How Long do Ducati Engines Last?

[Bstiles]

I'm looking at a '99 M900. The bike has 30,000 miles on it, am I buying a problem here? How long do these engines last?

The owner says this bike has "Ducati performance dual gauge cluster w/white faced gauges". I am new to Ducs so what does this mean, other than it has white gauge faces? Is this factory?

[redial]

a 99 m900 would usually have a spedo and next to it a square bank of indicators.

The newer gauges have a circle speedo next to a circle tach. looks much nicer. the white faces
look much nicer than the grey.

[Mother]

I have 38,000 miles on a Ducati motor with no maintenance except belts and oil...the notorious high maintenance  reputation is a bunch of dried poo

[the_Journeyman]

I've got a M750 with 31,000 and it runs fantastic.  There's plenty of examples of much higher mileages than that on here too.  Good, basic maintenance is all they need.  Do the belts at specified intervals, check the valves occasionally, and change the oil & lube the chain & other stuff that moves.

JM

[Slide Panda]

IZ had mroe than 60K on his 620 - last year.  Who knows what he's at now. 

900s are also tanks.  That's what they used in the Elefant Dakar bikes.  They are simple and robust power plants. 

[weemonster]

I think time is as important as mileage.
my 98 had 14k on it and all i've had to changeis the pulse coils. which althougn are deep inside the oily bits are elctrical rather than mechanical.

Just check all the usual things you'd check when buying a car van truck or other bike.
rev the nuts off of it cold and look for blue smoke.

[Norm]

Running over 100,000 miles is not uncommon. If the owner is proud of the bike and it looks good, chances are he took good care of the motor as well.

[LA]

I put 100,000 on my old 1980 900ss bevel drive.  The crank is sitting right here and the rod and main bearing feel like brand new still and if not for some warn gears in the tranny, it's still be running.

Got 30,000 mi. on my s4rs and I hope it's not even 1/3 worn out yet.

Properly cared for and stored well when not in use, I believe Ducatis are as reliable as anything else. The longevity or reliability of the machine is contingent in a large part on the reliability of the owner.

LA

[Blackout]

I've got just  a tick over 40K on my '03 800ie. with barely any problems. The good thing is that you can always find a lower mileage engine for around1-2K and slip it right in.

[erkishhorde]

56k+ on my '95 m900. 

[DrDesmo]

At MeMe this year I saw a '92 851 with 80k on the clock 

Adam

[JEFF_H]

i bought a 900SS with 30k on the clock
put on another 25k then sold it
new owner has put another 5-10k and hasnt rebuilt the motor yet...

[DucHead]

Properly cared for and stored well when not in use, I believe Ducatis are as reliable as anything else. The longevity or reliability of the machine is contingent in a large part on the reliability of the owner.

Truer words were never spoken. 

[Grampa]

paging philb.......

[duccarlos]

PhilB has over 150,000