959 drivetrain damage post service

Is that a plastic chain guard there? It looks like the chain is rubbing on the swingarm, can't see how it can get past that guard.


I'd take that bad boy back to the dealer, something wrong there.

Yeah that's what I thought. The chain isn't that loose so they need to explain how this happened. Let's see how good their warranty claim process is.

BorisKonjar said:

Yeah that's what I thought. The chain isn't that loose so they need to explain how this happened. Let's see how good their warranty claim process is.

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Keep us posted on what they say and what the cause was.
I may pick mine up this weekend and that kind of thing bothers me on an expensive new machine.

Went in today. Chain tension was checked and is ok. 4cm. Everything looks ok and they cannot explain at this stage what would have cause that. Pictures have been sent to the Tech team in Italy so I await a response. For anyone out there who already has a 959 please do me favour and check if there is chain bounce if you put the bike on a stand and let it run in gear. There is also a slight left to right deviation while the chain is running which they said was normal.
They covered up the scuff marks so will see if it happens again and will try isolate under which conditions it happens.

Good to know, anyone else having this issue? I pick my 959 up on Friday morning, will keep an eye on that area.

That was definitely not from the chain. Being loosely knowledgeable about metallurgy, machining and very knowledgeable about machine tools, that was 100% not inflicted by your chain.

And any debris to enter, cause that significant, concise abrasion and exit the drivetrain with sprockets, rim, trim untouched it as unlikely as it sounds.

That cleanly removed the surface powder coat. That's at least a few thousands of an inch thick. That has the same width and uniformity as a coarse metal file which is designed for abrasion. A smooth, hardened steel chain is going to do that. It's located at the joint of two static parts so a rock flying in and getting stuck isn't going to do that.

It was technician error most likely and someone is avoiding taking responsibility.

I can safely assume nobody would maliciously damage your bike so I'm sure it wasn't intentional or possibly not even a file. But the point I'm making is that it was done as assembly and you never noticed or it was done at a service in some stage of disassembly.

Kevin.H said:

A smooth, hardened steel chain is going to do that.

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Is NOT going to do that...

Think they'll replace the whole bike if this is a recurring issue they can't seem to fix?

Latest update folks:
As I mentioned earlier the techies covered the exposed metal with paint and sent me out for a spin. They asked me to report back on terrain. Now personally the only time I would ask that question is if you were using a sports bike for off road Moto X.
Anyway... So it was 200k's in total. 150 odd on freeway roads and about 12 laps of the local track. Bear in mind that I am still under the 7000rpm limit as advised by the riders manual. Between 1000 to 2500km ride below 7000RPM. More scuff marks.
More pics sent to them and dying to hear what they come back with. This bike is designed to be raced so I am pretty sure this is not normal.

Crazy. I really wanna see where that location is exactly.

Best of luck!

skk959 said:

FYI...Bike has less than 200 miles on it and out of the crate a little over two weeks ago. Same exact issues. I have contacted my dealer and waiting on response. Super unhappy about this.

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Wow this sucks, i hope it isn't something that is affected all the 959s. So far, it seems like people with the arctic white model are affected by this. Unfortunately, that's the one i got, hopefully it's just a small batch and they can come up with a solution.

BorisKonjar said:

Attached some more pics. Hope that give a better indication of where the scratches are.

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Much clearer pictures. I thought that textured part was recessed well beyond the reach of the chain. I see now that it's practically flush.

Thanks for the update skk959. At least it makes me feel better knowing I'm not alone. I'm sure the good people at Ducati will come up with a fix for this. in the mean time it's still one **** of a machine.

BorisKonjar said:

Thanks for the update skk959. At least it makes me feel better knowing I'm not alone. I'm sure the good people at Ducati will come up with a fix for this. in the mean time it's still one **** of a machine.

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No worries Boris. Hopefully this gets figured out. And yes, love this thing. This morning's ride to work was amazing, even in some traffic.

Got feedback from dealership. Ducati is aware of the problem but for now do not have a solution. They will let the dealers know when they have a fix for this. For now continue riding unless you see mayor damage on the chain.

VroomVroom said:

Think they'll replace the whole bike if this is a recurring issue they can't seem to fix?

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No, they'll just claim it's cosmetic not structural damage.