Just coming up to 12 months of ownership, thought i'd share some of the wear and tear. I've used this thing a lot, right through the winter, probably covered about 2000 miles this winter protected pretty much everything with ACF50, a couple of thorough (for me at least) washes and reapplication of the ACF. from a distance it looks pretty clean, but these photos make it look a lot worse... brake hoses - bit furry, but not too bad Rad - few dings but looking ok front head cover, pretty badly chipped starter, badly chipped and begining to rust - need to paint that up pretty soon underside of engine casings - again badly chipped - showing some signs of corrosion, not sure what do to here - ideas? general engine case nuts and bolts - not too bad, no significant furriness rear wheel, some chips in the finish - doesnt buff up like it use to font calipers and bolts - not as shiny as they were - but holding up pretty well i think
Ahhh,I'm lucky,put mine away for the winter...you could always get casings,etc., powder coated,they would at least offer more protection,but even that would deteriorate over time,esp winter riding. Get stainless bolts and fixings wherever you can too.Get a radiator cover though!! That's the first thing I bought for mine....and a hugger for the rear wheel,helps keep some of the crap off.You could always get your wheels re-painted and lacquered.....be just as durable as powder coating. Considering the mileage,it's not bloody bad going mind!
If youre serious about keeping it and spending some serious coin then I recommend xylan. Youll have to have the motor stripped to the crankcases for it to be done....heres a before and after of my ktm motor.... After Xylan is pretty well impervious to anything the place that does it is called Xylan Low Friction Coating - Sandwell UK the lad that actually does the coating is a sidecar racer so loves bikes. Not cheap, my engine cost about 550 quid to coat. Its not the cost of the coating but the masking off. But, once done, nothing will affect it that can be thrown at it. Essentially the coating is used on oil rigs. If they stick something to the leg of an oil rig this is what it gets coated in.
Just looking at your photos.... Hel stainless brake lines. Id take the rocker cover off and get it powder coated - I did on my 1100 and it resisted pretty well everything.. Ive never seen a rear wheel get that much of a battering - not sure on that front....maybe a xylan coating again - they do do it in black. Just to summarize its pretty well Ducati through and through - while I loved my hyper the quality of the coatings and fixings was shite to say the least. Once id covered mine in stainless and titanium then it was fine. Had I have kept my hyper the motor would have been getting the Xylan treatment...although I may still be going down that route yet when the ktm is on the road...
Thanks Comfy, was looking forward to your input on this that coating looks dam good, but pricey as you say.. this ones a keeper ( i dont think Ducati Finance will want it back in 2 years anyways ), so maybe long term i'll look into doing something like that, will make do with some touch ups for now cheers Dave
A sad reflection of what is supposed to be a premium brand Mine is not used when salt is on the roads, which means most of the winter.
No prob - as I say if I can sell the KTM for decent money then it might scrape me an old 1100s and if it does itll be getting the full on treatment...
Ive said this before....earlier this year I took the hyper into Riders for an MOT. While I was waiting I was sat outside next to a Monster 1200 demo. Less the 800 miles on the clock (the salesman had the key in) pretty well all the bolts around the engine and the brake caliper bolts most of all were chalky....which for a 12k bike is totally unacceptable - does it really cost that much more to spend say 40 quid per bike to cover it in stainless....? or at least the lower extremities where it gets the brunt of the weather.... He said - "want a test drive?" "It looks like its rusting already!" "Err well, that's how they are...." Says it all really... The bloke in charge of coatings and fixings at Ducati needs a large base ball bat inserting into him....on a cold rainy day...
