I'm looking seriously at an '01 S4 with around ~14kmi. Totally stock, all records, recently refurbed by a well respected Ducati certified tech, asking $4000.
Sounds pretty reasonable to me but I've been made aware that these motors tend to flake rockers... How common is this really? what kind of maintenance/service should I expect to be doing to a bike this age/mileage?
So far this bike seems to have a really clean bill of health but I don't want to buy it and then find out I've gotta spend more and shoulda know better...
Thanks in advance for any advice on this.
I heard the same thing. If the two services were done and you have paperwork look to see if it showed up in the repair. What does refurbished mean anyway? I have an 06 with no problems and shortly turning 15k.
Good question, Muskrat. Truthfully, I don't fully know yet what all he had to do to it but that he claims it's in good running order. I'll see what he says but sounds like it's just a roll of the dice then, ie. may be fine now but could show up in another 2k mi...? What would early signs of this happening be? Or is there no way to know with out going inside?
At 14K miles flaking rockers should have shown up already, and inspection during valve adjustment would reveal the problem. The only way to confirm this is to reinspect. Ask the tech what refurbished means. The dealer should be able to tell you exactly what was done, including what new parts were installed. I suppose you could ask for a warranty on the rockers. As far as 2K down the road, no one knows.
Quote from: muskrat on January 09, 2012, 11:31:17 PM
If the two services were done and you have paperwork look to see if it showed up in the repair. What does refurbished mean anyway? I have an 06 with no problems and shortly turning 15k.
Muskrat..yours is a Testretta motor which has shown to be a much more reliable evolution in the SBK species of motors, whereas the desmoquattro motor has its quirks and issues, but are known...
as Howie said, by this point, flaking rockers should have manifested if it is going to, but I also ask for a definition of what "refurbished" is as well as look at the records to see if on the parts listing of any of the repair bills/record you got with the bike, if there were rockers listed in the parts detailed and if they were Ducati or Megacycle or some other incarnation...a reputable dealer should be able to easily detail that if it was done at a reputable dealer/shop....
as far as what can/will happen down the road....with this bike or any other....just simply look in your crystal ball, as it is about as good as predicting the future as anyone here...
Thanks for the insight, fellas. He's got all the records so should be able to get a clearer picture. Either way, I figure this kind of thing just comes with the territory. Hopefully I'll be in the wind soon!
Well Jimmy, I've got an 01 S4. Just had the valves checked, at 25,000 or so, everything was hunky-dory. A Duc guy that I trust said everything in there is fine. My bike has been very reliable, it just ate a starter motor, bought a used one from Cloner on here somewhere, got a battery cable upgrade from Motolectric, Micheal there has been very helpful. In my experience, this is a very good bike. Race Tech forks, Ohlins rear, it doesn't do anything it isn't supposed to, and it flat gets it on. They don't hold any resale value, I paid $6000 for mine 4 years ago, and it's probably worth half that now, but a long strange trip it's been.
A good trip, anyway. It still runs pretty strong at 26,000 and change, at 25,000 it dyno'ed at 95 actual at the wheel, with 67 lbs of torque, not bad for a 916.
I wouldn't worry too much about it, it's low miles. If the rocker thing does come up, get them welded, and you're good to go for a long time. Chances are it would have by now, or it's been taken care of. And I don't know why they would need to "refurbish" a bike at 14,000.
Thanks, Preisker, I ended up buying the bike and am totally lovin' it! Amazed at how much bike I got for the money. Thanks for the input [beer]
oooo $4k for an S4 in that condition? >want<
Thanks, ducatiz! I'll post some pics after I have a chance to wash the couple hundred miles I put on her last week. ;D
You should read my ongoing thread....
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=53569.0 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=53569.0)
Don't let it scare you away though. Mine had a severe case of flaking rockers. Speeddog has 50K on his with no flaking rockers. It's hit or miss with no real way to tell other than a time consuming job of taking it apart and inspecting.
No doubt I love the bike. But now I really understand the high price of maintenance on the Ducati
Enjoy. The S4 can really boogy