New to ducati

[Fitzy]

I'm a newby looking at a 2004 s4r monster with 3000 miles, its super clean and I really love the bike but im was wondering what to look for in a used monster that isnt basic small engine stuff, do the heads have to be adjusted much? how can you tell if the dry clutch is bad? do the cam belts last long? is the s4r a reliable bike or does it need lots of TLC? anyways i love forum and any help would be great. Im in germany by the way so i dont have a good dealership nearby so i dont want to buy something i cant fix on my own.

[ManaloEA]

Welcome to the DMF and congrats on your purchase. If you are looking for information about how to mod, maintain or upgrade your ride, you'll find  lots of good information in the Tech area.

[Slide Panda]

S4R is pretty solid. No, to my knowledge, issues beyond the standard maintenance.

Valve checks are set for 6K mile intervals. So it's half way to the 2nd check - the first is done early as part of the break in.

The belts, if they have not been replaced need to be. They spec is 12k miles of use OR two years of service which ever comes first. Obviously they haven't seen many miles, but they have seen many years. Replacing them isn't hard, but on a 4 valve you do need to lock the rollers in place. A 'tool' is available for this at a prettly low cost. I quote tool as it's just a cut piece of aluminum that has notches and a guid hole. YOu line of a bolt and fit the plate. The notches/teeth fit in the cam belt rollers and prevent them from turning during belt installs.

YOu can have a look inside the dry clutch quite easily if the seller lets you. But they don't go bad often. Slipping on acceleration is a sign of over worn plates. Excess noise etc. But on a 3000 mile bike I'd not worry about the clutch.

A 4v(alve) water cooled bike will need more TLC than it's 2v air cooled brothers. Twice as many valves and the cooling system add the to maintenance tally - but that's not exactly a secret.

With an 8 year old bike there's a number of things that you'd need to attend to Duc or not
- We covered the belts.
- Replace fluids, oils (fork as well possibly shock), hydraulics, coolant.
- Tires, if they are originals they will be stiff and deliver poor traction. Most moto tires recommend 5 years of service life.

S4R's are nice. Hope you get a good price on it

[Fitzy]

Well thanks I appreciate the info I looked over the bike today and its clean the owner says the tires  belts and valves were done at 3000 miles and the bike has 7758 miles so he says its good  to go but its got some mods that wanted toask about its got termi exhaust and some kind of ecu mod just curious if its gonna effect the life of the bike

[Slide Panda]

The belts, if they have not been replaced need to be. They spec is 12k miles of use OR two years of service which ever comes first. Obviously they haven't seen many miles, but they have seen many years.

Odd, why did he do the valves at 3k?

And if that service was more than two years ago, the belts are dubious.

If done right, the Termis and ECU will have no real appreciable impact on the life of the bike. A common mod was a kit one could get that was exhaust, air filter/airbox lid and a Ducati Performance (DP) ECU. The new ECU had a more sporty throttle profile and settings to properly fuel for the additional air coming in.

[Fitzy]

I fat fingered it the bike has 3758 miles and he wants 7500 for it, the valves were done and the belts at 3000 by a dealership

[Slide Panda]

Ah, making more sense now.

No thoughts on the price - I haven't been in the market for a while so I've got poor perspective. A post in General Monster might get you some more relavent opinions. OF course if you and get a detailed rundown of mods that always helps.

If it does have the DP kit I mentioned, that is a nice addition. If you could still find one it's probably around $1800-2000 (retail) worth of bling. Granted it was a bit premium priced being DP. One could build your own sep up like that for about 60-70% with Slipons, power commander and the airbox stuff.

As the 'big' monster of it's era it'll have the best of the breeds factory suspension and brakes. Not saying that they are OMG fantastic, but the nicest trim available at the time and quite good, especially once set up for the rider.

If I remember right that's before the monsters got the Testasretta engine from the 999 - but it's no slouch. Plenty of HP and Torque on demand.

Mmm, other desirable things to look for
- Change in the final drive. Even the big monster were geared tall from the factory. Universally they benefit from a sprocket change if you're street riding. Dropping to a 14 tooth (from 15) in front or adding 2-3 teeth in the rear is common, and from experience a nice change. It's more common on a low mile bike to see the 14t as it doesn't require a new chain - just drop it in. A larger rear sprocket almost always needs a longer chain on Monsters. It's better to go bigger, but at $40 vs $200 most hold off to go bigger until they need a new chain.

- Bling - all sorts of bling can be found on monsters. This bike has a dry clutch so there might be an aftermarket cover and/or pressure plate. Otehr common stuff is clip-on bars.


So yeah, get a detailed description and post in general if you want to poll folks about the price. Oh be sure to note the color. There are a few that were limited production.