Ducati Scrambler 2015

[jamesjohnsonthird]

I would be curious how much oil they added to top it off. From looking at the photo, the bike may have run dry.

I wouldn't want to keep it. Some high teck metal coatings on the desmo valve system or other parts may have been scrubbed off or bearings overheated/damaged? Who knows.

Glad you held firm. I'll give Ducati credit for replacing the bike.

Now, who is gonna end up with this bike I'm wondering?

Edited April 2, 2015 by jamesjohnsonthird

[OmegaRacer]

Definitely the right decision to take the new bike.

Like I said, you were in a good position to ask for it and fortunately the Thai Ducati customer service seems to be working well.

[guzzi850m2]

I agree with everybody, a new replacement bike is better man.

Now make sure that you really get a replacement and not just a well cleaned "ex bike" so check frame and engine No's with the 1st one.

eisfeld, you post is a bit unclear; did you actually leave the shop on the bike since your GF's shirt was destroyed and 3000 for a truck?

[eisfeld]

Not sure what you mean guzzi. I was riding sunday night with her when the oil leak happened. Hence the shirt and truck.

Also just noticed some oil stains on my Revit jacket but I wont complain. Just want to get back riding - but safely

wantan, jamesjohnsonthird: they said it lost a bit over 1 liter. Can't verify if that's true but I'll take their word for it. I think that's enough to potentially cause all kinds of damage in the engine. Especially since it was smoking a lot.

And I suspect wantan is right thinking that it was cleaned with a high pressure water hose. Nothing was disassembled. "Cleaned" it and plugged into the computer, that's it.

Neither I am a mechanic and therefor I think it's best to be cautious. Potential damage could be well north of 30k not to speak about safety.

[jamesjohnsonthird]

Here is the desmo valve system. No valve springs like most engines use.

Looks like lubrication is more critical in the desmo setup. There is a lot of science goes into the coatings on these metal parts.

https://youtu.be/ocfIYUc5bpU

Here is how oil works inside your 796 engine.

https://youtu.be/X3Mis0AXg4U

Edited April 2, 2015 by jamesjohnsonthird

[Phra Ek]

Yes - good move to push for a new bike. In an air-cooled bike the oil is also part of the cooling system - so losing oil can impact on heat and lubrication which is not ideal during the running-in period.

But I'm impressed that they agreed to give you a new bike - so their customer service seems to be OK, even if their quality control may need some work.

Some of the early Honda 500's also had an oil leak issue - so perhaps it's just a problem with the first bikes off the line.

[Dutchbike]

Well, that's good news. Just be on your guard, like guzzi's comment: you're not getting your "old" bike back ( but now properly cleaned) or am I being too paranoid :-)

IMO Ducati should pay some for your incovinience, with this thread the news got already out and Ducati should think about there PR.

BTW Looks great in yellow! nice bike! I see you changed your avatar pic LOL

[eeeya]

The risk of buying new tech

Mate of mine had similar prob with a Honda on the track. Loose bolt, oil out all over the tyre and down he went at 160kmh.

[properperson]

The risk of buying new tech

Mate of mine had similar prob with a Honda on the track. Loose bolt, oil out all over the tyre and down he went at 160kmh.

thats nothing....

Bloke down our ways got 2 loose bolts and went down at 180 kmph......

[wantan]

The risk of buying new tech

Mate of mine had similar prob with a Honda on the track. Loose bolt, oil out all over the tyre and down he went at 160kmh.

thats nothing....

Bloke down our ways got 2 loose bolts and went down at 180 kmph......

The bloke down your way has a lot of different bikes and stories to tell i must say

[eeeya]

The risk of buying new tech

Mate of mine had similar prob with a Honda on the track. Loose bolt, oil out all over the tyre and down he went at 160kmh.

thats nothing....

Bloke down our ways got 2 loose bolts and went down at 180 kmph......

Come on, my story was only 20km/h less than your story.. Its gotta be worth something [emoji12]

[piston broke]

The risk of buying new tech

Mate of mine had similar prob with a Honda on the track. Loose bolt, oil out all over the tyre and down he went at 160kmh.

thats nothing....

Bloke down our ways got 2 loose bolts and went down at 180 kmph......

Come on, my story was only 20km/h less than your story.. Its gotta be worth something [emoji12]

well thats nothing - Gentleman living in out Mooban has 1 leg and had 3 bolts come out of his bike at 200 kph, oil everywhere

[SpoliaOpima]

Ducati Thailand Cooks Up The Scrambler Dirt Track Concept

The Ducati Scrambler has just received a new custom treatment from an unlikely place: Ducati Thailand. The Italian bikemaker’s branch in the Southeast Asian nation is responsible for this custom Scrambler, aptly called the Dirt Track Concept.

http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-news/ducati-thailand-cooks-up-the-scrambler-dirt-track-concept-ar168768.html#main

[jamesjohnsonthird]

Your gonna look real pretty after riding that thing in the dirt with no fenders.

[eisfeld]

Small update:

it has been 3 weeks now since the accident. I was promised a new bike but everytime I ask Ducati Phuket if I can pick it up, they tell me they are waiting for "confirmation" from Ducati BKK and when they have that it will take then "2-3 days to prepare the bike". SMS don't seem to get answered and I usually have to ring a couple times until someone picks up. This morning I rang up the sales guy that I bought the bike from at Ducati BKK who was not aware of a pending "confirmation" (he is well aware of the general issue though) and promised to dig into this and let me know. We'll see what happens - so far I have not heard back from him.

In the meantime I have received a cheap Scrambler branded raincoat (a bit better than those 7/11 ones). Wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry when I saw that.

I am not happy with Ducati at all.

[wantan]

If you have not so far, you should give them a deadline, after that you want your money back. And of course remember them about the "customer protection office" or however its called. Sure they sell a lot of these bikes. And sure you want your model/color, etc. So maybe not that easy for them.

Good luck.

[JonnyF]

They're probably delaying hoping you'll crack and just take back the bike with the issue.

Have you tried ringing Ducati HQ in Italy? Or you can log an incident via their website. I logged an incident when I wanted to verify whether my bike was going to be a restricted model or not and I also wanted them to confirm if it was a 2014 or 2015 model. Someone from HQ called me back within a day and were very helpful. I think they can make the local dealerships jump as well if they're messing you around.

[nikster]

^ I've had a very good experience with Ducati Italy via their website too.

You provide your VIN number - or maybe Ducati member number, or both, not sure now - so they know exactly who you are, where you bought the bike, when you bought it, what service history, etc. I was complaining that I'd been waiting for a part for over 2 months while my bike started less and less reliably. I got a very nice email replay, and the part arrived at Chiang Mai 2 days later. Good route to go.

[eisfeld]

Update: wanted to call the sales guy in BKK to ask for an update as he never called me back. He wouldn't pick up the phone (tried couple times over the course of 2h).

So decided to drive down to the dealer in Phuket and talk to the guys in person. To my surprise they said my bike has been sitting there for nearly 2 weeks but the same old "need confirmation from BKK". They said they would call again and update me. Heard that many times before so I told them I will wait right there while they call BKK.

10 minutes later they say all OK, I can pick the bike up thursday morning. Still no red plates available though. Also still no owner manuals. Oh well... can live without it for now.

Checked my new bike and seemed fine, had the proper torque seal on the screw that went off last time. But then I noticed the seat was uneven, it had small bumps that were elevated and a bit firmer than the rest of the surface. About the size of a 5 Baht coin in diameter and elevated maybe 3-5mm. The other bikes in the showroom didn't have that.

So told them about that and they said they will exchange the seat before I pick it up. Let's see, I hope this is not the making of a neverending story.

Ducati has some QA and management issues for sure.

[nikster]

It's Ducati. And it's a brand new bike. Some quality issues are to be expected.

Even Honda had loads of issues on some of their new Thai made bikes.

Great that you finally got your exchange bike. I also find that going there in person makes a huge difference to just calling on the phone. Even if you say the same things and otherwise just stand around. Better communication.

[jamesjohnsonthird]

WOW.

Your new Ducati was sitting there for two weeks and the sales guy wouldn't pick up the phone or bother to "call Bangkok."

Then, they finally give you one and the seat is defective. And the sales guy didn't notice that!

This burns my britches and it's not even my bike!

[eeeya]

It's Ducati. And it's a brand new bike. Some quality issues are to be expected.

Even Honda had loads of issues on some of their new Thai made bikes.

Great that you finally got your exchange bike. I also find that going there in person makes a huge difference to just calling on the phone. Even if you say the same things and otherwise just stand around. Better communication.

+1 agree.

Any idea how long it took Honda to straighten up operations in Thailand? Would be good to use as a bench mark for Ducati.

Its unfortunate that this has happened but you cant expect a new manufacturing plant (not just Thailand but anywhere in the world) with a new model to be perfect right from the beginning. The price of being an early adapter of a new model is your going to be the guinea pig.

I've been there before with a new release model Mercedes truck. Trouble shooting problems wasnt easy for the mechanics because the database for issues previously logged in the system was very limited.

As stated by others previously, make sure your problems are properly logged with with Ducati, not just for your sake but also so they are aware about issues with QC in their operations.

[eisfeld]

Yea I agree it's a new model and Ducati is still relatively new in Thailand but on the other hand Ducati itself is not that new and they should properly oversee the local production.

But hey, this is just two bikes having issues and there aren't so many negative reports on the net (there are a bunch though). Also this is Thailand and I can't expect professionalism like in some western countries. They are still a developing country after all.

There was no ill-will or anything like that. What pains me is that this could have been resolved very quickly but instead all this run-around and waste of time...

It's a premium brand and with a premium brand I expect a premium experience. Do I have my expectations too high maybe?

[eeeya]

^^

I understand your disappointment,

From my own experience working for a multinational doing various start up projects things always go wrong and its never as smooth as you'd wish. For sure they use the same company management systems as used in other locations as well as expats with experience manufacturing their products but you also have issues locally such as training new hands and quality control of suppliers.

unfortunately its not economically viable to start producing and send the first few hundred bikes to the scrappers until they get their product 100%.

..anyways... im seriously thinking about getting one of these bikes once there's a few more about. I recon it would be the perfect Bangkok blaster!

[eeeya]

A few photos found on the internets

[Shurup]

^ DIY?

[Hili]

^ DIY?

no wire harness?

[hansgruber]

Yet to see one on the road in Phuket. I'm waiting for the full throttle or urban enduro next month. No more waiting lists like in January. I guess people are cancelling their orders.

[macknife]

Yea I agree it's a new model and Ducati is still relatively new in Thailand but on the other hand Ducati itself is not that new and they should properly oversee the local production.

But hey, this is just two bikes having issues and there aren't so many negative reports on the net (there are a bunch though). Also this is Thailand and I can't expect professionalism like in some western countries. They are still a developing country after all.

There was no ill-will or anything like that. What pains me is that this could have been resolved very quickly but instead all this run-around and waste of time...

It's a premium brand and with a premium brand I expect a premium experience. Do I have my expectations too high maybe?

I feel your pain, I really do.

I don't think your expectations are too high at all. What is happening to you is out of order and I would be livid. No matter what happens, I would do what others suggest and get onto Ducati HQ in Italy. Let them know what the cowboys here are doing for their reputation.

[eisfeld]

Picked up the new bike this morning. They changed the seat and adjust the mirrors as the stock position is too low and you need to open the screws to put them higher. Also adjusted the preload of the shock. The mechanic properly hurt his fingers doing that as it's a bit tricky to apply the force needed and not slip the wrench.
Saw a properly tricked out Monster which looked pretty cool. Ohlins front they said 120k THB - wow seems a bit excessive.

So far so good. 100km on the odo and no complaints so far. Apart from me not getting a owners manual and red plate because they still don't have any. Wonder if I can get one from the DLT? Hate to look out for cops, don't want to pay a 2k THB fine.