New S4RS owner: some questions

[itsmebanky]

i just picked up an 07 S4RS with 6680 miles. it's all stock with the exception of bar end mirrors. i have some questions for the gurus if you don't mind a potential long read.

- previous owner had the tank replaced under warranty. i lifted the tank up today and it feels and seems like its plastic. i thought s4rs models had metal tanks?

- under the tank, i found a hose not connected to anything. it wasn't plugged or capped, just venting to atmosphere. i traced the hose back to the left side of the bike to the top of the charcoal canister (next to the horn on the bottom). is this normal?

- there are 2 hoses connected to the tank from the back, by the pivot point, one short hose and one long hose that reaches the clutch. they are plugged into the tank but are not plugged into anything else on the other end. thats 3 hoses now that are open ended.

- when rolling to stop, my front brakes squeak like crazy. is this a normal thing?

- from a dead stop about to begin moving, if i rev high enough and release the clutch slow enough, the front end makes a weird shuttering-like sound. it sounds kinda spongey. it's not a violent shuttering but the sound it makes is very noticeable and the shuttering is more like a slight vibration. now that i think about it, it sounds like when your AC belt in your car starts to squeak, just not as high pitched. any ideas about this?

- in a slow roll with the clutch pressed and releasing slowly, if i apply throttle very slowly, i can feel a 'click' through my throttle grip, when you would expect it to accelerate. after the very noticeable click, acceleration begins as usual.

- i've been seeing a lot of black zip ties and i wonder if this is from factory? the excess is all cut but i've been wondering if in 2007 they actually used all these zip ties from factory or is something fishy going on.

thank you for making it this far. lastly, i want to ask if there is anything you guys think i should do or look over to make sure this bike is legit and not a trashed bike that got put back together. i really appreciate any help!

[stopintime]

Congratulations 

Plastic tank on all S4RS (metal on 'early' S4R)

One vent hose to the canister. Can you just plug it back in?

Front brake squeak... not normal. Pads or discs rusty? Caliper pistons stuck?

Clutch problems? Belt roller bearings?

Throttle wire about to give up? Throttle tube not lubricated?

Zip ties are normal (naked bike problem)


I don't know, but a few of these things indicate lack of maintenance, maybe living outside for long periods...  If you're able to - take it to a shop and have them give it a lot of TLC.

[itsmebanky]

Congratulations 

Plastic tank on all S4RS (metal on 'early' S4R)

One vent hose to the canister. Can you just plug it back in?

It's plugged to the canister but runs up under the seat and plugs to nothing. i couldnt see anything that it could go into...

Front brake squeak... not normal. Pads or discs rusty? Caliper pistons stuck?

would hard braking help?

Clutch problems? Belt roller bearings?

Throttle wire about to give up? Throttle tube not lubricated?

Zip ties are normal (naked bike problem)


I don't know, but a few of these things indicate lack of maintenance, maybe living outside for long periods...  If you're able to - take it to a shop and have them give it a lot of TLC.

thanks for the suggestions. i'll try to have a shop look at it.

the problems i was describing don't happen all the time but i can reproduce them fairly often if i really try hard to...

[itsmebanky]

edit: added another suspicious (to me) find.

thanks for reading.

[Howie]

It's plugged to the canister but runs up under the seat and plugs to nothing. i couldnt see anything that it could go into...

The canister one hose going from the fuel tank to it, one hose to each intake manifold and one hose venting to the atmosphere, you will find a diagram in your owner's manual.  No manual?  Download one here  http://www.ducati.com/services/maintenance/index.do   Most folk get rid of the canister.


would hard braking help?

You could try just cleaning the rotors and re bedding (worth a try) but you will probably find you need to remove the pads, deglaze (clean with sand paper), bevel leading and top of the pads and bed.  Proper bedding procedure here  http://braketech.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54:racing-brake-pad--bed-in-procedures&catid=17:tech-talk&Itemid=69   I never do that procedure living in the Bronx, I just avoid braking too hard or soft for a hundred miles or so .  Oh, just re read your post.  As stopintime suggested pistons may be sticking if what I said doesn't work.  Since there is always some drag with an opposed piston caliper you might want someone with more experience take a look.



thanks for the suggestions. i'll try to have a shop look at it.

the problems i was describing don't happen all the time but i can reproduce them fairly often if i really try hard to...

The owner's manual will tell you how to check and lube the cable at the throttle grip.  Your other problem, well not enough info, but sounds like it is possibly clutch related.  Dry clutches, not that I would call normal, can be a bit noisy, grabby and finicky, but it should be checked out.  Something like a bad throwout bearing is a cheap repair if caught in time.  Taking it to a shop would be a good idea, as would changing all fluids and, if not done within the last 2 years or 12K miles, a valve check and new timing belts.  Check with your local board for a recommendation.

[Rudemouthsky]

Dig your handle. It would be cool if you really were Banksy, one of my favorite graffiti artists.

I had what I believe were similar clutch symptoms as yours; is it kind of "grabby" with a dry/scrape feeling at the point when it makes the sound you're talking about? That went away for me when I installed a new clutch slave and bled the system. Someone far smarter than me may have a clue.

The squeezing does sound like pads that were not bedded properly.

+1 on ditching the emissions plumbing.

Most new Monster owners spend some time cleaning up the wiring loom and reducing the zip tie clutter. Factory kinda went over board there. Pics would help us determine if it is indeed factory rather than the work of some hack ass noob like me.

Almost certain the other 2 hoses you discovered are simply the venting from the tank, perfectly normal.

Welcome to the DMF.

[Bill in OKC]

The bike came with a metal canister+bracket hanging down by the horn.  It was the first thing that needed removing, I noticed that most of the magazine tests had this 'item' removed.

[Ak1nza]

Congrats on the bike!


You can remove the charcoal canister, most S4Rs and newer monster owners remove their canisters.  From the tank, there should be 2 hoses going into a Y connector and going down to an open end by the brake lever.  This is just for fuel overflow and tank venting.  They can be 2 separate hoses, but one should lead down by the brake lever and this will be your fuel overflow line.

You can try to use brake cleaner and a brillo pad on your brake discs and try to re-bed the brake pads to see if the squeaking stops.  Otherwise check the thickness of your brake pads and replace if necessary. 

[itsmebanky]

thank you all very much for the warm welcome!

i did some maintenance work yesterday which included:

removing the charcoal canister
- everyone made it sound so easy but the stupid bleeder nipples were SUCH A PAIN to get to. i didn't remove anything so there wasnt any room for me to navigate my big hands or use any tools. and then to replace the nipples with screws, i couldn't line up the screw with the threads correctly because again, lack of space. such a pain but im glad its done!

sanded down brake pads
- i took off the brake pads and sanded them down a little with 180 grit. i also did what DucatiSuite recommended and cut a sheet of aluminum from a coke can, to the size of the brake pad and held it on together with Brake Quiet spray. from my understanding, i should not be hard braking for a while for proper bedding..

throttle cable lube
- i tried to lube the cable but couldnt/didn't want to remove the whole cable from the throttle housing. i didnt want to mess with cable slack and i generally didn't know how to remove it anyway. any tips on this?

thanks again for all the help guys.

[Bill in OKC]

Have you tried watching the throttle body mechanicals while turning the throttle?  There are a lot of cables/wiring harness up in there and it is possible that something has worked itself over to interfere with the synch rod or somewhere.  I don't remember what it was but I have had an issue like that.

[dbran1949]

Congratulations on the S4RS do you know if it still has the original front sprocket? I immediately swapped mine for a 14 tooth
Great Fun