. Let them make observations of the wetness of the exhaust pipe outlets, the spark plugs, the airbox, the crank vent system, et al. If there is visible evidence (such as wet exhaust pipes) point it out, make certain they note things like that in the work order.

Protect yourself, and your rather sizeable investment.

(speaking from a quarter century of owning a factory authorized warranty and repair center in two separate businesses representing over forty manufacturers).

 

[RidingTom]

I absolutely agree with you guys about not touching the bike. On your advise I won’t be doing anything without a dealer now. The reason I did drain the excess oil out is because my dealer is located 5 hours away from me and told me to do so. After some troubleshooting over the phone, we found that the oil level was high and they had me remove the drain bolt. This is when we discovered it had been way over filled.

Interesting that it’s been raised about proof/ deniability. Neither the dealer nor Ducati denied that the oil was overfilled. I did provide them with photos and videos. This was more for troubleshooting, not so much for evidence. The bike is only 2 weeks old, both the dealer and Ducati were very accommodating.

It looks like the bike comes from the factory filled with oil. My dealer inspected the oil level pre delivery and found it to be correct. They were under the impression that the oil needed to be checked hot which is incorrect. The V4S needs to be checked cold after waiting at least 2 hours. Its likely they had a false reading as a result.

The bike has been now towed to the Ducati importer here in Australia (Fraser Motorcycles) for repairs. A nice bunch of guys there. The Ducati rep and Frasers both inspected the bike and will try starting it tomorrow.

It seems to start up better with the excess oil removed. That being said it still stutters when starting up cold. It seems to fire and then start, stutter and die and then fire and start again. If I let go of the starter button during the stutters, the bike refuses to start after that. It’s easy to do as it does start just prior to stuttering.

I hope this isn’t and indication that the engine has been damaged by the 1.5 litres of excess oil. No other V4 on YouTube seems to show this on cold startup. This is a genuine concern as I will ride this bike for the next 3-4 years and want the best performance and reliability during that time.

If anyone has a V4/S I would very appreciate if you could chime in if you’re bike seems to have this issue or not.

I also let Ducati know about checking the spark plugs, air filter etc as you guys mentioned. I’m going to send this thread to Ducati to follow as it contains good information. Better keep it clean <img src="http://www.ducati.ms/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" />

 

[RidingTom]

https://youtu.be/3-14gPVlI0I
Just some extra info. This videos shows the bike attempting and eventually refusing the start.

I might have stopped pressing the starter button when it started. Though it died immediately and then didn’t want to start after that. I suspect if I continued holding the starter initially it might have started.

 

[virgilante]

I would put the oil back in, take the bike to the dealer and tell them it s over filled. Then take the bike back when it s in mint condition (with warranty service mentioning overfilling), or get my money back.

 

[Xyst]

I would put the oil back in, take the bike to the dealer and tell them it s over filled. Then take the bike back when it s in mint condition (with warranty service mentioning overfilling), or get my money back.

I absolutely agree with you guys about not touching the bike. On your advise I won’t be doing anything without a dealer now. The reason I did drain the excess oil out is because my dealer is located 5 hours away from me and told me to do so. After some troubleshooting over the phone, we found that the oil level was high and they had me remove the drain bolt. This is when we discovered it had been way over filled.

previously addressed