Ducati Monster Forum

I'm getting ready for the service interval and started wondering what truely needs to be done by the dealership not to forfeit the remaining warrranty.
The two items I wouldn't feel comfartable doing myself are timing belt adjustment and throttle body synchronization. I don't mind shelling out 800 bones if it is truely needed, but if I can do the majority of the maintenance items myself and use the money saved for add-ons without negating the remaining warranty i'd be so ... [moto]

I would guess that if you are hesitant to do your belts and fuel injection you might not want to do the valves either. Based on that I think you should find a shop (does not have to be a dealer) that does good work and have them do the job. The 7500 mile service is a important one because the valves have never been adjusted since it was assembled. I have seen them out quite a bit at this service.

There is nothing stated that you cannot do some of the work yourself. unfortunately the valves belts and efi set up are important and the expensive parts.

Totally forgot about the valve adjustment...
Thanks for the advice.

Hey I had to ask as I have seen people who would adjust their valves but were not willing to tie their own shoes [laugh]

I called my local stealership and they wanted $1100.00 + parts (shims)

I'm also interested in what I can do myself to save on cost.

Wow what the heck is up with these prices.  My dealer quoted me $600 approximate including parts for the 12k on my 06 S2R1000.  The 12k requires new belts so it will be more expensive than the 6k or in your case the 7500 service.  Granted your a 4V but still 1100 bucks seems crazy to me.  Either way don't be afraid to shop around for quotes.

I already have a place where I'm taking my bike to:

In Tune Cycles
10950 Tuxford St. unit #1
Sun Valley Ca 91352
818-768-9026
Brian Moffatt.

He's local (only a few miles from home) so I'll give him a try.  He quoted me around $500 for the same service as the dealership.

I'm thinking I'll do the oil change m self and save some time and money on that as well.

A 4 valve service can easily be 30-50% more time than a simple two valve. It is not that it is rocket science but very labor intensive.I would plan on a good 7-8 hours for a 4 valve where a 2 valve can be done in 4-5.

Another added cost is the new belt prices that are rising as fast as the gas at the pumps. The 1000 belts are over $100 a pair now and I just put on a set of testastretta belts that were $100 each. So much for ducatis being affordable, every two years? they plan on withdrawing it from you. Hey maybe it will be like belt of the month club where every two years they send you some new belts to put on and a payment plan to afford them. [beer]

When I had my 12k service on my S4R last year at the dealer, it was $630 out of my pocket.  6 hours labor + 3 shims + the belts ($65 each) and a few bolts that were missing here and there.  I guess it all depends on the dealer.  He did keep my bike for like 2 weeks, but he's the only dealer in western NY, so he gets swamped with work.

I'm doing the service myself right now, and it's definitely cheaper and faster (might take me a whole week working on it a couple hours every night).  There's a good guide on how to adjust the 4V valves here: http://ducatimonsterworldwide.org/index.php?topic=1312.0
If anyone needs pictures let me know.  I have that same post with all the pictures in it.

I would love to see pictures. I was quoted $800 to $900 depending on the amount of shims needed for the entire
7,500 mile service while doing the oil change myself.
It would be great if we could get detailed instructions (with pictures) on how to do the valve adjustments, throttle body synchronization and timing belt adjustment.
Any recommendations for useful service manuals?

Try desmotimes
LT Snyder makes instruction manuals for ducati's

Hi, I just emailed you a guide with pictures.  It's the guide I used for doing my valves.  Good luck!

Thanks Carlos!!!

Thanks ducvet, this is a pretty cool site

I've done a few 6 and 12K services on testa motors (my 999 and another).  The belts are pricey, Martin (motowheels) has them for ~89 each IIRC.
Shims are a given, but may or may not really need replacing.  I'm anal about the clearances, so on my 6K a LOT of shims got moved around and I had to buy 5 I believe.  I re-used the keepers (those will wear IMHO and make the big difference in clearances changing).  Set the openers to .004 and the closers to .002 (The openers are the ones that will tend to tighten up btw).

Also, and CAUTION.  The testa motors DO NOT have TDC marks on the pulleys.  Make sure you mark the pulleys side/side and the crank pulley is marked as well.  The Vertical is a smidge easier as the "T" in the pulley nut do line up, but the Hoz cylinder does not which can/will confuse you.  If you fail to make the pulleys all is not lost, just pull out the dial gauge and mag base and go to town.  Helps to have a background in doing stuff like this, but if you get stuck or have any questions just PM me.  Glad to help :)

Well I had to bite the bullet....
Total cost with practically every shim needed for valve adjustment came in at $925 ($300 parts plus labor).
Having the time of my life on this beast helps to somewhat ease the impact of the pricey service.

what happened to 2007 having 50% less maintenance costs? ???

Nice ride [thumbsup]

That was some true smoke and mirrors math. I don't think it holds water anymore since ducati parts have gone up 30% :P

The Euro $ has more than doubled versus the US $ over the last 10 years, which means that the parts and motorcycle prices are not far behind that trend.
Be happy you don't live in Europe where the gas prices are approaching $8 per gallon due to taxes and exchange rate.
I don't think that the service I paid for is a bargain but I know it wouldn't be any cheaper in Europe unless I learn to do it myself, which I'm aiming to do.

Those parts went up for the bikes with 6,000 mile intervals too so that washes out.  

Most bikes that have a few miles on them and are serviced properly are fine to run 10000 mile services (probably 12000miles) with as minor service in between. That would cut prices a bunch.
I wonder if the increased parts prices were done to offset the $$ dealers were loosing to the extra 1500 miles the bikes would run between services. ;)

Ouch, but IF the dealer set the specs tight then you should be fine at the 12K check.

Wondering though....did they charge you for ALL the shims they used, or just some?  The shims need to be sanded/fit for each valve, but keep in mind can/should be moved around if needed....so having to buy every shim that was out of wack usually isn't the case.  I would hope/assume they replaced the split rings/keepers.

The total parts bill was $322, replacing sparkplugs, 2 head gaskets, coolant, 5 shims, misc. washers and hardware.
The labor came to $522 for 6.7 hours.