Ducati Monster Forum

I started to change my front sprocket a couple weeks ago, then decided I didn't want to mess with the rear wheel. (Due to a bad experience, I have a phobia of wheels bouncing off while riding.) 

I went by Nichols for the first time yesterday. The two guys there were really cool. I got there about an hour before they closed. They made time to change out the sprocket. They notice my kickstand bolt was about to fall off and fixed it and explained what could have caused it and what to avoid regarding kickstand abuse. They also noticed I used silicon vacuum caps to plug the holes where the emission canister tubes used to go, and gave me a couple pair of different size bolts to use instead. My chain looked dry, so they cleaned it with some WD40, then lubed it. (I use the DuPont Teflon dry wax lube stuff, so it usually looks dry.) They explained to me several factors that could cause the Termi's to pop on deceleration, and even made a phone call to find out what the deal is with resetting the TPS on the 696.

They were easy to talk to, knowledgeable, informative, helpful and courteous.  [thumbsup] I won't hesitate to go back there again.

PS- not so sure about the 14t sprocket though. Seems like I'm shifting gears a lot more. But it's not like I ever really paid attention to it before.

Nichol's rocks, the 14t sprocket makes a pretty big difference for riding in the city, you'll like the way the bike runs.  I have the 14t and rarely go above 4th gear even on freeway.

+1 From maintenance to tires, Nichols is the only shop that works on my bike.

Now they just need to get that dyno fully running.  Then they'll be my 1 stop moto shop.

Dude, you don't get off that easy... is there a story here?   [laugh]

Oh - Nichols good.  14t sprocket good. 

Nichols is top notch.

Both times I had my Motorcycle serviced there they drove me back to work  [thumbsup]

That's the only place I will take my bike to now for major servicing  ;D

you can still get full dyno runs even thought they don't have the dyno room walls built out yet. 

the dyno they have is the top of the line dynojet model, and have been certified on the dyno as well as power commander tuning.

I "heard", at their location, they can't tune with out walls (OSHA..., noise..., ventilation..., something...?), and were waiting to find out if they were going to move or not.  Just rumors I've heard from a customer of theirs.

 [thumbsup] [clap] for Nichols, I've always gotten excellent service there.

Sigh, I just wish they weren't so damn far away from me.

14T isn't just good for slogging in the city. I think it improves the usability of 2nd and 3rd in the twisties.  [thumbsup]

i think it is mostly to not totally piss off their neighbors with the shared wall.

sig. moore -

anytime you need to drop your bike off @ nichols, you can hang with me if it is a 1 day work ticket ... or i can give you a ride back up north.

no bromance ... just one canadian helping another, eh.  [thumbsup]

I call it unabashed male leg-humping, John.  Ewwwwww...  [cheeky]

Yeah, but I'm not much of a story teller.

Years ago my brother fixed up a Vespa and was insisting that I take it for a ride. I didn't want to because I was scared of turning. This was my first motorized two wheel experience and I'd heard crazy stories about having to lean in order to turn, or actually having to steer in the opposite direction you're turning.
I agreed to ride it down the street, walk it in a u-turn and come back. I get going and the Vespa gets all wobbly. I didn't realize it was that hard to control/balance the bike. I start to slow down so I can stop and turn around, but the steering gets more wobbly. Then all of a sudden, in slow motion, I see the front wheel just jumped off the pavement and off to the side. It just kinda bounced away. As I'm thinking "Oh shit," the front drops to the ground, bends some brake disc thing in half and grinds to a stop as I run with it between my legs. Then my brother runs up to me yelling at me for screwing up his Vespa. Turns out he forgot to replace the pin that holds the wheel on. Sometimes I still wonder if he was trying to kill me.

I'll have to go for a ride on Calaveras and see if I notice

Nichols is what service departments should aspire to be.  If you happen to dump your bike and bend the shit out of your levers and show up on a Monday when Nichols is closed, John in the machine shop will likely help you replace them.*  I'm not sure if they really enjoy working on bikes, teaching or showing off.  Either way, it works. 

* It helps if you look clueless with common hand tools. 

Glad to hear so much positive feedback, I'm taking my bike in to them on Sat. for the 6k svc.

Later

well, yeah ... i guess you could call it that too  [roll]

I had heard good things about Nichols Sportbike Service for years, but didn't bother taking a bike there until the second time IMX screwed something up and lied to me.  Taking the bike to Nichols was so refreshing.  I almost look for additional reasons to drop a bike by there, but so far, it's only for 6000 mile services.  It's just great to take a bike in where they understand the subtleties of Ducati behavior and where they don't try to sell you something you don't need.

I use them as the excuse of why I've never actually gone to the trouble of checking my own valves.

Finally got my bike dropped off this a.m. and talked to Mike (tech.) and John (owner).  Both very friendly and professional.  Made sure to thank me for my business and shook my hand, and I made sure to tell them that I live only one mile from the local Ducati dealer but love the svc. they provide.  This wasn't my first visit to them, but they are by far the most professional automotive/moto shop I been in over the past 15 years.

Looking forward to getting my bike back......

Later