Hi, I have 2011 multistrada with 18k recently it overheated as it was in warranty and fsh went straight in , they did pressure test , and checked it and said all was well returned bike overheating sorted no issues. But they couldn't find anything wrong , and suggested an airlock. It ran fine then for another 2 months and same symptoms. Ive just refilled with water it took alot! and rode back from london for 2.5hrs , temp through central london never exceeded 104 , on mway 65. so all good. Definitely a small amount less water than when i left. Where do I start ! is it likely to be head gasket? what are the things to check / sequence. The only other thing that bugs me again all explain when went to dealer, when i start the bike , from the joint of where the exhausts join comes visible exhaust smoke until its warm after about 3 mins. I am puzzled and dont want to chuck my own money back at dealer so want to step through the basics any advice appreciated!RegardsChris
You need a new pair of cylinder heads, mate, under warranty. I had all this a few months ago. See loads of posts about this in the Multistrada section.
Is this a well known issue with the Multis then? I know I've asked about this before but if one was bought second hand and out of warranty would they have to still cover this as it sounds like a manufacturing defect to me? scares the shit out of me as I'm still considering picking up a 2nd hand one at some point
this is whats pi ssing me off , when i put it into the dealer who only a few weeks before Id paid 1K for 15k services and some stuff it was inside warrenty period. I spent ages going through exactly what happened , phoned them when they had the bike and went through it again and they told me they pressure tested did all the tests and nothing wrong. now its outside of warranty same issue , and looks expensive. Ill go and speak to a different dealer and see what the odds are of ducati stumping up if its new heads. Otherwise its going! :-( :-(
Which dealer was it originally? Only asking as if its shown you've done your homework and you actually go to them with a specific instruction of what to check they may very well get ducati involved for the heads
It is a well-known problem. Several bikes including mine have had the cylinder heads replaced under warranty, or under extended warranty, or possibly under good will from Ducati UK. Do a bit of home work so you know what you are talking about, then go to the dealers and get them to fix it, free of charge. Don't take no for an answer. No need to sell the bike, just get it fixed then enjoy.
On Monday I am going to go back to main dealer who had it in when it overheated and did the 15k service and the coolant change. I am annoyed with myself as well I didnt press them hard enough on how the coolant had disappeared when they said they couldnt find anything. Dont get me wrong love the bike done 18k on it but i will feel cheated if it is the heads and i have to pay.
The bike must only just be out of warranty. I'd like to say that ducati will help you out, they're pretty good like that. They normally only provide parts, not labour though. However, if you could prove that the problem was there when initially investigated and covered by warranty I'd press for them to cover all costs. It sounds like it was. As pete says, investigate it fully, go in with the info and ask them to look at the bike again. If they still can't find anything see if they've even though of looking at the heads.
yeap 24th of sept warranty ran out :-( I am hoping ducati / dealer will help or im buggered. What i still dont understand is whats happening to the coolant why / where is it going as its such a slow leak it must have ran two months before the problem has repeated itself and how to check if it is the heads, i.e will a compression test show the problem , what diagnostics show the head problem caused by the coolant issues?
The alloy cylinder head casting can be too thin at a certain point between the exhaust port and the coolant passages. The metal of the casting starts to develop fine cracks allowing coolant to get into the exhaust, at first in small amounts. Then the cracks gradually increase, allowing more and more coolant into the exhaust. Steam in the exhaust gas, visible water around the exhaust ports at cold start-up, and drops in coolant level gradually get worse and worse. Eventually the bike gets hard to start. A compression test would show nothing - that is not the problem.
Thank you got it , that explains it and also backs up what i told the garage when i put it in with overheating, at start up i get lots of 'steam/smoke/vapour' coming from the joint where the exhausts join under the seat it also back fires the a couple of times then vapour stops after 2 mins max and so does back fire. They said its condensation . But from what your saying it all ties up. I am guessing not from your comment but is there a non disassembly way of proving the above or do i just go with the symptoms and history and hope they are familiar with the above alhough not sure they are as I clearly covered this on more than one occasion including when they told me nothing was wrong.
You will have to tell them in writing that this is a well-known fault with this model, that Ducati UK have fixed several bikes under warranty for precisely this problem, that if they are not familiar with it they had better find out, and that if they still refuse to do anything they will be hearing from your solicitors preparatory to legal action. That should do it, unless they are both exceptionally stupid and dishonest as well as incompetent. You could PM me if you like.
Thanks Pete really appreciate all the advise. Ive not got anything against the dealer all the dealings and even the handling of the overheating lead me to believe the mechanic i spoke to truly doesn't/didnt know about this issue. Ill phone tomorrow and see what they say now i am armed thanks to you with the info , i feel I have a strong case. Thanks again to all for the info
spoke to garage today , going in on tuesday , they gave positive feeling it could be sorted under warrenty so will keep thread updated. thanks for all the advise. regards Chris
If you reported the fault whilst in warranty and they didn't sort it then, then they are obliged to fix it under warranty now.
Update: the garage have confirmed the rear cylinder is porous/has cracks and the coolant is leaking into there. So I need new heads which the garage are speaking to Ducati about warranty but cross fingers don't expect a problem. Interesting for me were the symptoms. When I started the bike as above I would get steam from where the exhaust joint under the seat and it would backfire a bit for say 2mins. This turned out to be the bike starting on one cylinder because the rear one was wet, as the bike heated so the water evaporated and the backfire was the second cylinder starting. The steps used to diagnose we're 1) pressure test the cooling system which tests fine no leak of fluid 2) the bike starting on one cylinder (don't understand how they knew this). 3) they left bike overnight with spark plug out then in morning put a camera in and the coolant was in the cylinder. So happy the issue is found , hoping it won't cost me as I don't think it should and garage is making all the right noises so don't anticipate and issue. Thank you for all advise. Chris
Thats sounding like good news and to be fair IF ducati try to make you pay I'd seek legal advice as this is very clearly a major manufacturing defect. you simply cant sell a bike, especially one that's only a maximum of 3 years old and it have such a major flaw without standing by your product. imo they should've bitten the bullet long ago and issued a recall as the problem clearly exists and is very likely to hit a fair amount of owners overtime, they screwed up and sitting there hoping they can get away with owners coughing up one by one is very bad form. fingers crossed for you bud but either way don't take it lying down
When the engine stops, the exhaust valves in the rear cylinder may be standing open. After the engine cools down, coolant leaks through the cracks and trickles down into the combustion chamber. Later when you try to start the engine from cold, either it starts on one cylinder or won't start at all. This problem of water in the cylinder is unlikely to happen on the front cylinder, as the water would trickle away from the valves. Good luck with the repair. Replacing the heads will require doing a list of other things, like spark plugs, coolant, engine oil, etc. Don't let the garage charge you for these - they should all be included free of charge.
I am sure your all on tenderhooks but so far 1 week in no confirmation that Ducati will warranty the labour yet. But told its likely to be 3-4weeks before its all sorted and repaired :-( . Gutted , have to make sure the heated jacket is ready to pick it up.
