New Ducati Rider from Southern New Jersey

[cbostic81]

Hello All!

My name is Carlisle and I recently purchased a 2011 M696 (abs). I live in southern New Jersey, about twenty-five minutes from Philadelphia Pa. Even though I've been riding since March of 2001, this is my first Ducati and I love it so far! I joined this forum so I can learn more about Monsters, and get some inspiration for customizing my bike. Previously, I've owned a Yamaha R1 and a Kawasaki Ninja.

With that said, I've performed routine maintenance on my previous bikes (clutch, oil-changes, etc...), but now I'm facing the dreaded 7,500 recommended maintenance on my M696.  I will be searching through these forums for help, as I attempt to tackle my first desmodromic valve adjustment. Any tips, pointers, advice as to that job or anything else you all feel I should be aware of is much appreciated!!

Some other random facts about me... I'm an attorney... I workout at least five days a week... I'm a soccer fanatic and avid Liverpool FC fan.  That's about it!

[Charlie98]

Congrats on the new bike!  I've owned a number of bikes before my got my Monster... there is nothing like it.  My last bike was a 1000cc CBR... truth be told, I'm not missing the bigger motor, and the Monster sure out-handles the big CBR!

There are some YouTube videos that explain valve adjustment.  Because we are headed right into riding season, you might consider taking it to a shop this time around, they can have a look at it and make sure everything is correct on it... then spend the next few months brushing up on valve adjustments and belt changes.

[cbostic81]

Thanks for the advice Charli98. I agree, my Monster handles way better than my R1.

I've been in contact with a few shops in the area. Two of them specialize in Ducati service, but their quotes were upwards of $1,000 for valves and timing belt replacement. I bought the Monster from a Non-Ducati dealership and their service manager told me they performed routine maintenance (changed the oil/oil filter, bled brake fluid, air filter and spark-plugs), but did not check the valves. 

In speaking with a few Ducati techs, I was told that most of the time, upon inspection, the valves don't need to be adjusted. However, they also said that I could do major damage to my bike if I ride hard without the valves being properly synced. I found the shim-kit and crank turning tool online, so I'm going to do the job with a couple of buddies one weekend. 

The bike has been running fine, except for an isolated incident where it just stalled out of the blue. I had been riding for an hour or so, pulled up to a stop sign in first and it just stalled. It started back up immediately and hasn't stalled since. Have any clue why that happened?