[Vegasrider]

My new bike started leaking oil before the 1st breakin service and planned to get it fixed then under warranty. They didn't have the part to fix the slow leak at the time so I brougt the hike in a week later. The bike was leaking behind the cam timing belt. Rode it for about 15 minutes after leaving the dealership today and the the engine stopped running after the oil light came on. Wouldn't start up again and the red oil light remained on. It appears to have oil as I can see oil through the sight level when the bike is centred.

Any thoughts of what's wrong? Called the dealership and they came by and hauled the bike away.

 

[Chuckracer]

It's definitely broken.

Sorry,. that's all I got. Could be a LOT of things.

 

[BigRed]

Chuck, he knows.

You are off the hook financially but at the mercy of the dealer's competence.

And expediting of parts.

I speak from experience.

 

[Ravill]

Yup, lots to go wrong in the area they were fixing that leak.

It would not turn over at all? If it wasn't turning over, then it will be a new motor for you. Darnit, sorry man.

 

[Vegasrider]

The bike would power up, meaning the instrument panel would come on, but the bike would not crank.

Anyways, I heard back from the dealership today. They said my instrument cluster needed a software update? Kind of strange, you would think the dealership, which was in Seattle who sold me the bike a few weeks ago would have already done that. But again, they let me leave without ever conducting the mandatory service recall on the throttle either. Or the dealership here in Reno who conducted my break in service would have check to do so. But give them credit that they caught that my bike needed the mandatory service bulletin done. But they also had a second chance for the software update since I had to bring the bike back in for a second time to get my oil leak fixed.

I'm in the aviation industry working for an OEM service center that manufactures and services corporate jets. In the event a jet leaves the hangar after getting service and has to come back for whatever reason, we call that a quality escape. In other words, it's not good and someone needs to be held accountable. The same reasoning should be applied to any maintenance facility.

 

[daved]

the engine stopped running after the oil light came on.

Did you keep going after the oil light came on?

 

[Vegasrider]

I was riding through downtown Reno, stop n go with a lot of stop lights. As soon as I noticed the oil light come on I started to pull my bike over to the side of the road to stop and that's when the bike died. So maybe I rode with the light on for a few seconds, then it died.

 

[SDRider]

Are the timing belts covered in oil? If so, I wonder if one of them slipped and your timing is off. Not sure if that would cause the oil light though. Would certainly cause the running problem if valves crashed into Pistons.

 

[MTScott2]

I would be concerned about having THAT DEALERSHIP working on my bike AGAIN!!!
I would demand a lot of answers before allowing them to go further on YOUR Bike.
If they are incompetent then GO TO ANOTHER DEALER.

KNOW the time frame it will be out of commission, Get a Loaner.
The worked on bikes should be taken for a test ride by the mechanic before it was handed back to you.

I would talk to the Mechanic face too face , not a smooth talking service rep.

 

[monocog007]

I'd be tempted to claim Lemon Law if it applies in your state, and the bike ends up sitting at the dealer for too long. A new bike seizing up sounds like something very very wrong has happened.

 

[Ravill]

So, I'm confused?

Your bike stalled because it needed a software update to your instrument cluster?

But your engine was never seized? It just would not turn over when you pressed start?

Could the engine be turned over if you tried to push it in a higher gear?

All in all, I hope all your bike needs is that instrument cluster update. If so, that is a MAJOR headache you just dodged!

 

[jcasella]

I'm wondering if seized was the right word also.. two different descriptions of what happened and not sure anything seized with the dealer saying it was just a software update...Not turning over and seized are more than slightly different...as stated above.

 

[Vegasrider]

The word seized might have been too harsh. I should say that the motor stopped running after the oil light illuminated and it would not start back up as the light remained illuminated whenever the bike was power upped.

Unfortunately, there are no other dealers in my city. I'm just glad that there is one, as the previous two cities (Las Vegas & Boise) I lived in the past did not have a Ducati dealer. Although this particular dealership, like many others sell and service other brands, they are not a dedicated Ducati dealership like Motocorsa or Ducati Seattle where I purchased my new bike. From what I understand, there is one officially certified trained Ducati mechanic here at this shop. Ironically, the mechanic who conducted my first break in service and conducted the service bulletin was not one. How do I know? I spoke to him the day he serviced my bike and asked the very same question. He said he was certified in the past but no longer is. I'm not sure if the first break in service, which is essentially just an oil change need to be conducted by a certified Duc mechanic. But like they said, it was a software issue, and if that was indeed the case, they had two opportunities to update. Fortunately for me, the bike broke down here in the same city where I live. Hate to imagine if I was out on a long road trip and got stranded out in the middle of nowhere simply because somebody failed to update my instrument cluster?

They have been very cooperative, giving me updates and in fact the bike is ready now. They have offered to pick me up or deliver the bike which is very important to me, since I have no other way of getting to the dealership besides taking a 2-3 hour bus ride using the local mass transit system.

I have a strong feeling this bike might end up in the shop again, I understand that the fuel sender unit has a very high failure rate. At least everything is under warranty up to this point. Although I logged 750 miles within 24 hours of purchasing the bike since I rode it back from Seattle, I haven't even logged 100 miles since I have gotten home.

 

[Chuckracer]

I have a strong feeling this bike might end up in the shop again.

Yup, that's why I don't own one. I'd love one, I loved the one I borrowed from a friend for three weeks but where I live there isn't a Ducati dealer within 200 miles of me. So even with a wonderful warranty that's a deal breaker.

 

[Vegasrider]

Yup, that's why I don't own one. I'd love one, I loved the one I borrowed from a friend for three weeks but where I live there isn't a Ducati dealer within 200 miles of me. So even with a wonderful warranty that's a deal breaker.

You are correct. I almost purchased a MTS while I lived in Boise. The closest Ducati dealership would have been 360 miles in Salt Lake City, 420 miles in Portland or almost 500 miles away in Seattle. If all this stuff was going on back in Boise, I would be up that famous creek without a paddle. Like I said, I'm glad there is one here in Reno, although there is another dealership two hours away in Sacramento.

 

[duc96cr]

This is a sad state of affairs. Not just your problem in particular, but the acceptance of incompetence in general and the anticipation of further issues on new motorcycles with known problems that have not been properly dealt with by the company. My only experience with new motorcycles has been with Harley Davidsons, where ALL mechanics in the building were Harley certified and warranty repairs were done in one day when pre- arranged to be sure parts were in stock. Is that so f____g hard to accomplish ? What a half assed dealer network!

 

[SDRider]

The word seized might have been too harsh. I should say that the motor stopped running after the oil light illuminated and it would not start back up as the light remained illuminated whenever the bike was power upped.

Unfortunately, there are no other dealers in my city. I'm just glad that there is one, as the previous two cities (Las Vegas & Boise) I lived in the past did not have a Ducati dealer. Although this particular dealership, like many others sell and service other brands, they are not a dedicated Ducati dealership like Motocorsa or Ducati Seattle where I purchased my new bike. From what I understand, there is one officially certified trained Ducati mechanic here at this shop. Ironically, the mechanic who conducted my first break in service and conducted the service bulletin was not one. How do I know? I spoke to him the day he serviced my bike and asked the very same question. He said he was certified in the past but no longer is. I'm not sure if the first break in service, which is essentially just an oil change need to be conducted by a certified Duc mechanic. But like they said, it was a software issue, and if that was indeed the case, they had two opportunities to update. Fortunately for me, the bike broke down here in the same city where I live. Hate to imagine if I was out on a long road trip and got stranded out in the middle of nowhere simply because somebody failed to update my instrument cluster?

They have been very cooperative, giving me updates and in fact the bike is ready now. They have offered to pick me up or deliver the bike which is very important to me, since I have no other way of getting to the dealership besides taking a 2-3 hour bus ride using the local mass transit system.

I have a strong feeling this bike might end up in the shop again, I understand that the fuel sender unit has a very high failure rate. At least everything is under warranty up to this point. Although I logged 750 miles within 24 hours of purchasing the bike since I rode it back from Seattle, I haven't even logged 100 miles since I have gotten home.

Glad they got it sorted out. If it is running now, it's definitely not seized. If the engine was seized it would take more than a software update to cure that. One easy way to check if your engine was seized would be to pull the crankshaft turning cover off the left side engine case, remove a spark plug from each cylinder and use a crankshaft timing/turning tool to see if you can rotate the engine by hand.

I had the fuel sending unit replaced on my Multi during the summer. It only took a couple hours and they let me take a new Multi home for the day. The new Rev D sensor seems to have cured the problem and I've put a few thousand miles on my bike since then with no more fuel gauge problems.

I've put over 7,000 trouble free miles on my Multi and 16,000 miles on the Monster 1100 EVO I owned prior. Honestly though, if I didn't have great dealer support I probably wouldn't own a Ducati.

 

[851Tricolour]

The word seized might have been too harsh. I should say that the motor stopped running after the oil light illuminated and it would not start back up as the light remained illuminated whenever the bike was power upped.

Unfortunately, there are no other dealers in my city. I'm just glad that there is one, as the previous two cities (Las Vegas & Boise) I lived in the past did not have a Ducati dealer. Although this particular dealership, like many others sell and service other brands, they are not a dedicated Ducati dealership like Motocorsa or Ducati Seattle where I purchased my new bike. From what I understand, there is one officially certified trained Ducati mechanic here at this shop. Ironically, the mechanic who conducted my first break in service and conducted the service bulletin was not one. How do I know? I spoke to him the day he serviced my bike and asked the very same question. He said he was certified in the past but no longer is. I'm not sure if the first break in service, which is essentially just an oil change need to be conducted by a certified Duc mechanic. But like they said, it was a software issue, and if that was indeed the case, they had two opportunities to update. Fortunately for me, the bike broke down here in the same city where I live. Hate to imagine if I was out on a long road trip and got stranded out in the middle of nowhere simply because somebody failed to update my instrument cluster?

They have been very cooperative, giving me updates and in fact the bike is ready now. They have offered to pick me up or deliver the bike which is very important to me, since I have no other way of getting to the dealership besides taking a 2-3 hour bus ride using the local mass transit system.

I have a strong feeling this bike might end up in the shop again, I understand that the fuel sender unit has a very high failure rate. At least everything is under warranty up to this point. Although I logged 750 miles within 24 hours of purchasing the bike since I rode it back from Seattle, I haven't even logged 100 miles since I have gotten home.

I was riding through downtown Reno, stop n go with a lot of stop lights. As soon as I noticed the oil light come on I started to pull my bike over to the side of the road to stop and that's when the bike died. So maybe I rode with the light on for a few seconds, then it died.

You didn't explain things too well in your first post for someone who services planes.:grin2::grin2:

 

[Fl cracker]

Oil safety switch?

Sounds like our bikes have an oil level safety switch like a Honda lawn mower engine. Automatic shut down if the oil level or maybe pressure goes too low? That would be a good idea saving catastrophic engine failure. Anybody know?

 

[Bob McCarthy]

I'm confused why the oil light came on when there was oil in the sight glass?

Was the oil level at the very bottom of the sight glass? If so the dealer should have topped it up, after all the bike was in the shop for an oil leak.

If the oil level was proper, the oil light should have never come on in city riding. Perhaps the illuminated light was engine check, which could have been a number of causes.

bob