Performed valve clearance check today...

[elgallo73]

Did my first Desmo valve clearance check (with intent to adjust) today on my 2011 Monster 696 (7,320 miles), MUCH EASIER than I thought this was going to be!  Interestingly, no adjustment was necessary, is this typical with the newer motors?  Averages for opening clearances were no greater than .004 and no less than .003, average closing clearance was .001 for all (4) valves.  Was rather elated no trips to the dealer for shims were necessary...

My bike would "pop" periodically during the first few thousand miles but has been running great for the last several thousand miles, so maybe mine was assembled a little tight at the factory?

A few notes which might help somebody else:

Rear tank bolt.  For some reason, Ducati (or the folks at the dealer who assembled the bike) elected to apply red loctite to the rear tank bolt (with no loctite applied to the (2) front tank bolts, one of which I discovered missing) with an inordinate amount of torque.  This had the rather unpleasant effect of assuring that the tank insert would come loose when attempting to loosen.

I'm just using (and repeating) what I found on another forum, but here goes: I removed the rear wheel fender and completely deflated the rear tire so that I could maneuver a drill with the necessary allen bit under the rear fender and into the offending screw.

With the drill in reverse, I lifted on the rear of the tank with a tire iron (I used a heavy rag under the iron to prevent finish damage on the frame) while running the bit at speed.  After a few seconds, the rear of the tank lifted up revealing the insert.

The rear tank insert on the 696/796/1100 is square and fits a 13mm crescent, this in conjuction with the proper allen wrench will separate the two.

I rough sanded the insert and cleaned up the hole in the tank with a dremel tool, mixed some high temp fuel resistant epoxy and applied enough into the hole so that when the insert was reinstalled (with a C-clamp), a minimal amount would be expelled.  Please note that the rear tank insert is not exposed to the fuel in the tank, you could just as easily leave the insert out, drill a hole completely through the rear "tang" of the tank and use a bushing with a screw.

After cleaning up the small amount which was expelled during insertion and allowing a day for curing, I believe the repaired insert is actually stronger than stock, time will tell...

For the record, I probably could have had the tank replaced under warranty but the headache of negotiating tank replacement coupled with transporting the motorcycle, waiting for the tank to arrive from Europe, etc. was much greater than the repair, which only took about an hour...

During removal of the various pieces (battery tray, etc.) necessary to facilitate a valve adjustment, I did note the missing left front tank bolt and a few others which were loose.  Blue loctite was used for re-installation of all hardware.

When removing the rear cylinder exhaust valve cover, be VERY CAREFUL with the plastic hose guide which affixes to the lower bolts, mine was brittle and broke during removal of the valve cover.  Not a big deal, $6.50 at your dealer and you can get a new one, just takes a week or so from Italy, thus the PITA.  I did not place much stress on the part so am unsure if it was adversely affected by engine heat or I just got the one from the "bottom of the barrel".

Air filter looked a little rough and was replaced.  Plugs did not look too bad but I'm installing new ones anyways...

For anyone here in the forum who is concerned about their ability to handle a valve adjustment, I can assure you it is much SIMPLER than you think, just take your time and triple check your clearances...  It took me around 3-4 hours (I took my time removing and labeling parts) but my time will be halved at 15,000 miles...  LT Snyder's manual was a GREAT help!

I used the $25.00 crankshaft rotation tool from Moto Mfg.  Worked great and much cheaper than the alternatives!  Some of the other more specialized tools were purchased from Desmotimes.  Although it was not necessary in my case, I had a micrometer on standby (I do not own a vernier caliper) for shim measurement, along with the closing shim measuring tool.  For your feeler gauge, make sure you purchase one with sizes .0015, .002, .0025 included, many on the market do not have the smaller sizes!

Belt tension will be checked/adjusted on Sunday...

[elgallo73]

One more note, when removing your fuel pump cover (to facilitate removing the fuel hoses) from the tank, check the condition of the heat reflecting "foil" which is affixed with adhesive to a portion of the cover (the area which is close to the exhaust).  Mine was falling off (probably that scorcher of a summer we had last year here in Fort Worth, Texas).  I used denatured alcohol to remove what was left of the adhesive and cut some heat reflective tape (purchased for my GSX600 many years ago) for a replacement...

Not sure if this affects the 796/1100, but definitely the 696...

[brad black]

they only have one front tank bolt.  i generally use anti seize paste on bolts, not loctite.  there's not many thingsi use loctite on.

[ducpainter]

Did my first Desmo valve clearance check (with intent to adjust) today on my 2011 Monster 696 (7,320 miles), MUCH EASIER than I thought this was going to be!  Interestingly, no adjustment was necessary, is this typical with the newer motors?  Averages for opening clearances were no greater than .004 and no less than .003, average closing clearance was .001 for all (4) valves.  Was rather elated no trips to the dealer for shims were necessary...

<snip>

You're within Ducati's 'relaxed' specs.

Old time techs still use the older narrower range of clearances...at least mine does.

I think you'd find it ran even better with .004 intake, .005 exhaust, and closer to 0 on the closers.

[elgallo73]

hey only have one front tank bolt.  i generally use anti seize paste on bolts, not loctite.  there's not many thingsi use loctite on.

Spot on, should have checked the parts list, but having only one bolt when there is provision for two seems counter intuitive and of course my initial reaction was to question the appearance of missing a bolt...

I have used anti seize paste on various bolts for my bike, but after having to "special order" some obscure Ducati special purpose bolt, blue loctite has served me well.  FYI, the rear tank bolt is over $11.00!  I'm not that cheap, but the hassle factor associated with a 10 day wait for a part to arrive from Europe has left me scratching my head more than a few times, thus the blue loctite, which works remarkably well for this application.

You're within Ducati's 'relaxed' specs.

Yes, I researched this as much as I could before diving in and felt that the prevailing wisdom suggested a little loose rather than too tight.  I'm hoping my valve train has "bedded in" thus obviating the need for serious shim replacement in the future.

The bike runs EXTREMELY well and I first noted the "shift" at around 3k.  Much of the decel "popping" was gone and the engine seemed much smoother with a perceived "gain" in power (very subjective, of course)....

While I was in there, it seemed pursuing closer tolerances would yield diminishing returns, at least two of the valves had closer clearances of .001, the others around .0015 (cannot remember which ones, don't have the sheet handy).

With the push towards longer maintenance intervals, this may suggest that the newer Ducati bikes are benefiting from improved material specs and manufacturing tolerances, which is comforting...