Starting Issue

[Heet33]

So I bought my first Ducati Monster a 796 and love it.  It is a 2012.  The issue I am having is when I drive a short distance the bike hesitates to start again.  For example I drove it to work, four hours later went to lunch which was 1/4 mile from the office; the bike sat for approximately 30 minutes and the starter barely turned over.  I have put it on a battery tender and still have the issue.

I took the bike to the shop as it is under warranty.  I thought I had a dead cell in the battery as it seems to loose power quickly. I rode the bike the 30 mins to the shop and it fired up again but on the second attempt it barely started.  They initially thought the same thing and figured they needed to change out the battery.  The ended up charging the battery;load tested it and checked for anything that could be draining the battery once turned off.  The found nothing.

They tell me it takes 10 miles to recharge the battery and I am not driving it far enough to work.  The Monster is notorious for difficult starting.

I am a little frustrated as they don't seem like they will do something until I am stranded or the battery is no longer covered under warranty.

Has anyone else had similar issues? Are the Monsters difficult to start?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

[Curmudgeon]

At around 500 miles my 796 began to be difficult to start if left for more than 24 hours. A few have reported this and have said that this goes away after more miles. Obviously your issue is different. The bike has a voltmeter though. When it barely cranks, how many volts do you have? When it's running, do you have 14 volts?

Nothing else to suggest other than to turn the key on and wait for the L.E.D. screen to do it's thing and the total mileage to appear. Then press and hold the starter button. If it won't catch, shut the key off, wait 5 seconds and then try again.

Your original battery diagnosis did sound plausible. With the voltmeter you should be able to confirm. If you are showing ~ 12.5 volts though when you are attempting to crank it, then you know it's not the battery.

Keep us posted. Where are you, BTW.

[Heet33]

the volt meter shows the battery between 12.4 and 12.7 when I go to start it.  When it is running the volts go up to 14.  Funny if I leave the bike sit longer it starts easier.

Sure is frustrating. I only have 300 miles on the bike.

[Curmudgeon]

OK. Your voltages are nominal, so it isn't the battery. What you have appears similar to my issue.

My very competent dealer already sent DNA one mail on this and is sending them another tomorrow. No other 796 he's sold has exhibited a starting issue, so he's as miffed as I am.

Where are you located and who is your dealer? Mine's a June production, 2011. Your 2012 was built when? Maybe we can get a case going here. I suspect the ECU or software  At my 600 mile service at 925 miles, the bike was on the Ducati computer and all systems and sensors checked out fine.

[Heet33]

Mine came out of the crate about 4 weeks ago.  Not sure the manufacture date.  I live in AZ and my dealer is GOAZ Ducati; owned by the same guy that owns Go Daddy.

So far it has never failed but I am skeptical that this is normal as they are trying to get me to believe.

[Curmudgeon]

The production date is on one of the stickers on the frame. The bikes are Euro III, so pretty lean. Possibly not enough enrichening on the cold start protocol. Just a guess.

Mine always starts eventually and once warm, starts easily even after several hours. Ideally it should catch, rev to ~ 2,000 and quickly drop to 1,200. That it does when all is well. After 24 hours, or several days, once it catches, it only revs to 1,200 and just maintains that. If I then shut it off and restart, it does the "correct" 2,000 to 1,200 protocol.

I see it's damp in Scottsdale right now but Sunday looks good for 70 F and then even warmer. Send some of that to Central VA.  I could deal with a little Scottsdale right about now.


Keep us posted.

[Heet33]

Had the stickers removed before I took delivery.  To me it still seems like the battery since the starter seems so slow when it is about to fail. I guess it could be an ECU issue.  I guess only time will tell

[Curmudgeon]

You may still be right about the battery. One would think that nothing an ECU does has any bearing on starter cranking speed..., but what do I know. Just let us know if anything changes. You definitely have enough juice there for adequate cranking. I presume they checked the grounds when they had the battery out.

[bikepilot]

If you saved the sticker, keep it.  Pretty much required to register a bike in CA.