If you manage to get an independent professional assessment of your frame. Both you and The supplying dealer must be in agreement as to who you use. You will have to pay for this yourself, but if the report rules in your favour then the costs for the report are met by the other party. Info online re Sale of Goods Act.
And back in the 21st century..... Suspect it would be very unlikely to be able to prove faulty good. There will be tolerances of course, and it could cost far more in costs (legal and otherwise) to go down that route compared to a few hours labour to drop everything off and replace the frame IMHO Good luck with Ducati
At best I think that Ducati will offer to replace the frame FOC but the rebuild will be at your expense. Back in 2003 I had a 1995 900SS of which the frame cracked at one of the top tubes behind the steering head. This is a well known issue with these bikes. I got on to Ducati UK who initially would have nothing to do with it. However I didn't give up and wrote back to them with evidence of other incidences of similar failures. This time they wanted evidence of a service history and they would consider my claim (What kind of servicing or lack of it affects the frame ). I was able to provide them with a stamped service book up until the time I had purchased the bike and receipts for all the service materials that I had purchased myself thereafter. They then offered to supply a replacement frame but the supplying dealer would have to do the work to change it at my expense. After some further communications between the dealer, who was happy to supply the frame and let me fit the parts, and Ducati UK a frame was supplied to the dealer. I then stripped the bike, took the old frame to the dealer who had to return it to Ducati and took the new frame home to rebuild the bike. It took me about 5-6 hours to strip it and about 9-10 to rebuild it, although I could do it much quicker now and I'd expect a dealer to take less time. The new frame incidentally came with no VIN number and had to be stamped with the number of the old frame.
That's a new one on me - it used to be the case that you had to prove you had no connection with the assessor/no way of inflicting bias on the result. I would be grateful if you could post a link just to clarify.
That's interesting. See quite a few track bikes with no frame numbers as a new frame. Wasn't sure if it was legitimate or not. Seems it is. Agree very unlikely to get the whole thing sorted FOC.
Chris we are both right!! When researching this when I had an issue with my Mutley, my dealer and Ducati UK both initially werent interested in sorting my problem out. So i looked online, contacted my local trading standards office and the CAB. The assessor must be independent, obviously, but from memory both parties must agree who is appointed. Will try and find the relevant bit. If you subscribe to Which magazine you have access to their legal help line too.
So, you may need to prove that the fault was not down to ordinary wear and tear, or damage you caused, and that the product (or a component) should have lasted longer than it did. To do this, you may need an expert's report, for example from an engineer or a mechanic. Always try to keep the cost of any report proportionate to the value of the claim and, if you can, try to find an expert that you and the seller both agree has the necessary expertise. This guide to the Sale of Goods Act gives information about goods and services bought on or before 30 September 2015. For advice on goods and services bought on or after 1 October 2015, please see our guide to the Consumer Rights Act. RELATED GUIDES Just pasted from Which mag online guide.
My 916 swing arm snapped clean in two, once** **Although I did stuff it backwards through a dry stone wall after flying through the air for a fair few yards.
I've seen a lot of cracked Ducati frames and I've got a couple here still but I've never seen one crack as in the OP's photos Very unusual indeed, particularly combined with no other visible frame damage. Good luck with it!
