Ducati parts bin starter on my 696, gutted

[Dukedesmo]

Originally Posted by markh

£370 for a starter! Hells teeth.

Indeed, and to have failed/been bodged at this low mileage seems a bit odd. My 916 is 19 yrs old, done almost 50k miles and the original starter is still going strong.

Don't know what a starter costs but assuming £80 (electrex) and that it wouldn't take more than an hour to swap it over, I wouldn't expect the bill to be more than £200 at the most.

[manwithredbike]

carnage indeed. as others said above, certainly looks like the wrong brushes. they should be sitting straight in the brush holders. looks like the starter may have stuck at some stage causing a high current onto the commutator burning it out in a section and probably overheating and burning the insulation off a section of the windings in the process. commutators normally should wear evenly.

[BigOz]

I have an Electrex World SM9162 on my 696 following corrosion to the terminal retiring the Ducati one. The pinion supplied needs swapping to the one from the original motor if I remember correctly.

[Saint aka ML]

I seen a damage like on photos before.
Well similar.

1. when who ever put the motor together managed to somehow get a small piece of metal chunk locked inside (or possibly it came loose from something).
2. As mentioned Brushes were fitted wrong or to big.

If that motor needed fixing in past (looks like it) then that bike needs to be used more/cleaned more.

The pin that V+ cable attaches to gets damaged either as bolt holding the lead gets corroded and during removal pin twists or someone overtightened it in 1st place cracking isolation between pin and casing.
Then you need to open the starter to replace the plastic and it was put back together wrong.
Seen that few times.

[BigOz]

Any sign of sprag issues, as I wonder if something stuck and the engine was turning over the starter for extended periods?

Otherwise overly abrasive brushes, grit or other residue in the starter or weak brush springs can cause grooving of a commutator.

Electrex weren't able to help as it looks like the part on a 2011 bike is different to the part on the 2008/9 bike they supply, but noted BigOz that there may be a quick fix by changing out the pinion.

"Your part has Code: 270 4.011 5A, SM9162 will replace code: 270-4.001-1A, Alica Dunham | Electrex World Limited"

I have returned the issue as a warranty claim to Ducati Aylesbury, OnYerBike who have been very fair in getting the case sent back to Ducati UK and I assume the factory. If it is accepted, as most of you point out that this shouldn't have happened, then I'll get a replacement through goodwill/warranty. If not, second hand looks currently like the only other option. I've tried to get an opinion as to whether there could be any other reasons that could affect the new starter. Genuine Ducati parts but 'Made in Taiwan' is a little difficult to swallow at £370.

For the record the bike was new to me no work has ever been done on the starter. I'm expecting two hours labour at the end of this but will also have to change out oil and filter again as it looks like contamination has gone across the seal.

Saint, used more I agree, cleaned more not possible!

[BigOz]

My 696 is a 2008 bike. I still have my old starter, it is not in pristine condition externally but was working OK when replaced, it may prove useful as a comparison to see if the Electrex one will work?

Not what I was led to believe was the likely response. Disappointing.

Good morning

Unfortunately Ducati will not supply a starter motor under goodwill and the reasons are as follows.
The bike is 4 years outside of its warranty period.
The bike has not had all its services done at authorised Ducati dealers outside it’s warranty period.
Kind regards

On Yer Bike Ltd
A41 Bicester Road
Westcott
Bucks
HP18 0JX

So having drawn no luck from Ducati head office UK I have had to use a copy/generic part and thankfully all is working well. Bike back together, oil service and new battery for good measure. Thank you Taff666 for the recommendation. Unfortunately I couldn’t get confirmation from Electrex World that their starter was suitable for my year of bike so went with the other choice which was sent from Scooter Works. They were happy to confirm compatibility by phone and offered a full refund if unused but sealed, so hats off to them! The new part looks identical and is similarly produced in Taiwan for 25% of the price.

Unfortunately the experience has turned me off Ducati. Ducati declining any assistance as its past its warranty and that it’s not been serviced by a Ducati garage are unreasonable, as is not responding to my email to query their decision. My response is put a dealership in Aberdeen (120 miles from Ducati Glasgow) or lose more customers and if your starter motors are failing at 5,300 miles, the issue is not the service location, but probably your design or the supplier. For the record only Ducati trained mechanics have ever worked on my bike.

[Jez900ie]

Could you post the contact info for Scooter Works, I think it might be something I'd like to keep!

eBay Business seller information
Scooter Works Europe Ltd
Brett showell
ESD Business Park
Wollaston Road
Stourbridge
West Midlands
DY8 4HE
United Kingdom
Phone:01384|395740
Email:service@scooter-works.co.uk
Company registration number: 8035901
VAT number: UK 133463235
I provide invoices with VAT separately displayed.

Not sure about that phone number, think it was faulty but the link from Taff666 is at the start of this thread and talks you to the part on eBay with company info.

[Jez900ie]

That was quick! Thanks very much amigo.

[Darren69]

I wouldn't be down on Ducati for something like that, they have to consider the risks and risk management and for something that's been off their radar for so long I wouldn't expect any company to accept liability and cough up for something like that, when anybody could have worked on it and caused it to fail.

In my opinion they made the right call, the only one they could or otherwise they would be inundated with such warranty claims for things on old bikes that have worn out or have not been fitted correctly.

As someone posted it looks like the starter was bodged by somebody previously and fitted with the wrong parts. I doubt very much in the same circumstances any other manufacturer, Honda, Suzuki etc would have responded any differently.

[Dirty]

Got to agree with Darren. I can't imagine any manufacturer replacing something like that FOC on a 6 year old bike.

Points noted although the fact that the starter has never been worked and bike was new to me needs to be considered also. Wasn't looking for FOC replacement, just an acknowledgement that its a manufacturing issue and the option to buy the part at cost rather than retail as its out of warranty would have kept me happy. Accepting responsibility would have been sufficient but it feels like the implications of that outweigh the value to them. Personal opinion and one that will drive my choice next time.

Upside is that I've been very pleasantly surprised by all the valuable advice from yous lot!