Hi I am a newbie on this forum. I am after a sports tourer and really like the look of the ST4 - different to the usual BMW's, VFR's etc. however they are racking up some age and mileage now (ones I see are 25,000 miles plus) and I don't want an unreliable bike (it will be used for occasional commuting). Does anyone have any experience of engine and component life and a view on whether i need to be looking at something younger?
My ST4 is 18 years old with 12,000 on the clock (all my fault....) I have had zero engine issues with, arguably, poor life in terms of long term no use. It suffers from the usual Ducati relay failures (they all do but are cheap to replace or link out if it's the sidestand safety one). Being an '02 may have helped with the life I've had as there were reports of frame cracking on earlier models, modifications made around '01/02 to sort. I've had some minor plastic fairing cracking but nothing to worry about and I don't think it's uncommon with age. Generally the bike has fared well with little extra TLC other than cleaning and normal maintenance. No fuel tank rust or petrol hose issues. I bought the ST4 rather than ST4S due to a couple of minor reasons at the time; I didn't trust immobilisers to not go wrong (some have had issues, some haven't but I didn't want to have to fix it), reports said the ST4S was set up for the American market so suspension fiddling was required which I wasn't really keen on trying out with my soon to be wife on the back, and then coming from a M900 the ST4 power was more than enough for me without the extra grunt of the 996 motor (apart from that I thing the salesman probably had a target to shift the outgoing ST4's and gave a good deal). The ST4 is basic in terms of electronic wizardry so suits me to maintain it myself, you may want to consider the ST4S for more grunt or the ST3/ST3S as alternatives but the ST range gives plenty of the Ducati feel in comfort. The latest model SuperSport would be another contender. I have a feeling the Honda VFR option may be expensive on maintenance even compared to a Ducati but I have no evidence to back that up. I only really commute on mine (30 miles each way on country roads) It's fine in traffic, doesn't get too hot but you could argue the gearing is slightly high (aren't all bikes though). The 916 engine is capable of going over 100,000 miles so I'd not get overly excited about higher mileages, 25,000 wouldn't scare me, good luck with whatever you choose
Just as a general point on mileage, I have owned several Ducatis with mileage of well over 40k and a couple over 50k. They all ran beautifully but had obviously been well looked after before I bought them. I`m sure there are some members on here that have gone well beyond my mileages . If everything stacks up then I wouldnt worry.
@Harry Bell said everything that needs saying really . I've had mine from new. I bought it in 1999 and I did 1800 miles in the first three days , including crossing the alps .... Since then I've put over 80,000 miles on it . I did have the dreaded frame cracking issue .... 6 months after the warranty expired .... Drat ! ..... and it bust one of the crankcases when it cracked ..... Drat and Double-Drat . It used to be a pig in city traffic but I dropped one tooth on the front sprocket and it was a transformation / revelation .... .... plus more acceleration ( but a bit less on the top speed , of course ) . I still love it !
Over 80k miles - nice Did you have any of the cam follower flaking issues as 1999 was right in the middle of that episode? I just changed my oil and pulled the strainer - clean as a whistle
Had an ran an ST4 for 18 momths as my main transport year round. Bought with 3k on clock and sold with about 13k due to redundancy. Fantastic bikes, very under-rated, quite comfortable, economical, handles well and is plenty quick enough for UK roads. However, it's the only Ducati I've owned that has had several major issues, one common, one not so much. Firstly the common one. It doesn't affect all bikes bit it is certainly a well known issue on all Desmoquattro engines up to the Testastretta; the cam followers are prone to flaking of their chrome hardening and if not picked up in time will knacker the cam as well. According to several sources including Rich at Louigi Moto, it affects all variants and despite 17 odd revisions of the rocker, none are any better. The only sure fire way to check is to pull the cams at valve check time (only about another 20 mins work) as you can't see the area affected properly otherwise. Tell tail flakes on oil mesh filter may give clues but only way is to actually look. Long term fix is to have worn rockers refaced with Satellite by Dave Newman Cams. Cost was about £60 each but that was a few years ago now. Change them as pairs of you do need one as Rich and I found that the profile can be ever so slightly different and cause a slight vibration due to uneven fuelling. My other problem was that the main bearing wore out at 10k miles due to Ducati over shimming the crank at the factory. It was only the second one with that problem that Rich had come across, so I was probably just unlucky there. Once sorted, then with regular maintenance it was fine and I was gutted to have to sell it. Oh, and the fairings were designed by a trainee who was left on his own whilst the other mechanics went to lunch. Only bike I've ever had where you have to remove the mirrors to change the oil and filter! Bargains to be had and don't let the above put you off. In fact the more miles it's done the better, so long as you've got service history. Just go in with your eyes open.
I have an ST2 and a ST3. Both are great bikes. I am after a new bike and you have just given me an idea! I could chop one for an ST4!
I can change oil and cilter without removing the mirrors (just lower RH fairing) , but that's about all, PITA but it's still a great bike
The original lights are not the best, the facelifted ST3 headlight was better. There used to be aftermarket conversions but probably hard to find now
Guess that may be true, it was some time ago and I would have removed the whole fairing in any case to do the valves and belts. However, from what I recall, the fairings overlapped in such a way that you had to first remove the mirrors before you could remove the nosecone and chin-piece and do that before you could remove the upper fairings etc. Remember the first time I took them off and replaced took me about 3 hours to figure it all out and get all the bloody pieces lined up so you could put the screws back in. Got it down to 45 mins in the end, once I'd learned all the tricks, but still a right PITA and why you should always remove the fairings on one yourself first if you have a dealer service it! Deuz fasteners would make the whole thing much quicker too but I never got around to that.
I was warned about the flakes early on so I was on the look-out , but no .... .....I must have been lucky and somehow got followers from a good batch .... What I did find later on , was a collet from the closing shims , after a major service at a Ducati dealer . I was only in the UK for a short visit and I needed a service , not least to get the stamp in my book . Months later I found rounded nuts on the belt tension pulleys , and screw holes in the fairing that had been filed .... probably because some slacker couldn't be bothered to get the other panels and holes lined up . I tried to contact them with a view to dishing out some misery , and possibly some boot leather ..... but they'd already gone . Same here , but it really annoys me that it still doesn't let you get at the battery terminals ...
