If the chassis could be fully sealed water/airtight then fine but water always gets in somewhere so getting it out is the best solution, that and protecting it with paint/waxoil etc. The original drain holes were not up to the job hence the 3 buckets full of dried up muck that came out just one of the main chassis rails. The body work is aluminium but the few steel parts that there are (chassis, bulkhead, door frames) rot like buggery. As you suggest, there is a built in rust-protection for the mechanical parts via oil leaks.
Some of the best condition chassis's I've known off are the ones that are as muddy as hell but never get washed, it seems to make a good sealant, just hard to never wash it, I couldn't do it.
Those pictures are quite shocking. I've never taken the hub out of my bike but thats a job I'm going to have to learn over winter
It's pretty easy, just need some big external circle pliers that will open 50mm ish and cope with an approx 85mm circlip, I've just bought some larger ones, 13", off amazon for £11, won't be great but only get used once a year, my originals weren't quite big enough
Thanks, have you got a link to the pliers you bought please? I'm away from my bike atm so unable to see what I need. Are they straight or 90 degree bend?
Here you go, I got straight LEONTOOL 13-Inch Snap Ring Plier Heavy Duty Internal Circlip Pliers Bent Jaw Tip Diameter 0.12" for Installing Removing Retaining Ring : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
These are the pliers recommended on here to me when I first did a rear hub service. Quite a bit more expensive...
I would like to register a complaint. I clicked on "Rear Hub Filth" expecting a handy VPN workaround for the recent on line safety act, what I got was not what I wanted! However, I made do by squinting.
I'll never let my rear hub get like Andrew46! Never!! Meanwhile...... While trying to figure out what was going on with my chain length altering so much I decided to finally check the hub. I know I'm being naive, but if this can happen, why on earth is it not part of the Ducati service plan in a timely manner? Bike has only ever been to a main dealer for service. What a pain it was to not only get the hub out, due to all the crap, but since the rear axle stub had zero grease on it from new and has never been out it was well and truly stuck.
I believe it is part of the 18k service now, certainly is at Cornerspeed as far as I recall, although like many always do this job myself.
