Ducati 939

[LowRyter]

Heck, when I was in Ark a few weeks ago, I called several shops there for a new rear tire.  I even had the special socket to change it.  No one would touch it.  In fact, the Honda shop said they only work on Hondas.  I'm sure some if it has to do with Covid, many shops are busy and over worked that they can send business away now.  Not a huge deal really.  I was planning to ride home anyway.  But it was a concern for a little safety for the ride home or the option to stay another day.

That might be food for thought for any Guzzi cross country travelers that might not even get a worn tire replaced on the road.  Crazy.  

[LowRyter]

I guess I should've mentioned that I was riding my  Ducati 939 SS.  It has a single sided swingarm and racecar-like nut on the rear wheel.  I brought the dual sided socket but no one would entertain replacing a pretty standard 180/55 rear tire.

Anyway, just a note about riding an oddball bike on the road.  

[po18guy]

1 hour ago, LowRyter said:

I guess I should've mentioned that I was riding my  Ducati 939 SS.  It has a single sided swingarm and racecar-like nut on the rear wheel.  I brought the dual sided socket but no one would entertain replacing a pretty standard 180/55 rear tire.

Anyway, just a note about riding an oddball bike on the road.  

How's that 939? That was one of the bikes I went and sat on. It fit me well, and I can say that about precious few bikes. Shortly after the bike's intro, financial woes, lawyers guns and money swooped in and closed both local Duc shops, chaining the door shut. Bummer for those having their bikes serviced that day.

[KINDOY2]

2 hours ago, LowRyter said:

I guess I should've mentioned that I was riding my  Ducati 939 SS.  It has a single sided swingarm and racecar-like nut on the rear wheel.  I brought the dual sided socket but no one would entertain replacing a pretty standard 180/55 rear tire.

Anyway, just a note about riding an oddball bike on the road.  

One of the easiest bikes there is to change a tire on… lol

[LowRyter]

15 hours ago, po18guy said:

How's that 939? That was one of the bikes I went and sat on. It fit me well, and I can say that about precious few bikes. Shortly after the bike's intro, financial woes, lawyers guns and money swooped in and closed both local Duc shops, chaining the door shut. Bummer for those having their bikes serviced that day.

It's the best bike I've ever owned or ridden.  It's the most comfortable bike I own.   Handling, braking, light feel, styling are superb.  It has everything except outright speed (with "only" 113 HP) and electric cruise.  It even has factory saddlebags.  I smoked the rest of the riders through the twisty roads and switchbacks,  although I was smoked by the GSXR on very fast Push Mtn.  I just didnt want to go that fast and I head already gone 150+ miles on tight twisties whereas the GSXR guy took the interstate and was chomping at the bit.   I did 700 miles in two days going to and in the Ark Ozarks, only 20 miles were interstate (which was going out my way to find my way out of the dry county but still failed ).  

Just completed 18k desmo service.  Offending nut is visible here.

[Gmc28]

I carried same socket for that single nut on my “old” 2010 multistrada, and never had a problem getting a road change done.  That said, I ended up both times at bmw shops and paid dearly for the service.  in the one case I had misjudged the remaining miles on the old tire and had to do an un-scheduled tire change.  I had sent a tire ahead of me (drop ship) to Durango, and was just a couple hundred miles short of there when seemingly all-of-a-sudden the center patch went from thin-but-still-with-tread pattern to about 50% cord showing (Pirelli).  Ended up Paying retail-plus for the new tire, and then a hefty shop rate, painful, but having the socket made it all easy. The other time was a good old fashioned flat, but similar fix situation.   So, i guess I’d say “easy but expensive”, using a BMW dealer.

[LowRyter]

GMC, just the cost of doing a ride.  

I will say that I knew my rear tire was due when I took off on the trip.  deleted

 

[SFTripod]

4 hours ago, LowRyter said:

It's the best bike I've ever owned or ridden.  It's the most comfortable bike I own.   Handling, braking, light feel, styling are superb.  It has everything except outright speed (with "only" 113 HP) and electric cruise.  It even has factory saddlebags.  I smoked the rest of the riders through the twisty roads and switchbacks,  although I was smoked by the GSXR on very fast Push Mtn.  I just didnt want to go that fast and I head already gone 150+ miles on tight twisties whereas the GSXR guy took the interstate and was chomping at the bit.   I did 700 miles in two days going to and in the Ark Ozarks, only 20 miles were interstate (which was going out my way to find my way out of the dry county but still failed ).  

Just completed 18k desmo service.  Offending nut is visible here.

Hey Mister,

I am fortunate enough to work at a Ducati/Triumph dealer, & the SS is just a little sweetheart. I personally prefer the matte gray one, even though it is not available with the upgraded suspension. As for the "cold shoulder" you may have encountered on your travels, the majority of those folks, if given the chance to experience the "little one", would change their tune promptly. Pity...they are missing out on so much. Same is true of our thundering V11's. I love mine more every time I ride it. If I had more garage space, I'd have another one....

[Rox Lemans]

Some of that has to do with insurance. I think that's the reason Harley dealers only work on Harley. But I know my local dealers will work on anything. Well, almost.. Except some Ducatis. At least motor or electronics related. But a tire should be bread and butter for them. They look up the torque specs and have at it. 

[docc]

How does the Ducati 939 compare to a traditional V11 Sport, @LowRyter?

[LowRyter]

Docc, the V11 looks better, sounds better and won't melt you in traffic.  The V11 has great HB Jr bags that are more secure than the factory Ducati semi-rigid saddlebags and I've broken fastening bolts on the Duc (Givi) mounting rack.  

Otherwise the Duc is 100lbs lighter, 50% more power, more comfortable ergonomics, better seat, handles, feels and brakes on a dime, much more agile and stable on the road, gets better fuel mileage, easier but not perfect shifting, slightly better wind protection, seamless electronics, ABS and multiuse gauges. 

OTOH, no way I'd do a valve adjustment on the Duc and the rear cylinder/catalytic converter puts out heat when you're not moving.  Changing the rear tire, adjusting chain, and changing oil is a snap with the right tools, so routine maintenance is easier but those tools aren't portable on the bike.  The Duc is sweet riding but it doesn't have superbike power as it might look; 20 more horses would be nice provided there weren't wider tires and heavier or stiffer ride.  The Duc engine is 11 degree testastretta, meaning that is mild tune with 11 degrees of valve timing overlap.  The engine is torque-y, picks up at 3k, hits stride at 6k and peak power at 9k and levels thereafter, redlines at 10k.  The bike is slightly over geared given the close ratio transmission, so shedding a tooth on the front sprocket wakes the bike up for the lower gears. Roll-on is strong with seldom a downshift needed on the highway.  The mirrors are buzzy and not real wide, since they're also turnsignals, not any simple change out; I've had good success with some vibration material and made the mirrors serviceable if not great.  The Duc has been stone reliable.  Driven hard it can use a quart top off in about 3500-5k miles; that might be concerning since the oil change interval is 9k miles and checking the site glass (for me) is a two person job (or mount it on the rear stand).  Finally, the Pirelli Rosso iii/iv tires can wear pretty fast, I've changed over to Dunlop Roadsmarts, same as the V11.

I guess that's 19k miles in a nutshell.

[p6x]

On 7/16/2021 at 9:41 PM, LowRyter said:

I guess I should've mentioned that I was riding my  Ducati 939 SS.  It has a single sided swingarm and racecar-like nut on the rear wheel.  I brought the dual sided socket but no one would entertain replacing a pretty standard 180/55 rear tire.

Anyway, just a note about riding an oddball bike on the road.  

Do you mean the shops you contacted refused to change the tire because it was a Ducati 939 SS?

From what I understand, here in H'town, the shops would install and balance your tires, providing you bring the wheels to them. And even then, you still need to make an appointment.

My question is; what happens in case of emergency? say you are on the road, far away from your home, say you need to replace a tire, or your bike stops...

I have subscribed to AMA, and my insurance too provides transport to the nearest shop. But what happens if that shop does not accept your bike?

What do you do?

[LowRyter]

17 hours ago, p6x said:

Do you mean the shops you contacted refused to change the tire because it was a Ducati 939 SS?

From what I understand, here in H'town, the shops would install and balance your tires, providing you bring the wheels to them. And even then, you still need to make an appointment.

My question is; what happens in case of emergency? say you are on the road, far away from your home, say you need to replace a tire, or your bike stops...

I have subscribed to AMA, and my insurance too provides transport to the nearest shop. But what happens if that shop does not accept your bike?

What do you do?

That's my point.  Now I was in rural Ark, Russellville had a Honda and Suzuki shop.  Neither would touch my bike for tire change.  All they needed to do was put it on shop stand.  I had the "special" socket.  The Honda dealer would only work on Hondas.  The Suzuki dealer said they don't work on Ducatis. I found a shop in the hills that would do it but he didn't have a tire (the most common 180/55 size).  Now I didn't go to Fayetteville where I likely would've had better luck.

My only point, is that traveling by bike, especially something unusual, like a Guzzi, a rider might not get the service expected or needed in an emergency.  The shops are busy and don't need any new business.  Now I had enough tire to get home and then some, if I'd had a severely worn tire, don't know.  I've been on several trips where someone's tires were down to the cords (mine on several occasions).  

[p6x]

50 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

That's my point.  Now I was in rural Ark, Russellville had a Honda and Suzuki shop.  Neither would touch my bike for tire change.  All they needed to do was put it on shop stand.  I had the "special" socket.  The Honda dealer would only work on Hondas.  The Suzuki dealer said they don't work on Ducatis. I found a shop in the hills that would do it but he didn't have a tire (the most common 180/55 size).  Now I didn't go to Fayetteville where I likely would've had better luck.

My only point, is that traveling by bike, especially something unusual, like a Guzzi, a rider might not get the service expected or needed in an emergency.  The shops are busy and don't need any new business.  Now I had enough tire to get home and then some, if I'd had a severely worn tire, don't know.  I've been on several trips where someone's tires were down to the cords (mine on several occasions).  

wow! that bad...

What I find unacceptable is that the shops did not want to make an exception for a rider in need of help. I always thought that in case of emergency, people would help you. Or at least, this was my experience. But most of that was several decades ago; I suppose it is all different now.

You can never be 100% certain you will not need assistance along the way. You may be able to anticipate normal wear and tear, but in you cannot predict everything in advance.

I am going to verify with my insurance what they mean that I get a free tow to the nearest mechanic....

[KINDOY2]

I have a little shop in my area in the inner city so to speak....its a one man hole in the wall independent shop..the owner  is old school rider who rides Husky ADV bikes now....He has been running the shop  for years..he has an excellent old Coats tire machine and an excellent spin balancing machine ..He specializes in Japanese bikes..mostly Honda. But he will change a tire for me on anything I bring in, I have brought him BMW, Aprilia, Norton,Ducati's, and most recently my Scura wheels..He doesn't always jump up and down for joy when I show up..but he stops what he is doing and does it ...and always accepts the cash  with a thank you and a handshake.   I feel very fortunate to have him around..this is a dying breed.