Ducati Monster Forum

Hey all, what home-service would you all recommend to a person buying a slightly used '05 S4R?  It only has 150miles.  I was told that the oil should go first and foremost, but what else should I do to have it running nice and clean?  Chain lube, other fluids?

Not sure about the home-service. BUT you should have your belts checked/changed.
One of my riding buddies bought a used 02' 996 with only 90miles on it last year. The bike sat in someone's garage for +5yrs. All he did was change the oil and put a new battery and air in tires.  Same week he took possession was the same week he grenade the engine at 100km  :-[

Please have them checked. I change mine every 2yrs no matter their condition.

Check your carbs! If the bike has that few miles and is several years old, that means it was sitting for awhile, and who knows if the bike was properly stored. . . carbs could be gummed up or a float could be stuck. I neglected to check mine on my recently purchased M750, and it gave me a headache and a half. . .

Also check your tires. . . not for wear, but for cracks and weak spots.

Well, if it means anything I'm buying it from a Ducati dealership that has it on consignment.  I test rode it for a while and saw and felt nothing strange.  I have a friend who is a Ducati technician though, I guess I could shoot him some cash to do a little maintenance.

Now that it's *yours*, don't ride it, don't run the engine.

Change the belts unless there's reliable documentation that the belts have been changed recently.
New belts are cheap insurance.

If it ran OK, then it's probably got fresh gas in it.

Brake fluid in the brakes and clutch need to be flushed, and then bled.
Change the oil and filter.
Check the oil screen while you're at it.
Check and lube the chain.
Make sure the tires are serviceable.

Download the owners manual from ducati.com, if you don't have the hardcopy.
Ride the bike according to the break-in laid out in the manual.

You got a red key and 2 black keys, right?

If you've got a friend who's a ducati tech, have him go over it.
If he'll let you watch and learn, even better.

well it's not in my posession yet.  i have to go tomorrow to deliver the check and pick up the bike.  i can definitely ask for service history and such then.  i will have to ride it home, but i don't live very far from the dealership.  i'm doing a skim-through of the manual now.

Try to get somebody to pick it up in a truck, or leave it at the dealer until you can truck it.

Or have them replace the belts if it hasn't been done recently.

Is a 10 mile drive really too much?  I think I about rode that much on my test ride.

Scrollback up to Ohmic's post...

It's quite unlikely that another 10 miles will be a problem, but it's _spectacularly_ expensive if it is. Speeddog is giving you good cautious advice. I'd suggest you ask the dealer to do the belts before you pick it up, or truck it to somewhere else to get them done.

big

I'm going to pile on with Speed and Iian.  If they are original belts, they are well past 2 years, and have been sitting a lot.  That sitting will make them brittle. 

If one decides to let go on your way home, you're probably looking at a huge bill.  If you get super lucky it'll break when both valves are closed, and you jsut need a belt.  If it lets go while one is full open there's the potential to ruin your piston, bore, and head - basically killing 1/2 your engine. 

It's at a shop now - havethem do the belt as part of the purchase price.

I would try and negotiate a complete service including the belts into the price.  You might get a reduced rate.  5 years on the belts?  Definately change them before running the bike.

It seems like the guys at beverly hills ducati are a little hesitant in negotiating with me because it's not their bike.  But I asked if they could take a look at the belts (told them I'd pay them for service should it need it).   I'll be picking up the bike Saturday, which makes it easier since I can pickup my friend's ramp if need be. 

The guy kept telling me that its practically a brand new bike and that the belts should be fine but I insisted on a once over.

+1 on what everyone else has said.  If the dealership is balking at your proposal to pay for them to check everything out thoroughly, I would be a little skeptical.  Please proceed w/ caution and GET THOSE BELTS REPLACED.

If you insist on riding the bike with old belts, don't rev the engine up.  I mean like keep it under 4000 rpms.

If it were me, I wouldn't even start the engine without installing new belts first.

2 years on the belts, unless I read the OP wrong....

Well, '05 S4R, most likely produced in late '04.
About 3 1/2 years or so.

If the bike has sat for two full years without running, it's still dangerous to run without new belts.

You can get away with three years if the engine is run regularly, like never sitting for a month or longer.

Update:

My friend who works at Pro Italia is getting me an oil filter, a set of belts, and crushwater (dunno what that is) today and is going to do some maintenance on the thing Saturday after he gets off work.  I'll be borrowing his ramp and tie downs as well (i have a truck).  Thanks for the advice, folks.  He agreed that it could potentially be an issue and that those things should be addressed before I do any serious riding.

Fixed it for ya  ;)

The crush washer is an soft metal washer, usually aluminum or copper used to help seal fittings, drain plugs, etc.  They are supposed to be single use items - so each time you drain the oil, you would replace the drain plug crush washer before your reseat the plug. 

There's also one on the oil pump filter screen, oh yeah and the little ones on all your brake fittings.

Well he says the chances of the belts snapping on my way home are low if I ride very conservatively.  But I'd rather not risk it.

And don't forget to post pictures of your ride when you get it. We here at DMF can't get enough of naked....
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... Ducs  ;D

Excellent news!

Like I said upthread, it is probably only a small chance of failure, but that failure is catastophically expensive if it happens. I think you've done the right thing.

big

How difficult is for the tech to change the 2 belts? I mean should he charge 1 hour of labor or Half hour? Each belt is like 80 bucks ? I will ask for this to be done tomorrow on my S4R..

You're friend is a good one, keep him and listen...

as to the Ducati mechanic that stated it's 'practically a new bike' - he's an idiot - let's not beat round the bush - there isn't a single piece of Ducati literature that doesn't state the 2 year rule for belts.

He is either being lazy or trying to save you money - but as the wise ones have pointed out - blowing the motor and having the $120 in your wallet isn't really 'saving' you anything.

Complete trust in your machinery is priceless and an important step in becoming a good rider (so I've heard!)

enjoy!

Yeah, the discount prices on parts don't hurt either :P

Just changing the belts? _I_ can do that in under an hour, so I'd hope a pro would be well under an hour. Normally though, you'd be checking the valve clearances at the same time (having the belts off is a great way to make sure you've got tight-but-not-too-tight closer clearances) - I'd normally expect to be able to comfortably do belts and clearance _checks_ in less than 2 hours. If any shims need changing though, the time goes up again (I usually budget an afternoon if I'm removing or replacing shims).

big

THanks..
My bike is at the shop to have the clutch replaced. I might as well have the tech do the belts and if you say that checking valve clearance is easy at that point, then I will have him do that as well. I wonder what my bill for labor will be to do all this??

they'll probably tack on an extra 2 hours worth of labor just for the belts and valve clearances.  i think ducati on average charges around 100 and some odd dollars per hour. 

Changing belts and checking valve clearances on a 4V Monster is more than a 2 hour job.

With the belts off, you can spin the cams and confirm nothing's binding, and it's only a minute more than just changing the belts.

Actually measuring all 16 clearances takes a good bit longer.

Ahh yeah, sorry, I missed that...

Yeah, 4 valve motors are (I'm told, never had to do one myself) quite a lot more hassle to check and shim than 2 valvers like mine... Ignore my valve clearance time estimates  [bang]

I know at least two people who pull the heads of their 748's to do the valve clearances...

bog