HELP - Massive Engine Issue!

[MonsterMadMarty]

Hi All,

Massive engine issue! A mate was riding his 748SPS & was sat at the lights idling away, when suddenly he heard this God awful noise coming from the engine! He tells me he rode off but after two minutes shut the engine down & called me to come rescue him.

After dropping the oil the sump plug looked like this:


After removing the inspector cover on the alternator cover we found this:


So my questions;

How much damage would have been done within the engine?
Will changing the alternator bearing alone & flushing the engine a few time with fresh oil be enough?
Or will the engine need to be removed & inspected for further damage?

Any & all advise greatly appreciated  

[Duck-Stew]

Surprisingly, that little bearing makes a LOT of noise when it goes out.  Pull off the alternator cover and inspect first off.  If the noise was bad enough, it could be something in addition to that bearing.  Flywheel nuts come to mind...

[Speeddog]

Lots of swarf on that drainplug magnet, definitely not a good omen.

As Stu said, pulling the alternator cover is the start.

I suspect the engine has eaten a main bearing, but digging in is the only way to confirm.

Brad talks a bit about it here, and has got a video of what it can sound like:
http://bradthebikeboy.blogspot.com/2015/11/ducati-main-bearing-failures.html

[ducpainter]

Lots of swarf on that drainplug magnet, definitely not a good omen.

As Stu said, pulling the alternator cover is the start.

I suspect the engine has eaten a main bearing, but digging in is the only way to confirm.

Brad talks a bit about it here, and has got a video of what it can sound like:
http://bradthebikeboy.blogspot.com/2015/11/ducati-main-bearing-failures.html

That main bearing thing is going around.

[Speeddog]

That main bearing thing is going around.

It is annoying.

Ball bearings can be capricious, it's why ball bearings are rated at B10 or L10, the lifetime in hours at which 10% of the bearings have failed.

[ducpainter]

It is annoying.

Ball bearings can be capricious, it's why ball bearings are rated at B10 or L10, the lifetime in hours at which 10% of the bearings have failed.

It also doesn't help that Ducati uses a bearing that's proprietary wrt dimensions...

very similar to the steering head bearing except more expensive.

[koko64]

That video does make your skin crawl.

[MonsterMadMarty]

I can't see a video? Is it not Apple friendly?

[koko64]

Video didn't work on my phone or tablet, but works on the laptop.

[greenmonster]

If the washer behind flywheel is not mounted properly, they make the main shaft slightly misaligned.
Shows more at end and kills bearing, noise heartstopping...
Check w cover off and test w starter motor, you'll see the misalignment.
Could be as easy as fixing washers and new alt bearing.

[MonsterMadMarty]

If the washer behind flywheel is not mounted properly, they make the main shaft slightly misaligned.
Shows more at end and kills bearing, noise heartstopping...
Check w cover off and test w starter motor, you'll see the misalignment.
Could be as easy as fixing washers and new alt bearing.

Fingers crossed it's this easy fix 

[clubhousemotorsports]

Main bearings do not Usually cause the alternator bearings to fail, They will crack side covers first.

I bet you were lucky and it will just be a new side cover bearing, I have seen this on a m900. That said ....... the question is how much damage (if any) was done when the motor was making noise (parts hitting,grinding etc) and the owner kept riding the bike. The m900 I had in the shop suffered no damage but was not being rung out at the time the problem showed up. What kills them is the following..............

1. Maybe if I give it more throttle it will fix itself.
2. I think there is enough power to just get myself back home without pushing (lets finish this lap).
3. Nope ... I did not hear a strange spoon in a blender sound  or I am pretty sure a Ducati engine feels just like a Harley.

Clean it out and inspect the components under the left side cover well. It may be just fine but step one will be getting in there and looking.

[oldndumb]

Another example and a guess at possible cause.

[MonsterMadMarty]

Thanks heaps to everyone that gave advise 

An update: taking on the advise given on here I pulled the alternator cover off to discover this:



& this:



Inspection of everything else looked fine so I replaced the bearing with a new one then re installed the cover.  Topped the oil up, fired her up & to my surprise the noise has gone!

I'm still not convinced the amount of swarf found on the sump plug would be a single mashed ball bearing but my next step is to give the bike a short run on Sunday, drop the oil check the sump plug & filter then go from there!

Once again a huge thank you to all that gave advise, any further advise still greatly appreciated

Cheers all 

[koko64]

Id put in some cheap oil and run it for 5 mins then change the oil and filter. Check the sump plug and decide if you want to run the bike for and extended period.