Marx Garage
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Welcome to my personal website. This Website is primarily an opinion piece & I dont claim
to be an expert in any of the fields I might cover apart from in so much as my own personal first hand experience. Even so,
there might be something in here you might find intresting, so go ahead, have a look around.
6th November
2006 44,535kms. Ducati 748,
major shop service. Took the 748 to Melbourne Ducati (www.zag.com.au )for a major service which included: Replacement: -Engine oil & oil filter -fuel filter - -air filters elements -spark plugs -fork oil (5wt) -brake & clutch fluid Clean/inspect/adjust/lube: -Drive chain, fuel injection settings, valve clearances, wheel bearing,
steering bearings, general inspection etc. Things they found: One of the 2x mounting bolts on the countershaft
sprocket had snapped, they ‘tapped’ the remains of the bolt to replace it with a new one. The Countershaft sprocket
is held on by 2x bolts that fix a plate that ‘locks’ the sprocket into place, you would need to lose both mounting
bolts & have the retaining plate rotate 30 degrees before the sprocket would even begin to drift on the output shaft.
I didn’t feel any drive train ‘looseness’ or noise so it was a surprise to me that the mounting bolt snapped
in the first place. With the standard countershaft sprocket cover in place you cannot easy inspect the sprocket without removing
it. I suppose it’s a good argument for a ‘cut-down’ race or
smaller retaining cover instead so you can see these things before you ‘feel’ them. Also when inspecting the valve clearances
the forward- horizontal piston’s right inlet valve lifter had a shattered collet, which fragmented from 2 halves into
four pieces, but still remained in place on the valve stem groove. Not a major issue in that the collets sit fixed between
the shim buckets within the groove in the valve stem, the fragments of the collet were still fixed tight when the engine was
operating & only worked loose when the rocker arms & shim buckets were removed off the valve. Although this might
explain the large clearance measurement I found of that very inlet valve when I checked it back in 2002. Even though the clearance
measure was greater than the ‘ideal’ setting it was still within service limits so I left it. One of the mechanics
there said that the collett may have shattered after some prolonged high rpm running with clearances greater than the ideal.
I noticed on the ride home that the idle
was set at 1300rpm instead of the 8-900rpm previously, not sure if that was how it should be but it just felt odd sitting
at the lights with the tick-over so high. The cost was $1223.90
in total. Yep, not cheap at all. Anyone reading this might think servicing costs for Ducati’s are outrageously expensive,
which they are & have been for a very long time now. Even though Ducati are addressing this issue with their new models
(ie: ’07 2 valve Desmos like the Multistrada & Monsters will see 40% reduced servicing costs & higher mileage
between major servicing intervals) anyone like myself owning a Desmo-quattro ’94 to ’05 will continue to fork
out handsomely. Although this is mostly labour costs & if you can do the work yourself you can save some big dollars &
perhaps gain a deeper understanding of these magnificent machines. January 28th
2006 – 8hr MTB Race Hard Day At The Office – 9am to 5pm. 1st attempt
at endurance MTBing. Teaming up with mate Paulie on his Specialised Hardrock, I was astride the mighty Specialised Stumpjumper
hardtail (team: Flatbar Matadors). 20th September 2005. |
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Who is this? A bit about me, the author of this site: Just your regular sort of fellow, doesn't smoke, choof, pop, booze about too much or get involved with the constabulary on the weekends. First generation Australian from north/eastern Italian - Trieste ( http://www.trieste.com ) background, family emigrated to Australia 1956-61. Speak English & Italian (dialect). Baptised Roman Catholic . One older brother. My hit list:
My miss list:
Life Philosophy:
Into motorbikes since 1982. MX/XC 1982 - 1994. Road 1996 - present. Competed C grade MX, state level 1988 - 92. Enduro - clubman class 1989 - 1994. No road race exp. Licenced to ride on the road 1986. No major incidents. Bike related injuries: Broke collar bone 1993 Broadford MX track on KTM125XC 92, practicing. Left knee ligament injury 1990, inter-club MX Heathcote track on KX250 88. Dislocated right shoulder 1989 inter-club MX Monza park track, riding KX250 88. Facture rib 1993 Alpine enduro state round riding KTM125XC 92. On my road bikes - little finger on my right hand crushed in a little off Sept 04.Plus various cuts & bruises from little offs here & there. Nov 2004, banged up my little pinky on my right hand in a small off riding the Ducati 748.
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