Hi Guys, My bike (been like that from day one) has something wrong... as stated in the subject the 2 main issues are related to the way the bike behaves. -after a certain speed (90/100mph) the bike wobbles. -in normal riding condition if you remove the hands 1 second (you know, fixing your gloves, scratching a sec your balls etc) the bike pulls left. I have to sit on the right-hand side of the seat to have it goes straight. Everything seems to be coming from the back wheel as every time you make a strong acceleration you can feel something from the back of the bike pulling left... (sorry English's not my first language and I'm not sure I can explain it correctly...I hope it makes sense!) I think the two issues are related but Ducati does not care and according to them the bike is totally normal, they have noticed the bike veers to the left but they also said that the manual states: the bike must be ridden with both hands on the blablablablabalbalablabulsh*t (can you believe it?) Anybody here with the same issues? Ideas? Thanks a lot P.s.: these are all the other issues the bike has had within its first year: display, seat, fuel sensor, clutch lever (still broken), front fairing (cornering still not working), both front discs, top box, battery, hands-free, cover clutch and 1 kg of oil every 1000 miles. (it's getting better with miles tho..) and a few other that I don't remember right now...
HI Matt, sorry to hear about your wobbly bike. I bought a red DVT S earlier this year in July. I had to ride her hard to get to the first service before taking it on a 2000 mile jaunt to the Hartz Mountains in Germany. Having had the older Multi i felt the new DVT wasn't quite right from day 1. During my Germany trip I noticed that the bike was pulling to the left and much more noticeable when taking hands of handlebars. This was with and without luggage. Returning to Blighty i went to see the guys in Snells and they took her in, did a nut & bolt check, re torqued everything and contacted Italy. After 10 days they decided to send the bike to be laser measured. Long story short is they thought the swing arm bearing may be out which is a known issue on BMW's with single sided swing arms but after laser measurement they said the frame was bent or not straight. The bike was actually laser measured more than once and the results showed that the bike was not true hence pulling to the left. The nice people at Snells asked me if i wanted a loan bike whilst they waited for a new frame, i said no thanks and got a white DVT S as a replacement but did have to wait a few weeks at the end of last summer which was a little frustrating. The White DVT is not 100% i.e. it still slightly pulls left but is 1000 times better than the previous bike and i can live with it. I personally think this is a design flaw and would ask other Multi forum users to test their bikes for left hand pulling, i think some folks will be surprised. The RED DVT didn't wobble as you says yours does which make me think yours if possibly worse than mine was. I wouldn't accept the dealers response and ask them to get the bike laser measured to see if its straight. I wish you luck and persevere with your dealer.
What do you mean by "Ducati does not care"? The Ducati factory in Bologna? Ducati UK? Or some local dealer? Which?
Hi Neil, thanks for your post. Very interesting. I have to say that the left veering is slight, as slight as you probably noticed on your new bike, I've been living with it for 5k miles and still love the bike. But I think this is something Ducati should look into and possibly sort out. I've always thought there could be something wrong both with the frame and/or the swing arm. I'm impressed on how our dealer dealt with you: laser measuring, the new frame.. wow. The only test I had so far was a butt test of a couple of mechanics. At least, with a laser measurement I'd know if is the frame or something easier to fix or change like the swing arm. @pete: as far as I can see no one cares. At the moment, both the dealer and ducati uk are involved. The dealer has noticed the issue but since the demo bike performs in the same way they think is all normal. Ducati UK has only added that I should not ride the bike whilst letting go of the handlebars anyway because it's dangerous!!!
why didn't you return to the dealer straight away when it was new if this is such a problem? you have managed 5k miles so where is the issue
Sounds pretty typical of Ducati UK. Seems their job is to field the problem while keeping costs/liability to a minimum. Good luck if you try escalating to Bologna; in my experience they just refer you back to Ducati UK.
All I can say is my DVT does not pull to the left, as for a high speed wobble it can get a slight wobble on under hard acceleration at the upper speeds, backing off stops it straight away, it does not bother me, but most of is if I put it into sport mode, or a mode where I have set it for harder suspensions settings, it will not wobble at all. No other issues with bike after 5.5k miles so far. Do not know where you live, but maybe try another dealer.
Not specific to the multi, so sorry if this doesn't help but I recently got the rear shock rebuilt on my 899 to fix what is considered a Ducati design flaw where oil doesn't properly flow. Anyway... Two of the symptoms were a really disconnected and vague feeling rear end, and also harsh damping action. Definitely the high speed weve could be related to a rear shock running too little damping or rebound etc, and at 5k I would say worth £170 for a pro to rebuild the rear shock and see if that tidies things up. Back in the day... I.e. Not that long ago because I'm only 31 but on the early gsxr's and r6's etc u could adjust the standard suspension to a point where it was dangerous on the road and would cause all sorts of issues. Is everything completely standard on the bike? I assume so if the demo did it?
If you've bought the bike from new and given them plenty of opportunity to put it right, then it's time to start writing letters. You should advise the dealer that you are intending to reject the bike under the "sale of goods act" as not being "fit for purpose" and give them an opportunity to respond before deciding on your next step. If you financed the bike then you should also contact your finance company. If the threat of legal action doesn't get a resolution then you really need to seek legal advise. It doesn't matter how much or little it pulls to one side, any amount of diviation from anything other than straight ahead is likely to fail an MOT, particularly if the alignment is clearly out. If a new bike is not likely to pass an MOT then you've got very strong grounds to reject the bike and either get a replacement or a refund. Before anyone jumps in here and say "but it's done 5K miles" it matters not. I'm speaking from the personal experience of litigating against a car manufacturer after having done over 8K miles in a new car, which I eventually had to reject due to numerous faults and got my money back - for what it's worth they settled out of court. Phil
Agreed with the above, just want to add though that you shouldn't in any legally discoverable document say that you are removing both hands from the control of the vehicle! What u should be saying is something along the lines of 'without pronounced force with one arm the bike is verging to one side' or 'constant correction of the handle bars is required to counteract the bikes tendency' and also have an argument around fear and loss of confidence as a result of the vehicle being unsuitable.
As Snell's took the care and attention extended to Neil987, are therefore fully versed in the issue and less than a swallow's flight from you, would it be worth asking them for their advice - being a Ducati dealer, they should be able to take the same steps with yours, if they're willing to help, in the face of your own dealer's intransigence The alternative would be to speak to Maidstone Motoliner (who most frame matters are referred to by dealers and manufacturers) directly and foot the bll for an engineers report with which to confront Ducati UK/Italy Motorcycle Frame and Wheel Straightening Experts - Maidstone Motoliner Ltd Good luck
A good point. An engineers report would be your next step before taking the step of initiating legal action. It would be a very import part of building your case to reject the bike. If the engineers report yields any pertinent information then you should confront your dealer with that information and advise them that failing to act (ie, repair, replace or refund - at their discretion) will result in you passing the details onto a solicitor for further action.
All good advice, when i returned my original DVT to Snells i did also write to them string the vehicle was not fit for purpose and requested replacement or refund. Having been a long standing Snells customer they were very supportive of my issues. I didn't have to go down the legal route but would have been fully prepared to if needed. I believe they have rebuilt and resold my original bike as second hand. If Matt23's bike is under warranty (which i assume it is) and with all the other issues encountered i would suggest direct forceful letter to Ducati UK highlighting said issues and the standard of service you have received - Good luck.
My MTS DVT 1200 pulls slightly left. Only really noticeable if you take you hands off the bars. The bike is heavier on the left side, I have done some careful measurements. I took the bike to the dealers several time after I bought it over 4 years ago, they found nothing wrong. I have ridden several other identical bikes and I reckon they all tend to veer left. Maybe a bit of torque steer involved.
In the UK, if you are daft enough to take your paws off the bars (or steering wheel), the bike (or car) will usually start veering left because that is the way the road camber leans. That in itself is not a fault. In odd cases it can cause tyre wear that exaggerates the issue. My multi rides straight as an arrow BTW
Ooookaaaaaay... What year is the bike? Is it an S (Skyhook) or a base model (manual adjust suspension)? Where are your suspension settings compared to baseline settings? What tyres do you have? How old are the tyres? Have you replaced / changed the tyres? What tyre pressures are you running? Is the bike under warranty? Is the bike on finance? I had the wobbles... now I don't. Happy to share my experiences. My first DVT was a base model 1200 and was as bad as my replacement 1200S is good. The 1200S still needed some fine-tuning to get things all shipshape, but in hindsight I realise that if the weave / wobble had been my only issue with my first bike then I could have sorted that by adjusting the front and rear preload accordingly and hawkishly monitoring my tyre pressures. Of course if I put my top box and side cases on then above a certain speed aerodynamics start to tap on my shoulder, but the correct tyre / pressure combo transformed the bike and I now have many happy miles under my belt. I think @Sam1199 has a comparable story of night / day transformation too... When the bikes were not set up right either high speed (100mph+) or hard acceleration would provoke quite worrying behaviours. It's worth sticking with it though, it's a blooming brilliant bike when it's working right. (does still wander off to the left though... if you don't like this, buy a GS ) Oh yeah, really old thread... he probably sold it and bought a GS
