Hi all I have an issue with my beloved 2012 848 Evo, while cleaning I noticed a crack in the frame back in February this year, an assessment has been carried out by the Ducati dealer that I purchased it from and they are saying it has been in an accident and is likely to be the cause, Since I have not had any accidents and the dealer did not disclose any before it's purchase in 2014 I cannot accept this, I believe that this is a "stress crack" caused by overheating the frame tube during manufacture, I would appreciate any advise on how to resolve this as the dealer is uninterested. Thanks, Anton
Thanks bradders, I could indeed, then there is also the mammoth task of dismantling everything from the existing frame then reassembling it all on the new one at a cost to me when I believe it to be a manufacturing fault on a bike that is only five years old.
Cant see that being accident damage. Faulty material is my guess. Contact Ducati UK or factory, hopefully goodwill gesture replacement.
In the event that you can't persuade them to change their minds out of the goodness of their hearts: you are outside the period of consumer law where the onus is on the seller to prove the fault didn't come from them (1yr), but there is always a duty on them to supply products that are reasonably fit for the purpose intended. Does your insurance give you legal cover (they may cover it). In effect, your starting point will need to be to show on the balance of probabilities that it is a manufacturing fault (ideally, you'd want to show the bike has never been used for other than road use and not been customised at all - as they are both arguably outside it's intended use). where this becomes interesting is the age of the bike - they may argue it's simply a case of wear and tear. This isn't to state the rights and wrongs, but that is what you would need to prove if you took them to court. Bear in mind your loss would be the book value of your bike now. with that in mind - who much would an expert report to look at the crack be? (I don't know - how much do weld experts charge?) A friend had a cracked multistrada frame - I think he go a free replacement frame
Start with speaking to citizens advice have a pen ready. Then email Ducati UK. No lucky, then Ducati HO. Everything in email, keep and document EVERYTHING. What do you want out of this? All fixed FOC? Free frame but you pay labour? Contribution from Ducati? I expect you'll need to get an independent assessor in to look at frame which you will need to pay for but if he agrees you may get costs back from small claims. If you go this route then inform Ducati and dealers that you will hold them liable for assessor costs if he finds in your favour. Do you have finance? They might help if you still owe £££. February was a very long time ago.
Thanks, yes I would like it fixed free of charge, February is indeed a long time, Thanks, I am hoping that Ducati will do the right thing in replacing my frame free of charge, I do not consider five years to be a reasonable life span.
wot Cream Revenge said - put everything in writing. (assessor/expert is pretty much the same thing here)
I would imagine any crash large enough to do that to a frame would also leave other tell tale marks. How is the headstock and stearing stops?
I did, it was from a main dealer, in immaculate condition, two years old with 1190 miles on the clock.
My mate had an RC30 that cracked it's head stock out of warranty (many moons ago) - actually in a crash too. He had a family lawyer in Olde London Town who fought the case for him an a metallurgists report stating it was a production issue and he got a new RC30 from Honda as an out of court settlement. He then did a straight swap for an FZR1000 and a trail bike instead of having the new RC30 and wrote off the FZR a few weeks later Not a lot of help for your situation but shows you might get somewhere if you stick at it.