[DJKham]

Fellow Scrambler'ers (?)

I have my 1000km service booked for next Tuesday. Cannot wait. Keeping the bike (mostly) under 6k RPM is a huge tease.

I've got 750 Kim's on her now and have gotten to know her character pretty well (from 0-6000 rpm anyway).

Understanding that the first service includes an oil change and re-flash of the ECU (presumably with a different map) I'm wondering what difference (if any) you guys are seeing in the bike's performance...aside from being able to rev it more?

Does it make more power (butt dino)? Is it smoother? I haven't heard any real before/after testimonials so would love to know what to expect.

 

[ralph]

I had my first service done a couple of weeks ago. I don't know anything about a re-flash of the ECU though, this is the first I've read of that.

I would like to mention the oil change however. Now I assume Ducati put their recommended 15W50 oil in the bike at the factory. After my service I noticed that the dealership replaced the oil with a 10W40 viscosity. I also noticed that my bike now shifts into neutral easier, shifts into neutral when I don't intend to and makes a much louder clunking sound when I shift (especially into first of course). Now is this simply the result of lower viscosity oil and is that bad for the transmission and bad or good for the engine. I am in California where it will soon be getting close to 100 F. I would think I need the thicker oil this time of year. In doing some reading it looks like Ducati used to recommend 10W40 prior to 2008 I believe. Why the change in recommended viscosity.

Silverluxe, this sounds like one of your areas of expertise.

 

[silverluxe]

I think the main thing to expect is that your bike will be emptied of all of those metal shavings

I think the ECU flash thing is a myth, but I also didn't take my bike to the dealer. I changed my oil out for 15w50 Motul 300v which is working fine. My bike feels exactly the same as it did before I did the oil change now at 1200 miles on the odometer. Honestly I think the 10w40 would be better oil since you can feel the clutch get better as the bike gets up to temperature. Some of that may be my oil choice. I just received a case of Castrol 10w50 full synthetic that I'll be putting in at 1500 miles. It's 'normal' motorcycle oil instead of race oil so maybe the shifter action will get smoother. I don't really have any idea what will happen. I'm going to let the oil drain overnight so that I can get as much of the 4 quarts out of there as possible this time. Only about 3 quarts of the original oil came out and I only added 3 quarts to top it off with the Motul oil.

I have to think that there is not any ECU flash though and that people might be feeling the lighter oil making the clutch and the shifting feel smoother which would have them perceive the bike to be 'fueling' better?

My butt dyno tells me nothing has changed other than the seat getting softer each time I ride. Power is the same and fuel economy for me has been going up the more I ride. I started out with like 43mpg and was at 52mpg on my last fuel up. That might be circumstantial, but my fuel mileage has gone up slightly every fill-up I've done so far (about six fill ups now.)

I'm curious to see if there are massive amounts of metal shavings in my oil this time around.

 

[Mixup]

I think the main thing to expect is that your bike will be emptied of all of those metal shavings

I think the ECU flash thing is a myth, but I also didn't take my bike to the dealer. I changed my oil out for 15w50 Motul 300v which is working fine. My bike feels exactly the same as it did before I did the oil change now at 1200 miles on the odometer. Honestly I think the 10w40 would be better oil since you can feel the clutch get better as the bike gets up to temperature. Some of that may be my oil choice. I just received a case of Castrol 10w50 full synthetic that I'll be putting in at 1500 miles. It's 'normal' motorcycle oil instead of race oil so maybe the shifter action will get smoother. I don't really have any idea what will happen. I'm going to let the oil drain overnight so that I can get as much of the 4 quarts out of there as possible this time. Only about 3 quarts of the original oil came out and I only added 3 quarts to top it off with the Motul oil.

I have to think that there is not any ECU flash though and that people might be feeling the lighter oil making the clutch and the shifting feel smoother which would have them perceive the bike to be 'fueling' better?

My butt dyno tells me nothing has changed other than the seat getting softer each time I ride. Power is the same and fuel economy for me has been going up the more I ride. I started out with like 43mpg and was at 52mpg on my last fuel up. That might be circumstantial, but my fuel mileage has gone up slightly every fill-up I've done so far (about six fill ups now.)

I'm curious to see if there are massive amounts of metal shavings in my oil this time around.

I'm curious to see if there are massive amounts of metal shavings in my oil this time around.[/QUOTE]

Please do not tell me re the above, Please.

 

[Brantman1]

I didn't notice a difference after my first service at all. The dealer did reset the ECU so whatever it has "learned" so far is all reset. And I asked about a new fuel map and they said that if Ducati released one it would be automatically loaded on the bike with their computer but that they aren't made aware of any updates when they happen. Mine definitely still feels the same.

 

[eisfeld]

Mine also feels the same. The big difference is that you can now go over 6k RPM so you'll get more out of the bike.
It might also be a tad bit less hot without all the metal debris in the engine but that could also be the slightly colder weather here.

Not related to the service but the suspension started gradually to feel a little bit less stiff over the past 2200km, I have to check the tire pressure though as maybe they lost a bit of air and that made it a bit more comfortable.

BTW: where did you hear about the ECU flash? There was none at my service but I am hoping for Ducati to release a new fuel map. Did your dealer tell you about that? If so, please ask for more details!

 

[phnom]

IF Ducati has released a new ECU-flash it will be loaded in during the service, at least from my dealer. Didnt really notice any difference after first service, although i've only ridden it for 10km.

 

[fallen celt]

Didnt notice any difference after the service and there wasnt any ecu update either, at 1600kms the suspension is either getting a bit softer or I am getting used to it. The same goes for the seat which I dont notice it anymore, mind you the replacement bike for the service was an Icon with similar mileage and it was like a brick.

 

[DJKham]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'll stand by the tech when he does the service on Tuesday and clarify the whole ECU situation. I read about it on this forum in various threads and would like to better understand the reasoning.

The thought of metal shavings sloshing around in the motor is a little in-nerving. Looking forward to getting that cleaned up.

 

[Ed K]

My K1200S is obviously a completely different bike, but 10w40 or 15w50 can be used.

I much prefer 15w50 as it shifts smoother with 15w50 in my K.

 

[silverluxe]

Any of the metal shavings that you see are small enough to pass through the oil filter, however many microns that is, and part of this fancy oil's job is to hold the stuff in suspension and protect your engine. So it should be OK

I'll post the image again, but my oil looked like brains and shampoo.

 

[Spack]

Had my first service done last week. I asked if there was a remap available etc, Dealer said not to his knowledge. In fact, The Scramblers are very new to them, I think mine was the first they did. They said that often the owners will know more than they do as far as the things coming down the pipe, ie remaps, feel of the bike, aftermarket stuff, etc. I attribute that to forums like this one.


My oil was changed out to ENI 10W-40.....$$50 USD for the oil, For that, my mind says that it runs better. Reality; it does seem a little smoother overall..

 

[scrambledchef]

I just brought mine in finally. I mentioned a ecu remap they were not aware of it. Pick it up tonight not expecting much but will be happy to remove in metal shavings in there. It will be nice to open it up and I doubt it feel any different otherwise. The service manager was asking why I wanted the remap. I mentioned the intial throttle response as being abrupt. He said find a slip on I like and the Rexxer reflash. He said in past experience that the Ducati's respond well to it and get rid of any issues.

 

[scrambledchef]

I put 130 miles after the service. No real difference it's nice to be open up the throttle all the way. I did notice that I was getting more false neutrals and it was more difficult to find neutral. Similar to when I first got it.
Nothing else to report other than trying to keep up with my sportbike friends was not easy today. Definitely not the scramblers style of riding tight roads fine but when you going over 80 not comfortable. A lot of vibration I think maybe dropping a couple of teeth on rear sprocket may help with the vibration. Other option just bring the Street Triple for that kind of riding

 

[DJKham]

First service complete and for me, the bike definitely runs smoother and shifts more positively. There is a much more decisive "klunk" when putting it in first at a stop light so I know I'm not imagining it.

I made a point of speaking to the tech for a fairly long amount of time to try and dispel or confirm some of the breaking musings on forums like this one. Here is what the Ducati mechanic had to say:

First service was an oil change and a general once-over on everything else [tire pressure, tightening any major bolts, lubing chain, running diagnostics through their computer, etc]. On that note, he did find that my tires for some reason were at 50 PSI! Silly me, assuming that the PDI I had paid for at another dealer was actually done properly. Lesson learned and anyone reading this who has not checked their tire pressure since picking up their brand-new bike should have a look. The bike definitely runs a lot better with 32 front and 34 back, versus 50 psi! The "suspension" is nowhere near as rough now

I also asked him his point of view about running in and the general schools of thought about revving versus not revving the motor for the break-in period. He went into great detail to explain to me that the reason manufacturers like Ducati impose this RPM limit is because revving the motor to high rpm when the motor is COLD could create damage to the new engine. He went on to say that it is beneficial throughout the bike's life (but especially at the beginning), to actually rev the motor to redline in 3rd and 4th gears (enough load on the motor vs 1st or 2nd). BUT: only once it has warmed up and is at its normal operating temperature. Hence, the worse thing you can do for your bike (new or old) is to spark it up from cold and rev it real high (to show your friends the sound of your new exhaust for example) in neutral.

Says that proper high rpm running in over time will make a fairly substantial difference in the bike's power output. Needless to say, I will be revving it from here on in.

Thought I'd share for anyone interested.

 

[greer]

Makes perfect sense to me, and boy what a pleasure to live by! Thank you for posting up.


Sarah

 

[PeteI]

Thank you for posting it up!

 

[silverluxe]

Just FYI, last night's 2nd oil change left me with used oil that looked much more like normal used oil. Not as much metal flakes and no brains look.

 

[PeteI]

First service complete and for me, the bike definitely runs smoother and shifts more positively. There is a much more decisive "klunk" when putting it in first at a stop light so I know I'm not imagining it.

I made a point of speaking to the tech for a fairly long amount of time to try and dispel or confirm some of the breaking musings on forums like this one. Here is what the Ducati mechanic had to say:

First service was an oil change and a general once-over on everything else [tire pressure, tightening any major bolts, lubing chain, running diagnostics through their computer, etc]. On that note, he did find that my tires for some reason were at 50 PSI! Silly me, assuming that the PDI I had paid for at another dealer was actually done properly. Lesson learned and anyone reading this who has not checked their tire pressure since picking up their brand-new bike should have a look. The bike definitely runs a lot better with 32 front and 34 back, versus 50 psi! The "suspension" is nowhere near as rough now

I also asked him his point of view about running in and the general schools of thought about revving versus not revving the motor for the break-in period. He went into great detail to explain to me that the reason manufacturers like Ducati impose this RPM limit is because revving the motor to high rpm when the motor is COLD could create damage to the new engine. He went on to say that it is beneficial throughout the bike's life (but especially at the beginning), to actually rev the motor to redline in 3rd and 4th gears (enough load on the motor vs 1st or 2nd). BUT: only once it has warmed up and is at its normal operating temperature. Hence, the worse thing you can do for your bike (new or old) is to spark it up from cold and rev it real high (to show your friends the sound of your new exhaust for example) in neutral.

Says that proper high rpm running in over time will make a fairly substantial difference in the bike's power output. Needless to say, I will be revving it from here on in.

Thought I'd share for anyone interested.

my service guy said the same thing years ago on my 2010 speed triple. must be the same for every efi bike. probably carb versions too, but I don't know anything about that...

 

[TC3]

First service done today. Only difference I can tell is the gear shift feels more positive. Really enjoyed opening it up a bit more on way back