[TheDucnutOfBevelville]

Well finally had all the mods done and got the beast onto the road today.
Did a quick 75 miles around the lake with a bit of freeway on both ends.
Will post some pics in the picture thread soon.
Here are my feelings on the bike so far;

The good:
Comfortable ergonomics, nimble, stable at speed, effortless power, fabulous suspension, beautiful brakes.

The bad;
Almost unrideable fueling at 30 to 40 mph (3000 to 4000 rpm) in any gear except first! (even after the ecu reflash!) When I say almost unrideable I mean it is just plain unpleasant listening to the bike hesitating and feeling it run rough combined with the difficulty of riding at constant throttle around town. I tiny bit of "on" or "off" throttle and it is fine, but hey, I need to ride at a constant speed sometimes! Runs as if it is missing constantly on steady throttle at 30 to 40 mph
Heavy clutch with 15 mph before full clutch engagement!!! .... very tall 1st gear; silly really. Why?
Popping and backfiring on decel.
Right foot heel position is subtly annoying after a while.

going to need to do some work on this to make it reasonable around town.
Was somewhat disappointed also that I travelled 41 miles before the fuel light came on and I had to polish some scratches out of the tank when I got it home.... not happy about that at all!

A fantastic machine but clearly designed with a very narrow focus.
Typically Ducati; all attention towards some things and some glaring cockups elsewhere.

 

[LaRossa]

Well finally had all the mods done and got the beast onto the road today.
Did a quick 75 miles around the lake with a bit of freeway on both ends.
Will post some pics in the picture thread soon.
Here are my feelings on the bike so far;

The good:
Comfortable ergonomics, nimble, stable at speed, effortless power, fabulous suspension, beautiful brakes.

The bad;
Almost unrideable fueling at 30 to 40 mph (3000 to 4000 rpm) in any gear except first! (even after the ecu reflash!) When I say almost unrideable I mean it is just plain unpleasant listening to the bike hesitating and feeling it run rough combined with the difficulty of riding at constant throttle around town. I tiny bit of "on" or "off" throttle and it is fine, but hey, I need to ride at a constant speed sometimes! Runs as if it is missing constantly on steady throttle at 30 to 40 mph
Heavy clutch with 15 mph before full clutch engagement!!! .... very tall 1st gear; silly really. This is nuts!
Popping and backfiring on decel.
Right foot heel position is subtly annoying after a while.

going to need to do some work on this to make it reasonable around town.
Was somewhat disappointed also that I travelled 41 miles before the fuel light came on and I had to polish some scratches out of the tank when I got it home.... not happy about that at all!

A fantastic machine but clearly designed with a very narrow focus.
Typically Ducati; all attention towards some things and some glaring cockups elsewhere.

Congratulations!
about popping and backfiring, did they PDI the bike or just put oil in it? Did they balance the cilynders?, Mine has 200 miles so far and it runs so smooth, you can almost ride it in 6th at 2500 rpm, at least that's the feeling I got. As far as 1st gear being tall, is for emission purpose, just add a 14 tooth and you'll be OK, $30 swap that will awaken the beast, I did it to my S4Rs, 999R and soon on the SF. By the sound of it, the dealer just pushed the bike out of the showroom, I'm just wondering how much attention they payed to the prepping. One more thing, the clutch is hard, specially on long trips, do yourself a favor, get a 29mm Oberon clutch slave, Moto Wheels has them and you won't recognize the bike, 1 finger operation, and is the cheapest on the market, go figure. Good luck!

 

[mmoore]

I'd have to agree on the observations about tooling around in city traffic. The "Streetfighter" name is really misleading. Although I suppose "Blasting around on back roads-fighter" didn't really make the cut.

Even with the Termis and ECU, it still burbles at low RPM. And the stock clutch is definitely a workout. More than about 20 min. in the city and I'm wishing I was on my Vespa.

 

[Sito]

Get the ecu looked at again. I have none of the fueling issues you have and the bike is entirely enjoyable to ride at any rpm.

Don't give up!

 

[LaRossa]

Seriously, get yourself a better clutch slave, you'll enjoy the bike, not fight it!
Mine runs like a raped ape, now I just need some of the Ducati sound to add to the open clutch and I'll be in heaven!

 

[TheDucnutOfBevelville]

Thanks for the comments. I was already thinking that I needed to change the clutch slave... will do it at the 600 service.
Hopefully my dealer can still provide some assistance with the fueling.

 

[mickpdx]

I did the slave and the 14 tooth sprocket. I have the Termi slip ons and a different bike emerged. With the stock sprocket I was told to expect to keep the bike above 4k rpm when riding at slow city speeds as this is a characteristic of Vtwin motors. Hopefully a PC commander will be available sometime so we can remap the ecu. Otherwise the 14 tooth helped dramatically. Clutch is no longer an issue with the new slave either.

 

[LaRossa]

I did the slave and the 14 tooth sprocket. I have the Termi slip ons and a different bike emerged. With the stock sprocket I was told to expect to keep the bike above 4k rpm when riding at slow city speeds as this is a characteristic of Vtwin motors. Hopefully a PC commander will be available sometime so we can remap the ecu. Otherwise the 14 tooth helped dramatically. Clutch is no longer an issue with the new slave either.

It's a closed loop system, PC won't work under 4k rpm.
You can use one of these under 4K

http://www.fatduc.com/home.html

 

[mmoore]

Yep. I have the Evoluzione one on my Monster, which was my primary commute bike for 3 years, and clutch slaves are great, but the SF won't be used for commuting that much, so it isn't a big deal for me right now.

 

[Gilly]

I would say depending on whether you want to take $$ leaps or steps, the FatDucs are a worthwhile try. I'm at 2,500 miles with the reflash and the fatducs and it is damn close to good. Not perfect, but good with still some room for adjustment. To tell you the truth I was way to rich initially, so now that I'm somewhat on track with the low rpm fueling, I'm a happy camper.

I can comfortably ride in stock gearing, 1st gear low end is about 25mph, 2nd gear low end is 38mph. This is with the revs between 3-4k.

As far as the gearing goes, I give it a thumbs up. Just going thru 1st and 2nd gear you can hit 60mph without much effort. While changing the front or rear sprocket will adjust the revs a hundred rpm or so, the gearing will still be what it is inside the tranny.

My only issue with city driving is that with any water cooled ducati you can't have too many lights before things begin to warm up. If it were a rush hour thing where you were not moving much, I'd be shutting it off a lot. I've already experienced this once with a police check point that took over half an hour to inch forward less than a quarter of a mile. I ended up paddling with my feet instead of running the bike. A 5 Liter mustang wasn't that lucky and had to pull over while spewing coolant all over.

I sure wish that the DDA would output A/F ratio so you can actually put it to good use. It is a trick device, but it's only as trick as it is useful. Now that would be a good band wagon to get on and campaign for!

 

[BigLebowski65]

.......Here are my feelings on the bike so far.......

My question is: If you could start over again, would you still buy the bike?

 

[cyril185]

Change the front sprocket.
You'll get the bike you were waiting for.

 

[mickpdx]

Lebowski

I just got the sprocket so let me think that one over for a few days.

 

[TheDucnutOfBevelville]

My question is: If you could start over again, would you still buy the bike?

When I was riding it, I was really in two minds about it, but to be fair I need to spend a bit more time with it first.
Put it this way;
1. The pros are so great that I am prepared to persevere with some things.
2. It must be possible to fix it!
Just very annoying that it cost so much money and it has these issues.

 

[flynbulldog]

Ducnut mine still runs just as you describe - the surging, the missing, the popping on decel...
I've had it to the dealer multiple times, had the reflash done but the bike is still substandard. They won't do anything else for me here.

I've got over 2600 miles on it now and I still tell people I'm trying to get used to it

I had a chance to trade my bike for a new MV 1078 but passed - still not sure if that was the right decision.
I know the bike can be fixed but I'm tired of waiting for the solution.

I currently own 5 Ducatis - this is my last :think:

 

[TheDucnutOfBevelville]

Ducnut mine still runs just as you describe - the surging, the missing, the popping on decel...
I've had it to the dealer multiple times, had the reflash done but the bike is still substandard. They won't do anything else for me here.

I've got over 2600 miles on it now and I still tell people I'm trying to get used to it

I had a chance to trade my bike for a new MV 1078 but passed - still not sure if that was the right decision.
I know the bike can be fixed but I'm tired of waiting for the solution.

I currently own 5 Ducatis - this is my last

I know how you feel and believe me when I was riding it on Saturday morning I was thinking "Dammit!... here is another bike I can only ride at speed!" (like my SC1000S).
It is no excuse at all in this day and age, and Ducati have been like this for decades, but they still produce bikes that stir the soul. I also knew that the high performance water cooled motors are a little finnicky down low before I bought it (my Foggy S4RS is a little touchy at constant low speed throttle openings) but the SF is just too unhappy. Overall though I think this is a fantastic machine.
Marty at Ducati Seattle spent some time on the dyno on my Sportclassic a while after I purchased it, and it ran so much better it was amazing. I think it is pretty poor that I have to consider the same treatment for a brand new SF but....
I will change the clutch slave and sprocket at the first service, so that will sort out two main issues. Then I just have one thing to fix.

Here is an odd thing though .... when I picked the bike up I only had 41 miles of gas to the reserve light. I filled up yesterday (Sunday) morning and it was definitely smoother running with the full tank of gas! I need to see if I have a vent issue (the evap can is removed). I think to be fair I also need to run the bike for a couple hundred miles because it is noticeably stiff and tight. Duc Seattle have a demo they say runs perfectly so I will have to try that to compare as well.
Ducati are positioning themselves as the Ferrari of the motorcycle world, but they need to realize that when you buy a Ferrari, you don't have to turn around and fix a whole pile of things!

 

[fighterpilot]

Ducnut mine still runs just as you describe - the surging, the missing, the popping on decel...
I've had it to the dealer multiple times, had the reflash done but the bike is still substandard. They won't do anything else for me here.

I've got over 2600 miles on it now and I still tell people I'm trying to get used to it

I had a chance to trade my bike for a new MV 1078 but passed - still not sure if that was the right decision.
I know the bike can be fixed but I'm tired of waiting for the solution.

I currently own 5 Ducatis - this is my last :think:

The SF is my first Ducati and I'm very disappointed that mine runs this way also, the 14t helped some but it's still a pain to ride in an urban environment...the dealer is of no help either, not wanting to spend any time trying to sort out the bike, saying that they all run like this...the only solution they offer is to sell me the DP carbon slipons/ECU/filter for the bargain price of $1799 plus tax.

I love the SF, but hate the fact that the factory expects me to sort it out at my expense...

 

[TheDucnutOfBevelville]

It would be great if we could just buy the DP ECU. OK you can still argue we shouldn't need to do this but at least the cost of the fix would be more reasonable. Of course a power commander and dyno time would also be necessary.

 

[velocipede]

I'll add to the chorus suggesting the fatduc. I've got a GT1000, not a Streetfighter, but I had the same surging, on/off feeling at low RPMs. I installed the fatduc, played with the settings for about 30 seconds, and the ride is completely transformed. Now it's smooth like butta at just about any RPM, and way smoother from a dead start than before. Different engine, sure, but it sounds like it would help.

 

[jcasella]

I'll second the fatduc, best $80 you can put in the bike

I'll add to the chorus suggesting the fatduc. I've got a GT1000, not a Streetfighter, but I had the same surging, on/off feeling at low RPMs. I installed the fatduc, played with the settings for about 30 seconds, and the ride is completely transformed. Now it's smooth like butta at just about any RPM, and way smoother from a dead start than before. Different engine, sure, but it sounds like it would help.

I could not believe the difference, much more ridable down low, smoother, no hesitation, more pull from lower rpm. Like i said I was surprised that such a little part made that much difference.