Blew out a belt on the highway. NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY

[ducpainter]

Is there someone here I can send the head to for repair?  Is this a job I could tackle myself with normal tools and the manual?  If I'm looking at spending over $2000 between the repair and maintenance in the next 2 months just to put it away for winter, I may have to consider any cost cutting options available.

pm ducvet

[DrDesmo]

Ducati = "Luxury Brand"

You certainly pay for it.

I would gear up for a fight, personally.  You pay for what you get, and you're getting screwed right now (IMO)

Good luck 

Adam

[Ducatiloo]

You could get these for that price Testarosso heads

[venomousr1993]

If you rattle enough cages at the corporate level, 1500.00 is peanuts.  I had a Ford Lightning that was lightly modified...still got Ford to warranty the motor.  Ford sent a rep to inspect the truck and starting running his mouth how a High flow air filter / exhaust, there was burned rubber in the wheelwells (abuse) were contributors to the failure.  I said BS....needless to say they replaced the short block on their dime.
Would they void the warranty for changing the spark plugs to a different brand?   They would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that failure was due in part to your negligence.  Mechanical parts fail and if the part is within its' service limitations and fails they need to warranty it or prove otherwise.  

[DrDesmo]

You could get these for that price Testarosso heads

 

Adam

[vwboomer]

I think if you keep at it, you will eventually get what's right. Ducati is a lot like VW. They have shit service and you have to fight for anything significant.
Corse should really be the ones fighting DNA for you, not you personally (IMO). Experiences like this turn people off from a brand entirely.
Maybe you get lucky and Corse covers it and continues fighting DNA for reimbursement.

Me, if it came down to it, I'd trash the bike and buy some other make after getting hosed like this.

[muscle_cars_only]

Sorry to hear what you're going through. Same thing happened to me and I never once got the slightest run around. And my warranty was due the day I dropped it off.(around the same time your's went down)
BTW - I removed my covers , thats how I found out the lock nut was off on the vertical. I told the dealer that too, never did I get questioned once, Everything was replaced @ their cost.

[ducatiz]

seems to me if you publish all the info publicly and whomever the contact person is gets a lot of angry calls/emails/letters from Ducati owners, it might make a difference.

if you had belt covers on, there is no way something could have gotten in unless they were cut open.  period

moreover, the owner's manual doesn't say you have to leave them on, does it?  i would argue the belt covers are as a safety measure for the owner and it is not clear htey are to protect the belts (weak, but arguable)

just seems to be VERY lame.

[DrDesmo]

if you had belt covers on, there is no way something could have gotten in unless they were cut open.  period

Not necessarily true, my S4R (with 5500 miles) had bits of sand and a pebble and stuff in there when I pulled the covers to do the belts the other day ... Unless the previous owner sabotaged it 

Adam

[ducatiz]

Not necessarily true, my S4R (with 5500 miles) had bits of sand and a pebble and stuff in there when I pulled the covers to do the belts the other day ... Unless the previous owner sabotaged it 

Adam

that's a great point.  stock covers?

[DrDesmo]

that's a great point.  stock covers?

Yes, and they had never been off the bike since '04 (5500 miles)

Adam

[ducatiz]

Yes, and they had never been off the bike since '04 (5500 miles)

Adam

seems to me if the stock covers let debris in, then DNA has a high standard of proof to show that identical (or similar) aftermarket covers are at fault.

[DrDesmo]

seems to me if the stock covers let debris in, then DNA has a high standard of proof to show that identical (or similar) aftermarket covers are at fault.

My question is this: In stock configuration, isn't the bike warrantied to perform to a certain standard (ie "not grenading the engine") for the duration of the warranty term under normal use?

I mean, it's a kevlar reinforced belt, unless you used it as a stunt bike in the movie dune I can't imagine how much stuff really got in there ... But then again, how much do you need?  Hmm...

Adam

[ducatiz]

My question is this: In stock configuration, isn't the bike warrantied to perform to a certain standard (ie "not grenading the engine") for the duration of the warranty term under normal use?

I mean, it's a kevlar reinforced belt, unless you used it as a stunt bike in the movie dune I can't imagine how much stuff really got in there ... But then again, how much do you need?  Hmm...

Adam

good points

my point is that if your bike, with stock covers, let in sand and a pebble, then those can be assumed to be "less than lethal" for a belt.  Thus, if he had aftermarket covers, they'd need to be loose or open enough to allow in something greater than sand and a pebble.

Also, if something got in, and the covers were on, where is this object?  if the covers were on, even if they were a little open, where is this object that penetrated and blew up the belt?

the sad part is that to fight them, you'll need to get someone to look at it and i doubt they'll do it for free...

[LUKE]

The money and bad experience is bad but that's not the worst of it.  Above all I love that damn bike and if I want to ride it before the season ends I best going on it.  Even if I win this fight I already have the feeling that it could be another few weeks of fighting just to order parts and wait 3 more weeks to fix it and get it back to me.  i would have a lot more fight in me if this was October and it was 38* here in Wisconsin.  Right now i want my bike back.