comparisons in riding 2 vs 4 valve: favourite Ducati engine and why!

[Spider]

yes folks, perhaps a fridge/darth vader love-child is calling...

there aren't a heap of the 992 two valvers around.

looking at things with 996 and 999 engines...with bonus fridge internals taped to the front and all. (S4R, S4rt, 999 etc)

my one aspect I loved with the 992ds is the linear power - really good for a bloke like me with half a brain but not a heap of experience...

so...to all those that have gone from 2 to 4 valves....what is your opinion?

I'm more than happy with the 90 something HP of the old girl, usually shift at around the 6 or 7 mark (she gets a bit loud after that), think the greatest change in a newer model may be the lighter wheels!

If I'm 'sensible' enough to have a litre bike as my first motorcycle and not get into trouble in my first 10,000k's....am I sensible enough to get away with a 4 valver as my second Ducati?

Thanks for your consideration!

[bazz20]

just ask H C G  and go for a spin 

[brad black]

in std trim the s4r and s4rs are fairly tame ime.  open pipes, set cam timing, tuning etc, they're pretty wild.  s4rs in particular.  much more go from any rpm than the 1000 motor, and where the 1000 went flat around 7,000 rpm, the s4r keeps going and the s4rs really comes on.  i kind of think they're a bit too aggressive really, but that's just me getting old and needing to keep my licence.

if you liked the look of the old one (dss) and don't mind a radiator how about the s4?  cheaper, not so popular, but still a very nice bike and a good basis.  and slower, which might be a bonus for you.  one of our old customers just traded his for a s4r somewhere so there's one for sale.  yellow tho.

there's a couple of 1000m on bike point around 12,000.  there's an s4 in perth for 7,500!  eurobrit have a cheapy that needs some love too.  most of the s4 on bikepoint are around 12,000, except for the turkey who wants 18,000.  what a goose.

[Two dogs]

I have been watching this thread hoping for more info?
Has anyone compiled a list  of Monster 2V- 4V pro/cons  best year models and or problematic engines ? Links ?
There are so many models from past years with different engines an unbiased opinion would be great.
I would be very interested in said info as a guide to my next bike as I can see myself growing out of my M695
a lot faster than anticipated.
cheers
dez

[dragonworld.]

in std trim the s4r and s4rs are fairly tame ime.  open pipes, set cam timing, tuning etc, they're pretty wild.  s4rs in particular.  much more go from any rpm than the 1000 motor, and where the 1000 went flat around 7,000 rpm, the s4r keeps going and the s4rs really comes on.  i kind of think they're a bit too aggressive really, but that's just me getting old and needing to keep my licence.

if you liked the look of the old one (dss) and don't mind a radiator how about the s4?  cheaper, not so popular, but still a very nice bike and a good basis.  and slower, which might be a bonus for you.  one of our old customers just traded his for a s4r somewhere so there's one for sale.  yellow tho.

there's a couple of 1000m on bike point around 12,000.  there's an s4 in perth for 7,500!  eurobrit have a cheapy that needs some love too.  most of the s4 on bikepoint are around 12,000, except for the turkey who wants 18,000.  what a goose.

Hey Brad

With the DS there is supposedly a valve guide problem?? At 36,000k I have had no real change in valve clearances, no oil usage and no smoke or tappet racket usually associated with crook guides!! Should I pull the heads and get them checked or just maybe I got a good one ??
 

[loony888]

the valve guide issue in the 2 valvers is a bit like the rocker issue in the 4 valvers. it's an issue, yes. but the forums seem to make the issues bigger than they really are, and i don't mean there's exaggeration or fibs or anything like that, it's just that problems that do occur get aired well and lets face it, when things are going well we're out riding but when there's a concern we ask around, usually here and the number of people having issues or issues raised is disproportunate as a percentage of actual owners. There's a lot more "good ones" out there than bad ones.

4V pros, speed, acceleration, power etc. cons, expensive to maintain.
2V pros, simple, torquey, cheaper to maintain cons, not enough power for some.

paul.

[goldFiSh]

4V pros, speed, acceleration, power etc. cons, expensive to maintain.
2V pros, simple, torquey, cheaper to maintain cons, not enough power for some.

nice simple summary Paul 

[Betty]

nice simple summary Paul 

... the fridge ... don't forget the fridge 

[loony888]

... the fridge ... don't forget the fridge 

betty, that's called T. E. C. H. N. O. L. O. G. Y  !!!!
and it's for those of us who think the only things that should be air cooled these days are whipper snippers and lawn mowers!


paul.

[dragonworld.]

betty, that's called T. E. C. H. N. O. L. O. G. Y  !!!!
and it's for those of us who think the only things that should be air cooled these days are whipper snippers and lawn mowers!


paul.

Not to forget the Indian Royal Enfields. Now THAT is TECHNOLOGY. 

  (Indian hand grenade  )

[Betty]

Yeah, its alright one of our cars even has a radiator ....












.... but it's not sticking out like the proverbial saying 'look at me and how I can ruin the look of a classy looking motorcycle' .... all in the name of a few extra horsies that you can't legally use most of the time 

[brad black]

the valve guide thing we didn't get told about until the service bulletin came out - i forget when that was.  we had a few ds motors that had at least one dirty cylinder at idle - even a demo bike with a couple of thousand km from memory.  to the point that we went looking for broken closing springs, that sort of thing, but never found anything.  so the guide thing does make sense, and there's a few we never did anything about because it would have been a big call to make under warranty when you have to back up the diagnosis with a fix that resolves the issue.  no fun when you're guessing on a problem the owner isn't really aware of and you're going to get paid for half the time you spend at half the retail rate.

i did one motor that we had in bits as it had run the big ends, but we just got them k-lined.  i wouldn't go to the trouble of replacing guides when even the later ones are a bit dodgy apparantly and the k-lines work so well.  we never did any others.

and we had plenty of 900 motors back when we did valve clearances at the first service where you could wobble the exhaust valves about a heap.  so the factory definition of 'ok' could perhaps be quite wide.  like bmw's allowable '1 litre per 1,000km' oil usage thing - if you make the spec wide enough then they're all ok.

[DosVerde]

just ask H C G  and go for a spin 

Yeah you just need to get on one Spider and give it a go. Whatcha doing next Saturday? The bike is in storage at the moment, but I should have it back by then for my "last ride for 3 months" with Captain Slow. Maybe you can join us on the BR250, you'll be able to keep up 

[Spider]

Yeah you just need to get on one Spider and give it a go. Whatcha doing next Saturday? The bike is in storage at the moment, but I should have it back by then for my "last ride for 3 months" with Captain Slow. Maybe you can join us on the BR250, you'll be able to keep up 

Frickin all right by me Big Brother Brendan (BBB, aka HCG)....I'll ride anything.....(no, George, not that weekend again...you sadomasochistic son of a b!tch)

I've got a new helmet coming over as of last Friday and gloves are done....so I could do that...

It's at the point I'm howling over 749's going by!

Were'we going? I'll pick some food spots! 

[Spider]

and to get this back on thread....how do smaller capacity 4 valves stack up to the big capacity 2 valvers?

748/749/848 vs a 992 etc?