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Ducati gearbox problem?

13869 Views 38 Replies 27 Participants Last post by bellsguns, Apr 13, 2005

mscuddy

Discussion Starter · Mar 30, 2005

My old 450RT use to spit ball bearings out of the exhaust pipe, but no gearbox problems.

Must be that silly dry clutch. Didn't CZs have a dry clutch too?

Hey, wait a minute, FIRST POST.

21 - 39 of 39 Posts

pplassm

· #21 · Mar 30, 2005

I have a friend, who used to be a Ducati mechanic, and he had almost the same thing happen to a 900SS. Luckily, he was getting parts at cost at the time.

These stories scare me away from the brand. Too many stories for the number of bikes on the road.

38500

· #22 · Mar 30, 2005

I found the reference. Motorcyclist magazine, Dec. 2004, p. 26. Roland Brown was testing Ducati's 999 (the basic, not the R) at the Mugello circuit in Italy: "My bike's only problem was a gearbox that shifted less sweetly than usual before eventually sticking in fourth, which cut short my final session." The other bikes used were OK. Boys and girls, this is for the $17,995 model at a press introduction (one supposes that the bikes were checked earlier, no?). I wonder if Ducati told him it was an operator problem...

36287

· #23 · Mar 31, 2005

Re: Operator..I need assistance

Apparently, you don't have enough years. Back when I was road racing a Yamaha 350 with a reversed shift linkage (1 up, 5 down), I sufferred a case of brain fade while waiting for the R's to climb enough to make the 5/6 shift. By the time the R's reached the right RPMs, my foot was UNDER the shifter and I back shifted into 4th. The gear broke immediately, locking the rear wheel at about a buck ten. Needless to say my brain was immediately snapped back to attention. Definitely a case of operator error!

Jaysunc13

· #24 · Mar 31, 2005

I have almost 10,000 miles on my '02 998 and have never had a problem with my gearbox. It was just a little difficult to find neutral when new. Broken in it's as smooth as silk.

895

· #25 · Mar 31, 2005

A special congratulatory congratulations to you for First Post - you posted first and didn't even realise it! And your comment was relevant! Well done and welcome to the First Post Club.

longride

· #26 · Mar 31, 2005

You have to be mistaken. The FJR is for "discriminating buyers'. They are the ones that pony up 500 to promise to buy a machine they never will see until purchase. And people have the balls to call Harley buyers dumb.

PistolPete

· #27 · Mar 31, 2005

I have a year in a 900SS with no problems. Pretty happy with the tranny and clutch overall.

bbtowns

· #28 · Mar 31, 2005

As everyone has said, clearly not operator error, but probably more a symptom of the dealer than the brand. I've got an ST4s with 17K miles on it and a dealer that has bent over backwards to make sure warranty took care of the two problems I've had (battery unable to turn over bike, speedometer cable failed). Get ahold of Ducati N. America, there can't be that many people willing to lie to you about the cause of a new tranny locking up being rider error.

Andonyx

· #29 · Mar 31, 2005

I know this may sound crazy but could it be as simple as the damn dealer didn't finish prepping the bike for sale, and there wasn't anything but a thin coat of showroom oil in the pan?

I know one guy who had his bike completely seize on him because the dealer forgot to put the full oil in when he bought it.

I assume the clutch in would allow the wheel to spin freely, but I suppose if you seize at high enough RPM, it could crunch something back there good enough to stop even that from working.

I'm just thinking maybe someone should check the oil?

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nokneedragin

· #30 · Mar 31, 2005

Well, in all fairness, Yama is only instituting the long enforced HD policy of paying for a bike and waiting for delivery. Hey the Japanese manufacturers are allways looking for another idea to steal, right?

mscuddy

Discussion Starter · #31 · Mar 31, 2005

Re: Operator..I need assistance

Yes, point well taken.

At one point in life I owned a Triumph, a Jawa, and a Yamaha all at the same time. The Turnip shifted on the right, one down, three up. The Jawa shifted on the left, one up, four down, and the Yamaha on the left, one down, four up. Good thing I didn't own a Lambretta.

longride

· #32 · Mar 31, 2005

The only gripe I have is that when Harley did it, they were an evil corporation that embodies everything that is wrong with this country. When Yamaha pulled it, it was because the bike was a high quality product for 'discriminating buyers', not because Yamaha was pulling a fast one, God forbid!

longride

· #33 · Mar 31, 2005

Good point. Whthout a teardown, how do they know it was the tranny?

mscuddy

Discussion Starter · #34 · Mar 31, 2005

Good idea. Dealers are only as compitent as the people who work there. Case in point:

In 1983 I purchased a new XL600R from Honda of Glendale and paid a hefty $200.00 dealer prep and set up fee.

That next weekend I took the bike on a two-day desert ride in very dusty conditions.

When I got home to do the usual air-cleaner maintenance, I discovered the boobs at Glendale Honda had forgot to install one. No air filter. Just one big filthy (and empty) air box.

After much complaining and letter writing, Honda gave me an unlimited warranty. Didn't seem to hurt the damn thing however.

I would be knocking down doors if were JB's buddy.

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38500

· #35 · Mar 31, 2005

The clutch is designed to release the engine/tranny connection. If the problem is between the main shaft and countershaft of the tranny, no amount of clutch pulling will save you. Trannies are designed to have only one pair of gears engaged at any one time, while the other pairs spin freely (although connected). If TWO pairs are engaged, each with its own ratio, then the tranny will seize and no clutch will be able to undo that. Usually washers, circlips and the like prevent a gear from sliding too far...

1747

· #36 · Mar 31, 2005

Re: Operator..I need assistance

kudos on caine mutiny reference...

sarnali

· #37 · Apr 1, 2005

Re: Operator..I need assistance

They did eat the strawberrys. They admitted it to Fred McMurry

9214

· #38 · Apr 7, 2005

A sucker is stil a sucker no matter what they ride.

Bryan...never buy retail-always buy wholesale...

bellsguns

· #39 · Apr 13, 2005

lots of things could have gone wrong.

but check in at ducati monster board[dml]

someone there just had a lock up, and it sent them flying over the top!!

glad no one got hurt

21 - 39 of 39 Posts

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