Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

The end is nigh! Ducati not using desmo on latest engine

825 views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  bueller 
#1 ·
#3 ·
just read about desmo + as noted it was better back then but valve spring technology caught up + not so much now!! ducks are costly as is but the added upkeep prolly keeps non DIY buyers away. my friend a former dealer noted when VAG volkswagen auto group bought them parts prices got worse than ever!!
 
#4 ·
I think the desmo system is really not needed for the street. I've had a couple of Ducs and the only 1 I really liked had valve springs and a wet clutch.
keeps non DIY buyers away
and DIYers. I pretty much do all of my own maintenance except desmo valve adjustments. They are a whole order of magnitude more complex and if you ever drop a valve stem retainer it'll probably find it way into the very bowels of the engine.
I had a valve adjustment done on another duc, $$$ sold it shortly after that.
 
#6 ·
Yes, the maintenance is on the expensive side if you don’t do it yourself. It’s a taste, an attraction. If you want a bike built with an emphasis on going down a curvy road , they have few peers and you would be foolish not to at least give them a look. Just like a Triumph, a special motorcycle that you should at least give a good look at.
 
#10 ·
Just like a Triumph, a special motorcycle that you should at least give a good look at.
Actually, I see Triumph as the exact opposite of Ducati. Triumph has that special something without ANY of the ridiculous inconveniences and costs that come with Ducati ownership.

I had a friend who had a PhD and was smart and skilled enough to do all his Ducati maintenance. Cost was not a problem. He was a close to a mechanic married to a banker's daughter as you can get, and he still got sick and tired of putting up with Ducati maintenance, reliability, costs, and wait times. Switched to Honda. Meanwhile, my Daytona 955i has over 69,000 miles and has never needed anything but routine maintenance and an alternator rotor.

I see what you're saying, but nope. Not even tempted.
 
#8 ·
Paid for FOUR valve adjustments in 50.000 km owning a 2V ac 992. The upside is it was an involving engine, that although it ran like sh!t below 4200 was butter thereafter, sounded like a bucket of bolts at idle and then once you got on the gas became the roar of the moto gods. Termis, open air box ahhhhhh what can you possibly not like about that, neighbours?. I'm not audacious enough to roll that way anymore but I sure enjoyed it while it lasted.
 
#11 ·
Owned this silver bevel gear drive 1977 and a black bevel gear drive 1978 SS Desmo. I uncrated and PDI'd both bikes and the valves were spot on from the factory.

Put 20k miles on the silver and about 15k on the black.

Neither one had a single valve out of spec as long as I owned them and both pulled like electric motors from an idle up to redline with Dell'Orto pumper carbs. Took 20 minutes to check the valves and that's taking my time.

When Ducatis became Gagivas and cam belt drive arrived I had no further interest in Ducatis.

738422
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top