M696 "Teething"

[sally101]

I believe having a good mechanic/shop is important. In my town there is a Ducati dealership but it and its shop are incompetent, so I have to take an hour and half drive to Modesto Ducati for profesional service where my bike is "taken care of".

Survey says.... Good Times!

[zLoki]

A few drops on startup in the AM, especially cold starts (bike was marking its territory  ). Turned out it was probably just insufficient tightening of the oil filter by the dealer - they only tightened to Ducati specs the 1st time, but you usually have to tighten more than that on Ducs. Anyway, wasn't a big deal on mine. Don't know about Duclvr's

Mine does this from time to time.  I'm pretty sure it's not the 'tightness' of the oil filter.  More likely it's the contraction and expansion of the seal.  This would indicate the quality control on the oil filter seal may be poor or some defect in the housing.

[swampduc]

Update: it was a blown fuse that took out my headlights, as I suspected. Bike was doing great for a few weeks. It was a gorgeous day today, so I went for as spirited a ride as I can find down here. Stopped for gas, and sure enough, headlights were out again when I fired up 
<sarcasm> ya think there could be an electrical problem here? <sarcasm> Hopefully, it can all be ironed out this weekend.
to keep from 

[Raux]

Update: it was a blown fuse that took out my headlights, as I suspected. Bike was doing great for a few weeks. It was a gorgeous day today, so I went for as spirited a ride as I can find down here. Stopped for gas, and sure enough, headlights were out again when I fired up 
<sarcasm> ya think there could be an electrical problem here? <sarcasm> Hopefully, it can all be ironed out this weekend.
to keep from 

do a cable run visual inspection. start with the tail and move forward. look for any pinched wires, ones that looked flattened like they had been pinched. etc. i had a bad connection in my tail lights that blew my lights. well the main 30A fuse too 

[swampduc]

Thanks. Will do today.

[DucHead]

All new models have some problems for all marques from Aermacchi to Zundapp.

[JetTest]

15k miles on a new-purchase 2002 620, no issues what-so-ever. Loved it! Sold it last April, even had the original battery still in it and it cranked fine. 2009 696 delivered June 4 2008, coil wiring fixed by dealer, ss Termi, Ergal cam belt pulleys, both dealer installed. Ducati rear fender eliminator, removed emission canister and installed euro air deflector, 14T counter-shaft sprocket all done myself, blows the 620 away, no comparison, and no problems yet.

[swampduc]

All new models have some problems for all marques from Aermacchi to Zundapp.

True. Just sayin' that 5 problems in the 1st 7 mos of a bike's life are a bit much. That's true of any brand new bike in 2008, made by any manufacturer. Now, through this thread, I've found that my bike (which was very early in the production run) is an exception to the rule. Most 696's have done great. Fine. Doesn't make my life any easier, though. I just want to get the bike to be a trustworthy steed. Not a Honda. Not bulletproof. Just not constantly needing something (as in something broken once/month). If I (and Ducati) can get it there, I will keep and love it for years. If not, I will get rid of it in a year or so before the warranty runs out. Now, doesn't that make sense? Duc parts ain't cheap.

[swampduc]

And, let me add again, I love riding this motorcycle. I've never owned one I liked riding better. I just started this thread to get some perspective. I wanted to know if problems were widespread, or if my bike was one of a few with some problems. Turns out that it's the latter. Talked with my local dealer this AM and they were very, very understanding and helpful. Will continue to try to get this ironed out. They also gave me contact info for a couple of people in DNA that they said I should talk to.

[DAYS OF GLORY PAST]

6000miles love the bike. but mine seems to run hot . i live in the high desert and go into los angeles often. the coils have been fixed. so that is not the overheating issue. in frwy traffic rush hour and 100*it run up to the top bar , it also did the same in west la street traffic splitting lanes. i think it should have had a oil cooler stock.the engine light had been coming on with accelleration and i found if i put rubber between the rear of the tank and the frame the light rarely came on. the latest was coming back from la on the 405 in the fast lane near dark and the ignition went dead.it was heart pounding getting to the right and i was lucky to have people let me over as often times people are not so nice to bikes. i checked it out and found the ignition fuse blown and of course there was no spare fuse that size, i replaced the 10 with a 15 and tried it and it got me home. the dealer said the wires going around the rear cylinder head were melting. fixed for now ,wire loom ordered. the tank has only one screw on the rh side and one rubber mounted under the rear of the tank. this allows for movement to the left rear and while i am not an engineer it look like a problem to me. i still like the bike and love the sound of the termis.

[Wang]

About 1600 miles on my 696 now and the only problem was wonky wiring that turned my turn signal into an emergency light.  Got it fixed and so far, so good.

There is a problem with the fact that I only put on 1600mi in about half a year of ownership, though.   And now I have to wait 4 months before I can ride again. 

[LA]

Sorry for your problems.

My bike has almost literally not missed a beat in something over 30,000 miles. 

Coolest motorcycle I ever had and one of the best scoots ever sold to the public (IMHO).

LA [moto]

[AeroGeek]

I had some issues on my 696 that sound similair to yours.  My first problem was the right turnsignals quit working.  Then a couple of weeks later my headlight and brakelights went out and the check engine came on.  I took it to a local dealer and they said it had 2 blown fuses.  They replaced the fuses and took it out for a test ride and it blew the fuses again.  After a lot of trouble shooting they installed a new wiring harness (all under warranty).  I haven't had any issues since then.  Good luck getting your issues sorted out, it can be very frustrating.

[swampduc]

I had some issues on my 696 that sound similair to yours.  My first problem was the right turnsignals quit working.  Then a couple of weeks later my headlight and brakelights went out and the check engine came on.  I took it to a local dealer and they said it had 2 blown fuses.  They replaced the fuses and took it out for a test ride and it blew the fuses again.  After a lot of trouble shooting they installed a new wiring harness (all under warranty).  I haven't had any issues since then.  Good luck getting your issues sorted out, it can be very frustrating.

Thanks. Helpful to hear things like that, especially the fact that it ended up ok. It's also good to hear responses like LA's; reminds me that the vast majority of these bikes are trouble-free. Keeps me thinking about buying more Ducs in the future.

[swampduc]

Update

After the 3rd blown headlight fuse, I sent a letter to DNA requesting either a new wiring harness or a new bike 
They were very apologetic and helpful, and rushed delivery of a (backordered) wiring harness - came in in about a week and a half. My local Duc dealer (New Orleans) took care of it right away, and the bike has been completely problem free for the last week or so.
to this forum for giving me an idea of which direction to go, and to DNA and Transportation Revolution for ironing the problem out.