My 696 sputtered out. Any opinions on why this may have happened?

[ghostrider]

I agree.

I just talked to them and they said the exhaust valve seized. They said the valve and guide will have to be replaced. They don't know what caused it. wow, this blows.

So did they explain how a Desmodromic valve seizes, from my limited understanding of the system there is nothing to seize. A seized valve is normally due to a busted spring.

[ducnymph]

I really don't think you have a case for a new bike...

and yes...a failure like that sucks.

Yeah, you may be right. They probably won't replace it with a new one since it's repairable. It's just frustrating becsause I had reliability issues with both my previous ducs and this experience is giving me a bad taste for the brand. On the other hand, I can't picture myself on anything else and really love my bike and ducs in general. I guess it just comes with the territory. Dam m*^%#%&&*n' Ducati's 

The old saying: Shit Happens
That's why you have a warranty, Things go wrong, it sucks and Blows, but sadly that's life.

You want to see the Warranty list for my S2R 800 Monster, It's mind blowing, but such is life, I waited 5 weeks for my bike because of $5 rubber seal that had to come from Italy!
But each thing that has failed has not caused the other failure, just a series of small things.

It's a sad thing when your new toy breaks, but no matter how much you spend on anything (Car, bike, whatever) things break down.
Just keep in touch with your dealer, see if they can give you an approx ETA on when your bike will return to you, and spend that time surfing the web looking for more bling bits for ytour Monster 

Yup, this is all true. Thanks for the simple advice. I always keep my toys well maintained and stuff always breaks. I just happen to be a vertical cylinder head wrecker of sorts    This makes time number two.

I just got some new bling, the cf termi's, a couple weeks ago and was really enjoying them. So i'm not in a place to look for new bling, but will hopefully get to enjoy the bling I just got soon.

[pennyrobber]

Sorry to hear it. At least it's under warranty. I wouldn't let this spoil the bike for you, sometimes mechanical things go pop.

[CharliesAngel]

Hi R! I saw DarkStar today and he mentioned to me about your bike  since I am also experiencing mechanical issues with my Duc.  It's back at Desmoto after they've had it 3 weeks (but I was away for 2 of those weeks) and I love those guys so it's all good.  Hope that things get sorted for your bike asap!!!

[ducnymph]

Thanks S, sorry to hear your girl's in the shop. We should ride again soon when all bikes are working again  [moto] And thanks pennyrobber, I know what you mean. I'm a little less p'd off today than I was yesterday. Having a duc breakdown is like being in a bad relationship... even if it's not working, you miss it sooooo much 

I'm sure I'll get it back soon. I know Munroes is working with DNA to expidite the service. I should be talking with them more about it tomorrow. If I could only get it back in time for my track day that would be miraculous... I won't hold my breath though.

[Langanobob]

I hate to say this but when something like this happens in my profession it's because the aircraft just came out of maintenance  Undecided
I am super paranoid when I see a service inspection just completed!

I'm with ghostrider on this.  Dunno how it works with warranty work but if you were paying they  have to give you back the old parts so you can see what they really did.   Real easy to second guess from behind a keyboard  but did they make any valve shim adjustments during the 7500 mile service?  Not saying that if they did they for sure screwed something up, but still...something doesn't quite sound right about a valve sticking in the guide right after a service.

[ungeheuer]

Dunno how it works with warranty work but if you were paying they  have to give you back the old parts so you can see what they really did.   Real easy to second guess from behind a keyboard  but did they make any valve shim adjustments during the 7500 mile service?  Not saying that if they did they for sure screwed something up, but still...something doesn't quite sound right about a valve sticking in the guide right after a service.

When you're paying the new parts are yours and so are the old parts, so you get 'em back.  Under warranty the failed parts are theirs and they give you nice  new ones in exchange.  When it's for free you get to know only what they want you to know.  I dunno about a "stuck" valve... but if you're desmo gear aint adjusted properly and the valve isnt seating fully then it will burn out real fast.  I know from personal stupidity, always the hardest lessons to learn those ones...  Still if somebody screwed up even though it is inconvenient - and I'd be mad too - at least it will be swept under the carpet of the warranty. 

Hope you get back on the road soon ducnymph.

[ducnymph]

So there's a happy ending to this story... I just got my bike back today and will be able to make it to my trackday on Monday  [moto]

The bike is running like a champ and it's amazing the shop got the work done so fast. I was pretty upset and they worked really hard to expidite the repair. The experience of having it break down still dimishes my faith in Ducati a little and I'm hoping they'll work on making their bikes more reliable. But then again, like some posters mentioned, it's a little odd that the bike broke down within a couple weeks of it's service. If the shop was in any way at fault, clearly this was swept under the blanket of warranty. I choose to believe they're a stand up shop and would do the job right the first time. In any event, sh$t happens and I'm just grateful that despite this happening I was able to get it back fast. Now, I'm letting myself get really excited about the track!