Hi all Anyone know how much new rocker heads are for a 2002 996 and how much newman cams charge to "rehead" (?) Old ones? Which is the better option? Cheers
Newman cams charge about £40 each but if you have a batch done they reduce the price, It's best to ring them for a current quote. Ducati ones are about twice as much as a rough guide again a dealer will confirm the current cost.
The latest ones should be good but are twice the price, as far as I know no one has ever had trouble with any cams done by Newman and yes they do last a long time.
I have read the damage is caused by crap/old oil, not letting the engine warn up before riding, over revving the engine when cold and badly adjusted valves. Is this correct?
No idea. I stupidly bought a bike with hardly any service history (I know the belts, oil, oil filter and clutch slave cylinder were done 14 months and 371 miles ago) but have no record of the valves ever being checked. When I get her back from the cush drive failing I'm going to take her to Baines racing in Silverstone who are going to take a couple of hours checking her over. I figure at 10,500 miles she is only a little short of needing the valves checked anyway. Just encase a rocker head or 4 has gone I wanted to know the best option for repair long term. I'm looking at keeping her for as long as my body will take a 996 so wanted to make an informed decision regards new rockers or Newman cams. I'm hopping once I have the cush rubbers sorted they should be OK until I need a new rear sprocket at which point I will get an aftermarket carrier. I will try to fix the rectifier issue that effects these bikes myself. Baines racing can check the alternator torque is correct and the valves and then hopefully she should be as reliable as any other bike if I treat her to good oil and let her warm up nicely. Although I have recently read the alternator issue was fixed by Ducati in 2001. Not sure if this is right or not.
There are certain theories about why the valves, rockers etc. give trouble apart from the well known poor chrome on the early ones. Personally I warm mine up on tickover for quite a while before I use it just to be sure. Valves should be adjusted every 12,000 so they shouldn't be far out. What also happens is the valve collets break up and disintegrate that is another worthwhile check to make whilst having a look. My 748SPS with 10,000 miles on it needed 4 rockers and several collets when it was out and being checked over during a rebuild of the whole bike. Only two valves needed adjustment though. So your should be largely in the ball park unless it's been very badly treated.
After having 9 flaked (opener) rockers, I got mine done by Newman cams. IIRC around £40 each. The one and only new OEM rocker I bought from Ducati was over £100 and this was many years back. Before going down the Newman route I bought a full set of new rockers from an ebay seller and a couple failed within the first year, of course I have no way of knowing which 'batch' they were from (suspect the dodgiest of dodgy ones). So I would say that if they're OK and you don't want the hassle & expense then leave them until they're not OK, but I got sick of swapping them. Good used originals generally cost around the £30 - £40 mark (ebay) and they're arguably better than new as they've proved themselves (for a while at least). It seems that only (or mainly) openers flake, I never had a problem with a closer and I don't know of anyone who has either. Due to oil consumption and power-loss I did a full top-end overhaul; rings, bores, guides, seals, valves, seats, rockers, retainers etc. and now with the combination of MBP retainers along with Newman rockers I haven't needed to change a shim in the last 3 services, plus it is nice not to find 'glitter' (and other debris) in my oil..
Newman cams sounds the way to go then if your prepared to wait for them, I saw a thread saying 3 weeks. But i'm waiting 10 working days for my cush drives anyway. This is why I kept the SRAD when buying the 996, always nice to have a spare! Thanks as always for the great advice guys, it is a steep learning curve but i'm learning lots.
I am sure someone on this forum or possibly the old one got the price down to about £35 each with Newman cams because he had the whole batch done in one go, clearly a fraction of the price of a new one\s from Ducati. I got some secondhand ones for my SPS via Pro Twins a few years back at £29 each for used ones.
Yep John Burrows at Ducati Cov/ JHP replaced all the valve collects on my 916sps on the last service.Turns out most were fucked or on the way out. Another reason ive been told to steer clear of low miles 916/996 bikes left standing for long periods is all the valve collects rust.MBP collects are meant to be better as dukedesmo has mentioned. Once you have the bike running sweet and all has been checked (if its a keeper) start saving for the following.Brembo/Accosato radial master cylinders,STM slipper clutch, magnesium marchesini wheels and brembo p4/34 brake calipers.Your bike will be transformed for the better after this.You can get better prices than new if you opt for used items of fleabay and forums like this or ducati ms in the states. You can also buy super rockers from the US but they are expensive.
Thanks Ibgarrow. I'm not sure if I need any as yet, just wanted the knowledge for when it occurs. To be honest, I think Newman cams is the way to go for me.
IF not when it occurs.Ive replaced one rocker in 7 yrs constant use.I run motul 300v and change it say every 3000 miles.
