M620 malfunctioning speedo and odometer..help!

[AK ducati]

Hello! Thanks to a number of factors (new toy and pretty rainy summer...), my riding this past summer (2006 M620 Dark) was limited to just a few rides. When I did take her out for what was my last ride of the summer, I noticed the speedometer needle start to move all over the place, especially at low speeds. It'd either stay at the low end, or ramp up and then go back down. By the next ride, my odometer stopped registering elapsed miles. Since it was the end of the summer I figured I'd deal with it later (which is now). The bike pretty much stays out all summer, and we get a fair amount of rain here. Since I promised myself I'm going to ride more this summer, I should get her fixed. Since I'm not mechanically inclined, does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be the problem and what I could do to fix it? The last independent motorcycle shop in my town closed down a couple months ago anyways, and there is no Ducati dealer here for me to take her to. Ironically, the impetus for this was someone in my parking lot asking if I would be interested in selling the bike. Made me realize how much I wanted to ride her more    Thanks for any suggestions in advance!

EDIT: I forgot to add that my bike was starting normally and the gauges were doing the sweep as usual on startup. All lights on the gauge were normal too.

[DarkMonster620]

You mention rain and after the rain the Sun shines and water evaps . . . This is humidity related, MOST probably

I would suggest:

1. Disconnect battery
2. Take dashboard off bike and bring inside
3. Let it dry inside for a while
4. Repeat steps 2 and 1 inversely
5. Report if something happened

[AK ducati]

Thanks very much for the suggestion! Since we're in the middle of a snow-storm today , I'll have to wait until the weekend when it's supposed to be sunny, cold, and very dry to take the dashboard apart (bike's currently outside). I'll keep you updated on whether it works. Is there anything I need to know about before taking the dashboard off (besides battery disconnection), or is it a straightforward enough removal?

[DarkMonster620]

undo two bolts on top triple, flip, disconnect > take inside where is warm and cozy . . .

[AK ducati]

Update: So we finally got good enough weather that I could consider riding the bike. I had to get a charger for my dead battery before riding to my friends garage to take the console off. Charged up the battery, put it back in the bike, and lo and behold the speedometer and odometer were just fine. Took it for a ride on the day of, and another 50 mile ride today (a week after the first ride), and everything's fine. Guess it was my battery packing it in!

[ducpainter]

Voltage is good.

[AK ducati]

Couldn't agree more!  Now I just need to get my butt in gear and change out the timing belts (Not entirely sure but the bike might still have the original one's from 2006).

[ducpainter]

I wouldn't push your luck any farther. The results from a broken belt aren't worth a 50 mile putt.

[AK ducati]

Battery question related to my speedo issue mentioned above-so after a long trouble-free ride to downtown yesterday, I pulled off to the side and switched off the bike for a breather. Turned it on a few minutes later, and this time the needles didn't do the customary sweep, and the odometer was only showing dashes. The speedometer was working fine though. Curiously the temperature gauge was registering between 90-100 degrees (which I've never seen since it always just shows "LO" below 120). Also the engine immobilizer light wasn't blinking. I switched the bike on-off a few times over the day and today as well, and got the same result. I got out my battery to charge it up again. If the bike works properly I know it's the battery for sure, which I think it is.

I currently have a Yuasa YT12B-BS battery in there, which I'm not sure if it's original or not. Anyway, curiously when I looked on Amazon, they say this battery does not fit a 2006 Ducati M620? While that is obviously wrong on their part, any suggestions as to whether I should just stick with this brand or get a different battery? Regardless I'll have to hopefully get O'Reilly's out here to order one for me since no one can ship to AK. Thanks!

[DarkMonster620]

THAT IS the OEM battery

[AK ducati]

Thanks for clarifying. I knew there wasn't a problem with fit as Amazon said, since it was obviously in the motorcycle. I guess this is the brand I'll stick with then, after I make sure tonight that it is the battery that's causing the issue.

[Howie]

I got seven years out of my Yuasa.  And it was still starting the bike.

Anyway, first fully charge the battery and have it load tested.  Then check the charging system.  After that worry about the wonky dash.

[DarkMonster620]

try and use this,

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByWmgp1DWQaiU1FFLXRKNjF4Nk0

if don't work, let me know, at times it gets wonky and doesn't like to share although I told it to

[AK ducati]

Thanks DarkMonster620, I was able to get the manual. I just got the battery back from O'Reillys, and they said the battery is good. I'm having a hard time believing that, but oh well. I put it back into the Monster, and still the same issue.
1) No needle sweep on start up
2) This time my Temp gauge is at least registering "LO" on startup instead of 90 degrees like it did earlier
3) Odometer reads "-------",
4) No immobilizer light.
I did notice while reconnecting my battery that the tach needle and speedometer needle jumped up on the gauges and stayed put for a bit before coming back down. Not sure if this has any bearing on the problem. Headlight and signals are all fine. Bike starts up fine too.
This is getting frustrating! 

[Howie]

Bike starts?  Was the ECU ever flashed to kill the immobilizer?  Check all the pins in the connector to the gauges.  One or more may have backed out.