St4s Guidance

I owned a 2005 ST4S until 2016.
Was told once at a service that the inside of the petrol tank was rusting, common problem? . It never gave me any issues and to be honest i have never heard anyone else mention this so i doubt its actually common.
Front wheel bearings seem to give up frequently.
The ally bushes in the rear suspension linkage wear and then allow a degree of slop in the smoothness of the movement.
Clutch slave cylinder. Replace it with an aftermarket alternative regardless, much better.

Fairing panels can get cracked at the mounting points, later style ST i am describing for this. Difficult to get off so people manhandle them a bit too much in their frustration.

The bike benefits from having the airbox cut to improve airflow. But in the correct place. Has this been done, by who, does it look like a neat job. What is the sellers response to questions about this if it is apparent.

Fabulous bikes though, wish i still had mine.

 

Make sure the cooling fan comes on when the engine gets hot. I was told I needed a new ECU when mine stopped.

 

I had an ST4 for 4 years, which shares many parts.
At around 20,000 miles I had the crank sensor fail. Not unusual I'm told and replaced with an identical fiat part, which was about a fifth the price of the ducati part.
Replaced the clutch slave sensor which had a leaking seal with an oberon replacement.
Advisory at around 25,000 miles for noisy front wheel bearings, which I replaced, and play in the rear suspension linkage, which I lived with as it wasn't bad.
Also let me down once with a random electrical failure. was sorted by shorting one of the relays to ground. Even my auto electrician friend was mystified as to why, but after that I kept a length of insulated wire in the toolbag. Problem never re-occurred.
A great bit of kit for the money, but being a 20 year old Ducati, I'm not sure I would have taken it on a long European tour.

 

Most people who had an ST4S and sold it, always regretted that decision (me included). They are a proper ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’, being able to embarrass many a sports bike. 220 miles to a tank! Corners on rails if the suspension is set up (involves dropping the yokes 10mm on the forks). Starting can be finicky, on mine no twist of the throttle or speed advance lever. Thumb the starter, once alive increase revs with speed advance lever. Believe later mapping addressed this. The immo is problematic. It is prone to failure but is easily disabled in the ECU for trouble free riding. A well looked after bike will be out there. Continuous service history is a must.

 

I had a 2002 ST4S for 10 years and the only recurring issue I had was the headstock bearings needed replacing twice. Probably my fault for riding in the rain and @chrisw is correct, I regretted selling the bike as I did eventually selling the 1200 Multistrada that replaced it. Andy

 

23 years and change. Cheek loom and connectors plus rectifier connection

 

I have told this story before but i missed my st4s so much i spent the next 5 years trying to buy it back again. The new owner eventually relented when the new Multistrada appeared on the scene. Cannot remember his name but he was a good friend of John who bought the first Multi to arrive in this country.
Loved it even more the second time around and on

 

The bike that got me into Ducatis. One of the first ST4S registered in the UK in 2001. Bought new from Motorcycle World in Manchester when they were in business and a Ducati dealer.