Ducati manual vs dealer suggestion vs what is really best?

[Duki09]

There are some conflicts to what the Ducati 696 manual says and what my Ducati dealer suggests and other realities. So what are your opinions?

+ Ducati says during the 600mile(1,000km) break-in, RPMs should not exceed 5500-6000.

- Dealer says don't baby the bike, ride it like you want to ride it and how it should be rode so the engine is fully worked through.

+ Ducati manual says an octane rating of at least 95 is needed.

- Here in the U.S. the highest octane rating for Premium fuel at most fuel stations is 91.
+ Ducati says don't add additives to the fuel system.... So no octane booster/ fuel treatment??

+ Ducati says their warranty requires their maintenance scheduled to be followed excatly by the miles or the time frame given.

- Dealer says the maintenance does not have to be on time in order for for the warranty to still be valid.

+ Ducati manual says don't ride the bike with the cold-start lever down.

- Some Ducati riders say they ride with the idle lever down (high idle ) even after starting many times.

+ Ducati says use SHELL Advance Ultra 4 oil.

-  SHELL Advance Ultra 4 oil is supposedly not available in the U.S. so Ducati dealers here use MOTOREX full synthetic.  Good? Bad? Comparable to SHELL Advance Ultra 4?

[1313]

I follow the manual. Ducati made the bike, not the dealer. Most dealers (same with car dealerships) don't know jack shit. They just sell them.

The 95 octane rating is actually RON and is equivalent to US 90-91 oct.

I never ride with the high idle lever "activated". I follow the warm up instructions per the manual and turn it off when I'm riding.

You should be fine with synthetic oil your dealer uses as long as you change it out at the specified intervals. Worse case scenario is to bring the synthetic oil of your choice to the dealer and have them put it in.

OR

You can say the hell with the dealer and do everything yourself.

[Clickjack]

Well I'm not an expert.  But there are truths in much of that.   Ride like you want to ride it, stay below 6,000 RPM for the first 600 miles.  I think both can be accomplished.  I have a different bike, and I'm only at 800 miles, but you will feel it start to break in.  The bike starts to respond better, and you get a feeling for what it needs/how it will behave.  This is my second bike to break in, and my experience is that your bike will thank you in the long run if you take your time and break it is appropriately.  

There are many threads on the Gas issue and you will start a pissing war with that one.  BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THIS:  that's 95 RoN.  A European rating that roughly equates to our Premium Gas, 90-92 octane.  The bikes are all a little different.  If it says 95 RoN, run premium.  if it says 92 RoN, run regular.  Don't run additives, try to stay away from Ethenol.  Over all though you will be fine no matter what you will do.   If you can find it, "Up North Ducati" (If I even got the name right) has the best explanation of all of this, and how your bike works with different fuels.

I haven't figured out the Motor oil thing yet.  But your explanation is my understanding as well.  the Shell stuff isn't available here.  

As far as miles and service.  No one will care if you are a little over.  But I wouldn't go putting a thousand extra miles on it and then trying to claim warranty.  They all claim that 600 mile service is the most important.  

And the strangest thing about the Ducati brand I have found:  All dealers/Service reps are not created equal.  I don't know why they don't all conform to the same standard.  Maybe it's that Euro mindset my foreign friends keep telling me about... but do your research before committing to anything.

[mitt]

Sounds like you have a smart dealer. 

mitt

[bigiain]

BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THIS:  that's 95 RoN.  A European rating that roughly equates to our Premium Gas, 90-92 octane.  The bikes are all a little different.  If it says 95 RoN, run premium.  if it says 92 RoN, run regular.

+1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

big

[Sleeper_I]

Shell is a sponsor of Ducati hence the majority of lubricant and loctite references listed in your manual are Shell products. You can use comparable products, in some cases better products, without voiding your warranty.

[EEL]

Dealer 2

Ducati 0

[Norm]

I'm sure you'll get lot's more opinions, but here's mine:
run regular gas, avoid lugging the motor or sustained high RPMs, don't ride with the choke on.