[aksdman]

Hi guys,

Ever since I discovered that the 959 Model I ordered was the Euro version with the dreaded side-mounted exhausts, I had been wanting to replace it asap! I initially ordered a full Akrapovic Race exhaust from the local dealer the same day I got the bike and had been waiting for the delivery of it this April. But after a few days of moping about this issue, my wife asked me why I just wouldn't buy the US exhaust and save money!

I called up the local dealer and asked if this would be an issue and they said that it would not. I then saw rucks2's post about his Akra swap and inquired if he was selling his exhaust and bless his soul, he was!

I got the exhaust a few weeks ago and did the exhaust swap last weekend. I am blessed since I have a very good friend/neighbor who is probably the best and most meticulous wrench-turner I know and he was gracious enough to help me with the swap.

Since it would entail removing the fairings off the bike, we also did the battery tender install and the ducati performance tail tidy install as well. we also installed the Philips H11 Diamond Vision Bulbs which was a 15 minute job.

Here are some pics:

1. The dreaded Euro Exhaust:

 

[aksdman]

Installation of the US Exhaust:

 

[Dingo]

Great job! Buy your neighbor a nice bottle of the best
Did the dealer forget to remove the plastic wrap off the upper radiator? What's that white piece on the left side?

 

[aksdman]

Installation of the Battery Tender:

 

[aksdman]

We ended Day 1 on a high note. We were tired but somehow pleased that all the install was going smoothly and according to plan - even without the use of a proper service manual. All info came from our friend Google and his uncle Youtube.

Starting with Coffee before installing the fairings:

 

[aksdman]

I highly suggest following this tip of my friend/neighbor/workshop guru Robert, and organize the screws/bolts/nuts/washers/etc immediately after removing them. We had zero parts left over - aside from the ones that were only for the euro side-exhausts. That pleased us to no end that we were able to bring back everything back to where they were supposed to go:

 

[aksdman]

I also had to buy US model lower fairings since mine were specifically for the euro exhaust.

Waxing the fairings before installing them:

 

[aksdman]

Installing the Tail Tidy and Philips H11 Diamond Vision 5000K Lights:

 

[aksdman]

Finished at last:

 

[aksdman]

I have a couple of questions/issues that you might be able to help me out with guys:

1. I had to disconnect the servo for the butterfly valve since we were working with the wrong servo - it was mounted differently and so the cables would not match. We called up the local Ducati dealer and he said that I could just bypass/remove the cable completely and leave the butterfly valve open all the time. According to the tech guy, he said that the butterfly valve was designed to close partially at low rpm to decrease the decibels and so it would not affect the fuel mixture at all since it DID NOT alter anything else.

Here's a pic of the servo:

 

[aksdman]

The moment of truth came and when we first started the bike. It started immediately and there was no check-engine light. I shut the bike down and prepared to do a quick ride to see how everything felt. However, when I started the bike the second time around, the check-engine light came on. I shut the engine off and called up the tech guy from Ducati. He said that the check-engine light came from the disconnection of the servo/butterfly valve and that a remap was needed for this. We would be using a remap form Rexxer.

I did some research and it seems that Rexxer can sell it to me directly. Would it be wise to just get the remap directly from Rexxer? The remap from Ducati would cost me $405 a pop. If I go and buy it directly from Rexxer, I would have to shell out about $600 but then I would be able to do remaps on my bike anytime I wanted.

I the meantime, the tech guy said that it was safe to ride my bike until I get a remap done.

Is this correct? I mean, I want to ride the bike and I think that it would be ok since all we did was to disconnect the cable from the servo to the butterfly valve.

Any thoughts, suggestions, advice from you guys regarding this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Renzo520]

Yes you'll be ok to ride, but don't romp on it. The CEL is on because it senses an open circuit at the valve, not because something is actually wrong.
Now I would imagine a tune is necessary and that's why I said to take it easy.

 

[Jowell]

this happened to my bike also when i installed the full akra and took of the exhaust servo cable.. i thought if i wouldnt disconnect the servo wire it wouldnt throw the check engine light... what i did is i put a spring on the end of the exhaust flapper cable to trick the servo motor and made it think that it is still connected to the flapper . then started the bike after and no more check engine light. running the bike for 200kms now and still theresno check engine light... hope this helps. just make sure to secure the end of the cable that it doesnt catch anything will using the bike.

 

[aksdman]

Great job! Buy your neighbor a nice bottle of the best
Did the dealer forget to remove the plastic wrap off the upper radiator? What's that white piece on the left side?

Yup, I definitely will get him something for his help. He actually is more of a family member already as he is very close with my family.

Regarding the plastic wrap, I can't seem to find the pic you are referring to. Either I'm going blind or I need a bigger screen! Hehehe.

 

[aksdman]

Yes you'll be ok to ride, but don't romp on it. The CEL is on because it senses an open circuit at the valve, not because something is actually wrong.
Now I would imagine a tune is necessary and that's why I said to take it easy.

Thanks for the advice Renzo! I'll be doing a quickie ride tomorrow morning. I'll try to post pics!

 

[aksdman]

this happened to my bike also when i installed the full akra and took of the exhaust servo cable.. i thought if i wouldnt disconnect the servo wire it wouldnt throw the check engine light... what i did is i put a spring on the end of the exhaust flapper cable to trick the servo motor and made it think that it is still connected to the flapper . then started the bike after and no more check engine light. running the bike for 200kms now and still theresno check engine light... hope this helps. just make sure to secure the end of the cable that it doesnt catch anything will using the bike.

We actually tried doing this but we weren't able to get rid of the engine light. We might have been using the wrong spring, or we might have installed it improperly. Would you be kind enough to take a pic of how you did the spring hack? But only if it won't be a hassle for you since I know that you would have to remove the lower fairing if you do this.

Thanks jowell!

 

[Dingo]

Yup, I definitely will get him something for his help. He actually is more of a family member already as he is very close with my family.

Regarding the plastic wrap, I can't seem to find the pic you are referring to. Either I'm going blind or I need a bigger screen! Hehehe.

this pic here looks like the radiator has a white plastic wrap on it - or a cover on the end
http://www.959panigale.net/forum/attachments/what-did-you-do-your-ducati-959-panigale-today/2649d1458967987-exhaust-swap-tail-tidy-battery-tender-philips-h11-diamond-vision-install-x1005106.jpg

it's probably just the lighting... :wink2:

 

[ducremus]

I'm curious about why you put on the Battery Tender leads at the battery. Ducati makes its own nifty little tender that plugs directly in to a port, which is under the rear seat, under the little plastic door there. Pull out the port, plug in the tender, and you're done. Very slick!

 

[Ralliart959Panigale]

Both Ducati's that I bought from my dealer had the battery tender pre-installed by them. It's good because you can just plug it in without removing/unlocking anything. They cable tie it snug in the recess above the gear lever.

 

[avigil]

I'm curious about why you put on the Battery Tender leads at the battery. Ducati makes its own nifty little tender that plugs directly in to a port, which is under the rear seat, under the little plastic door there. Pull out the port, plug in the tender, and you're done. Very slick!

Do you have a part number for this? When I asked the parts guy at a Ducati dealer, he said that he had not heard of it. I'd like to get it if it's available because that would be an ideal location to charge something very small like a spare gopro battery on longer rides. Basically I'd plug the (battery tender to usb charger) into the tender that you're referring to.

BTW, my 959 came with a battery tender installed at the battery by the dealer. I've seen that with a couple of other dealers also. Maybe they put it there because it's easier