[Ductodd]

Hi,

I'm Todd, just purchased my first Ducati a 1098S after not riding Sportbikes for 7 yrs. I love my bike and am blown away by it's capabilities.

I'm in Santa Clarita, CA and would welcome advice re: Servicing etc. I used to do all the work on my R1, RC51 myself but am intimidated by the Desmo valve train. Does anyone in the area know of a good place for service other than Pro Italia.

Thank you and happy holidays to all.

 

[Tuned]

Hey Todd, Welcome to the forum!

The 1098/1198 is in it's own class, there really isn't anything out there like it. Even KTM's attempt to re-invent the wheel with the RC8, failed in many ways. The rawness of the older Duc's is unparalleled by any other brand. The production RC51's don't come close to the production Ducati's either.

In terms of service, it's actually a lot easier then people make it out to be. I'd rather work on desmo then a pop valve with a spring. You can do so much more head work in such a short amount of time compared to a pop valve, it really makes the pop valve archaic looking in many ways. The only real difference is that the superbikes have belt drive, which means you've gotta pay attention to them. Remember, a lot of car's have belt drive on pop valve's, which put even more stress on the belt then desmodromic's do. Heck, on a Ducati desmo motor, you can turn the cam's by hand no problem, good luck doing that on your RC51 or R1.

If you need help, I'm a stones throw away and I'd be more then happy to come up and be a fly on the wall during your first service, just incase you have any questions.

Remember one thing… these bikes need to be ridden, the moment they sit around for a weeks or a month, they get super angry. So get on'er and go ride!

Happy Holidays and welcome to the family!

 

[rubbish]

Welcome to the forum Todd, and enjoy the bike. If I can give my 2 cents...Do yourself a favor and find an actual professional, or someone that actually knows what they're talking about to get help from, not Tyler Purcell (tuned). If you hang around on the forum for awhile, you'll discover why in no time...he's built quite the negative reputation of a bullshitter. I think it's safe to say there are a lot of members on here that wouldn't trust him to do an oil change, despite his self-claimed "experience".

You decide though...

 

[219R]

^^^^ Ditto.

 

[NVTanner]

Hey Todd! Enjoy your Ducati 1098s addiction!

I bought my '08 used in 2010 and I love every bit of time on it. It's always interesting to watch the evolution when someone gets a new ride on what they learn about it. I recently found out about the issue on the radiator as mine finally sprung a leak after 6 years and over 12k miles.

But it's quite the smile maker and conversation starter and I love riding it.