[Farhan]

As much as I like the looks of my 899,I am disappointed by its poor build quality !!

750 miles on the clock and just 3 months old, I've got rust showing on the Thermis exhaust and almost on every exposed nut and bolt in the bike !! Also the head light condenses regularly when riding in wet ... IF THE BIKE IS NOT MEANT TO BE RIDDEN IN WET THEN THEY SHOULD STOP SELLING IT IN ENGLAND !!

Granted I am an enthusiast like many of you here and ride it only on perfect sunny days (which btw can be counted in 1 hand ) AND clean the bike with a tooth brush every weekend BUT i expected more than this from a £12500 bike !!

Anyone else has a similar experience ?

Also what do you guys think chances of dealer sorting out rust problem under warranty nut before I ask them I am not sure what is the solution to it


Farhan

 

[Oni]

Zero rust problems here. I ride my bike in all conditions (except snow as it doesn't really snow here in Australia). It's been raining for a week where i live and i've been riding it through a storm and heavy rain, No issues at all, no rust, no condensation, nothing at all on what you are describing.

Are you sure its not just surface rust? Unless ofcourse the UK has some crazy acid rain going on over there.

Also Ducati don't make Termignoni's. So if they are rusting its Termi's own fault. Do you happen to live near the ocean? That salt air can cause issues.

 

[Evolution]

Been riding in the rain a bit and no issues so far.

 

[Oni]

Further to this would you mind giving us some info on how you store the bike? Garaged, covered, in any damp areas etc. Also post some photos of the rusted areas to give us all something to check?

More information on the issue would be great incase others are experiencing the same thing.

My bike is stored in an open garaged and under a motorcycle cover and gets a lot of air circulation happening so condensation doesn't appear due to all the ventilation.

 

[Infinwin]

My first ride soaked me and the bike completely, in every nook and cranny that could possibly get wet (try not to use to much imagination here, it wasn't pretty) I don't have any rust problems so far @ 1,200 miles

 

[onlyme]

In the uk over the winter months they use salt on the roads to keep them clear from ice,that is the problem,its like riding in sea water,salt +water+metal=rust.This is just to inform you guys/girls from across the pond.

 

[Oni]

Thanks onlyme!

There we have it boys. Has nothing to do with the Ducati and more to do with the UK roads. Cheers for clearing that up.

 

[egunn74]

I'm also suffering with corrosion. The chain,rear sprocket carrier, banjo bolts and ABS rings furred up immediately.

I kept mine in a garage, washed down after use. Its worth noting that there has been very little salt on the roads since its been raining rather than snowing.

 

[teeny]

yip i have rusty bits on my 899..

The chain, the radiator, my standard exhaust…. the brakes…. all have signs of rust…

Mainly this would be down to me washing it after a good run out, and letting it dry itself.

however, some bolts are rusty that hold the belly pan on, quite possibly due to not being dried properly or the road salt eating away at it…!??

I do wash and clean it after a run… but obviously not as good as I thought …

I do put it away in the total enclosure system once it is dry, and has been polished and oiled… but alas… still rusty dods appear..

Will be putting mine in for its first service this week, I will be asking about the rusty bits and bolts.

 

[Farhan]

Its not a secret that the roads are gritted here in UK and in fact in alot of places in the world and Its also not a secret that galvanised parts solves the problem of rusting !!

My car is 10 years old and it has no rust on it what so ever, but its a German BMW not Italian crap !!

My mate bought a suzuki intruder round about the same time as me for less than half the price and he rides more in wet than me but guess what NO RUST and NO LEAKY head light.

I'm going Thursday for it first service, lets see what the dealer has to say about this.

 

[adeyrob]

yip i have rusty bits on my 899..

The chain, the radiator, my standard exhaust…. the brakes…. all have signs of rust…

Mainly this would be down to me washing it after a good run out, and letting it dry itself.

however, some bolts are rusty that hold the belly pan on, quite possibly due to not being dried properly or the road salt eating away at it…!??

I do wash and clean it after a run… but obviously not as good as I thought …

I do put it away in the total enclosure system once it is dry, and has been polished and oiled… but alas… still rusty dods appear..

Will be putting mine in for its first service this week, I will be asking about the rusty bits and bolts.

Similar here, slight surface rusting on inside of disks and chain after washing after use and leaving in garage to dry off, comes off with a good wipe down, not noticed any other as yet!

 

[LeeDucati]

I must admit , the headline to thread does make me chuckle . So to the point , you instantly get a feel for what it's about.

 

[S.I.U.]

It's threads like this that make me happy i held off on buying one.

 

[steveywright]

It's threads like this that make me happy i held off on buying one.

Don't find comments like this particularly helpful for current owners or potential ones ...... feels like you are mocking the ones that have bought one.

 

[rosscraw]

Don't find comments like this particularly helpful for current owners or potential ones ...... feels like you are mocking the ones that have bought one.

You shouldn't let these comments get you down. Everyone that's bought one of these bikes knows how good they are. 😄


Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App

 

[Chrisj]

Don't ride in salt. I wait till a few rains after winter is done to take my first ride.

 

[675Rto899]

I haven't had a chance to take this bucket out yet to know if weather plays a role in rust. But so far, all I know is that looking at it everyday makes it rust. Hahaha

 

[teeny]

My ktm rc8... has similar. .. didnt put me off buying it though...
It's good know and find out how to sort things. ...

 

[Dukkake]

Hi all,

All metal rusts . It's a natural process, you can't really prevent it entirely. All the parts people are complaining about are stainless steel parts (even termi parts, which we know are quality). S/S protects itself by passivation. Which is the same mechanism that causes aluminium to be resistant to corrosion - you don't see aluminium staining because it’s the same colour as the surface, but it’s there. passivation in S/S creates a small and very strong chromium oxide layer, keeping away nasty oxygen atoms, which is what causes rust.

Most staining you guys will see on your S/S parts (or wont see) is actually caused by the environment. Some peoples bikes will stain and others wont, depends what you put them through. And again, its “staining” not rust.

If the bike was suffering from galvanic corrosion, then yes, I would say it’s a quality / engineering issue, but the stainless in most cases won’t be the metal that's suffering.

In summary what you have is stainless steel "staining" nothing more, you can’t really call it “rust”…, they are very small deposits of iron oxide forming because no metal is completely homogenous and the substrate metal will always be compromised at some points. These little marks are easy to clean off and there are many stainless steel cleaning products available to do just that. Be careful where you apply them though.

Another issue is heat. This changes the microstructure of metal, but without getting into too much detail, your stainless steel headers will ALWAYS stain, on any bike or car.

Brake Disks Stain super fast because of their composition, it’s designed to cope with heat better and (more importantly) you are constantly scraping away that oxide layer by braking and the oxygen his the iron before the chromium can do its job. So if you have a problem with your brakes staining after you wet them, then by all means, don’t use them, they will be kept in pristine condition.

 

[egunn74]

What about the ABS pickup rings and sprocket? These are black coloured\treated metal? On mine they've grown a white furr that does not seem to polish off.