My MTS1200 has also developed a porous front cylinder head. I spent 10 days at the end of September touring around Germany and while there noticed the white smoke and coolant smell from the exhaust at start up in the mornings. Over the 2,000+ mile trip it almost emptied the coolant header tank, about 0.5 L. When I got back I called Ducati Glasgow about it, that was on Friday 4th October. The following Wednesday (11th) they called me to tell me that Ducati had OK'd the repair as a warranty, the bike is 18 months past the warranty and has 22,500 miles on it, they would order in the parts and let me know when they had them. On Thursday (17th), less that a fortnight after I approached them, they called me back to let me know that the parts have arrived, and when could I book the bike in? So I'm taking it in next Tuesday and it appears both heads are being replaced, all parts and labour to be covered by Ducati. I couldn't expect better than that. It is also due the oil service. Since the oil and filter should be replaced as part of the cylinder head replacement I wonder if they will charge me for them? I would hope that Ducati cover all head failures on the early bikes, I guess it would have a rather dramatic effect on used values if they didn't!
Derek , great news, very pleased for you and hope mine is the same. Mine is 18k miles and under 1 month outside of warranty I think , and went in with the problem inside of warranty so i cam crossing fingers. Hope they replace both heads to. Hopefully they will not charge you for oil and filter the fact we are having all this hassle due to a manufacturing fault , youd like to think it deserves a bit of goodwill. I just want my bike back :-( I found myself browsing the honda website today , drawn in by the reliability i had from my fireblade.
Looks like it was 12th October before your dealer took action about your heads, about a week after mine, so hopefully they will have a response from Ducati UK next week sometime. I can't see that your outcome will be any different from mine. Ducati aren't going to pick and choose who they provide a goodwill warranty to, but how quickly it is dealt with might depend on your dealer and the relationship the have with Ducati.
For work done under warranty, they should do the whole job free with nothing for you to pay. If the job is done outside warranty, on a goodwill basis, you can expect to have to pay for the oil, coolant, spark plugs, etc. Just get it clear with the dealer at the outset on what basis the job is being done, what exactly they are doing, and whether they will be expecting you to pay anything on collection. That way, you avoid nasty shocks. Get a printed list of what they have done, for you to keep in case you later sell the bike.
Can I ask what years this is happening on? I'm very seriously looking at 2nd hand Multis and have been for some time, just waiting on a new job. my budget will place me on a bike 2011 upwards, possibly a 2012 ish but they could well have been built earlier a late reg. i guess there's simply no way of telling unless you see the smoke itself?
The affected bikes are mainly 2010 models but there have been a few from 2011 as well. A late 2011 or 2012 should be ok but bear in mind the number of bikes affected has been relatively small. Mine is the 3rd that Ducati Glasgow has seen. I don't know how many MTS1200s are in Scotland but I'd think quite a lot. As you say there is no way of telling but Ducati have been covering them under a "goodwill warranty". Although how quickly and how well it is dealt with will be up to the dealer.
Eventually got mine back and all is well. Had a very interesting one , when collected as soon as i shot up the road abs and dtc all turned off. Connected to laptop all sensor and abs showing well but wouldn't work, turns out there is a cable , cable tied to one of the suspension arms on the right hand side and this had broken. It was a real head scratcher due to he diags working when stationary but it turning off when moving. Still all is well and didn't have to pay a penny ! so nice to have it back.
Good you got your bike back, I hope all is well now. Interestingly, I had the same problem with the ABS/DTC on mine but it was the loom at the connector to the front sensor which had been cable tied without enough slack so that it eventually broke at full lock. It was intermittent at first before packing up altogether. Here is a link to the post showing the problem and how I fixed it. http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f6/mts-1200-abs-problem-could-worth-checking-10189/
Derek sorry my description was awful that is exactly what happened, it was cable tied to front shock. Looks like a potential common fault. It occurred when they were doing my engine presumably as they used full lock more than I did in use. I think it's definitely worth a check for people. Thx again
