Concerns about inspection I just did on a 2013 Hyperstrada

HyperstradaHopeful · Jan 13, 2014

Hey guys! Just took delivery of a nearly brand new 2013 Hyperstrada today. Only 893 miles on it and the previous owner bought it back in July but wasn't riding it enough so I bought it from him. He had the 600 mile service done right at 600 miles at Ducati Corsa in Portland. Spent about an hour today going over the bike and looking in the nooks and crannies and almost everything appears to be perfect, but had a couple of minor concerns that I was hoping to get some expert advice from you guys on. Sorry if any of these are newbie question... I'm quite experienced working on cars, but am relatively new to bikes and have yet to do any maintenance on a motorcycle:

1. Chain slack - It looks to be pretty loose. When I push on it, it goes very nearly all the way up to the chain guard. Is it supposed to be that loose? Here's a video to demonstrate:

Normal chain play? - YouTube

2. Fluid levels -

Oil appears to be overfilled. Here's a photo. It's all the way up to the top. This photo was taken while the bike was on level ground on its center stand about 7 hours after it had been running. Do you concur that it's overfilled? Should it be drained?

Front and rear brake fluid reservoirs also appear to be overfilled. The rear brake fluid reservoir right above the muffler is right to the top and the front brake fluid reservoir on the handlebars, appears that it's filled beyond max because I didn't see anything moving in there even when I jiggled the bike (and I know the brakes work so it can't be empty).

3. Few rapid fire questions:

A. I played with the rear suspension adjustment knob and it appears there are 18 turns of adjustment from full soft to full hard. What's the recommended setting for a very light 130 lb. rider (+ safety gear)? Full soft? I currently just set it to an arbitrary 10 turns down from full hard.

B. I wasn't sure how much fuel the previous owner left in the tank for me so I opened the lid and looked in with a flashlight. It looked completely dry! Jiggled the bike and no splash of fuel moving around whatsoever. Does that mean it's on the reverse and the reserve portion of the tank is located in some partition below the main one that can't be seen by looking straight down into the tank? Or if there's fuel in there I should be able to see it and it is currently running on some kind of magic fumes? lol!

C. What's this plug coming out right next to the rear suspension?

D. Water pump hose doesn't seem fully seated to the base of the water pump. See below image. Is that right or should that gap not be there?

Thanks everyone! Just want to make sure my Hyperstrada is 100% ready to go and has everything it needs before I have some fun with her.

R6chase · Jan 14, 2014

1. Chain is too slack you need a special hook spanner from Ducati, about 30$ and relatively easy job the whole rear sprocket and rim is on an eccentric. And instructions in you're owners manuel.
2. Oil is just a touch high, I'd take a little out but don't stress out over it. Bikes tend to be forgiving based on how much the engine moves and leans.
2. I'm more concerned with how dark the brake fluid looks, I'd flush the whole system, relatively inexpensive, and I beleive some guys are getting better braking performance from Dot4 fluid and EBC brake pads

3. A) suspension is based on riding style, if you have a passenger harder, if you're racing you want it harder, if you're farting about some back roads softer to soak up the bumps.
B) one of our biggest gripes about our bikes is the lack of fuel gauge and the shape of the tank, to keep weight low half the tank is below the seat, so you could have 1/2 a tank or 1/4 of a tank, when the fuel light comes on you could go quite a while tho so don't panic.
C) that's just a wire with two leads going straight to the battery, but a battery tender or trickle charger and plug in there if you're leaving the bike over winter ect and find a fresh battery in the spring, but I doubt you have that problem in California, you can buy accessories, phone chargers ect to fit as well.
D) hose looks fine, that clamp should have plenty of bite plus moving it without replacing it could cause a leak.
Hope this helps, that's one hell of a used buy! Enjoy it.

gatdammit · Jan 14, 2014

Did the maintenance records come with? Looks like they didn't adjust chain and maybe just topped off all fluids for the showroom. Still, I'd be a little suspect of the first service as they were supposed to check clearances, change oil filter, clean screen, etc.

I personally wouldn't loose sleep over color of brake fluid. Most of us are sporting black reservoirs. Set ABS 2 and go grab a fist full of brakes at like 30 mph. If you don't stop within 10' and almost go over the bars, you might have cooked fluid. However, the brake system is one I wouldn't want over/under filled. A bleed is cheap and easy for the piece of mind.

18 clicks, huh. I just toyed with mine and I counted 37. I've got 50 lbs on you but the rear picks up extra duty from our overly compliant front on the Strada so don't fret about being too stiff. If you ever get a little shake in the tail while maneuvering at 90+ mph, try stiffening the rear adjusters more. If you put around town mostly, softer isn't bad.

Regardless, I'm jealous of the find. Take the grand you saved and buy some sweet gear!

zippy49 · Jan 14, 2014

The oil level will rise in the sight glass when on the centerstand as it tips the bike forward. Check it again with the bike on the ground. Might be just fine.

My brake fluid is dark, too. I just changed what was in the reservoir, and the brakes work just fine. Haven't gotten around to flushing the whole system(s) yet.

The bike has a constant drain on the battery, so if you don't ride it at least once a week I'd keep it on a Tender. Or install a Li-PO one! I like Shorais, but Ballistic and others are well thought of.

Otherwise, I'm with R6chase. I don't find the forks too soft in any way, but I weigh 180 in my gear. I'd prefer them to settle a bit when I shut off the gas, and they don't...yet.

HyperstradaHopeful · Jan 14, 2014

Thanks, all!

OK, now I'm suspect that the 600 mile service was done properly. So I'm going to go to a local shop that has excellent reviews and have them:

1. Change the oil (and oil filter)
2. Tighten and lube the chain
3. Flush the brake system (with Dot4 fluid?)

And generally look over the bike. The oil and oil filter probably don't need to be changed, but I think it will give me more piece of mind to do it just in case in the small chance it actually hasn't been done on the bike yet.

Does that sound like a good plan?

NiceweatherManni · Jan 14, 2014

You have to check the oil when the engine was running. After a while it's normal that there is so much oil at the lowest point of the motorcycle ;-)

It's normal that the brake fluid at the rear is this dark. You can change it and check it again but I know many motorcycles where it is normal because of the color of the brake-line (is it called like this? dunno) thats why it changes the color - and not because it is dirty.

In your owners manual or on the swing arm you got a picture where you can see how much the should "swing". It's more at the hyperstrada than at a normal bike because of the 1-sided-swingarm. my ducati dealer was suprised, too, and he told me that he tightens the chain at the hyperstrada with a ruler

HyperstradaHopeful · Jan 14, 2014

OK, I took it to the local top rated motorcycle shop today. They fit me in and looked over everything on the Hyperstrada. Said oil looks clean and that it almost definitely was changed just 300 miles ago at the 600 mile service and not filled too high (said as long as I can see a bubble in that window, even if it's over the line, it's no big deal), front brake reservoir is good, and water pump hose is good and in fact all the way on (the little bit showing is just a lip/the stopping point for the hose).

But they did say the chain was a little too slack so they adjusted and lubed it. And they said the rear brake reservoir fluid was pretty darn dark so they changed it out. Didn't realize how dark it was until I saw it after they flushed it. Here's a pic... wow! So much clearer and cleaner!

They also checked the sag and suspension with me on it and said it looks nearly darn perfect.

Was in there for about an hour and a half as they were going over the bike with me and explaining things. Was pretty cool! And well worth the 100 bucks I paid for the piece of mind that everything is in tip top shape!

porkrind · Jan 14, 2014

Couple thoughts:

1. Motocorsa is a very well respected shop, I have serious doubts they cut any corners.

2. Chain slack set to the manual's spec probably looks too loose to most people. It's not because it's a single-sided swing arm, it's because there's a greater amount of rear suspension travel compared to most street bikes. Like how a dirt bike will have a very loose chain, just not quite as much as that. I would also bet that most people check the tension incorrectly as the procedure is a little different than I am used to. Anyway, a little loose is better than a little tight unless you like changing countershaft seals.

3. The rear brake fluid seems to darken on these bikes immediately, probably due to interaction with residual chemicals from manufacturing, but I don't really know. My rear brake fluid was dark within a couple hundred miles. No way was it used up. I flushed it anyway.

4. My dealer also fills closer to the top of the window. I agree with other posters here that the angle of the bike front to rear can make a difference, and I will say from my own change that I did that the amount of oil it takes to go from the top line to the top of the window is really small and it's easy to overshoot. It's like less than half a 'glut', if you know what i mean.

HyperstradaHopeful · Jan 14, 2014

porkrind said:
Couple thoughts:

1. Motocorsa is a very well respected shop, I have serious doubts they cut any corners.

2. Chain slack set to the manual's spec probably looks too loose to most people. It's not because it's a single-sided swing arm, it's because there's a greater amount of rear suspension travel compared to most street bikes. Like how a dirt bike will have a very loose chain, just not quite as much as that. I would also bet that most people check the tension incorrectly as the procedure is a little different than I am used to. Anyway, a little loose is better than a little tight unless you like changing countershaft seals.

3. The rear brake fluid seems to darken on these bikes immediately, probably due to interaction with residual chemicals from manufacturing, but I don't really know. My rear brake fluid was dark within a couple hundred miles. No way was it used up. I flushed it anyway.

4. My dealer also fills closer to the top of the window. I agree with other posters here that the angle of the bike front to rear can make a difference, and I will say from my own change that I did that the amount of oil it takes to go from the top line to the top of the window is really small and it's easy to overshoot. It's like less than half a 'glut', if you know what i mean.

Interesting! Appreciate your chiming in. Makes me feel better about it.

I'd be surprised if the shop I brought it to today tightened a chain that was already tightened to spec. They have 84 (!) 5-star reviews and are one of the best motorcycle shops in the San Francisco Bay Area and work on Ducati all the time. They only tightened it slightly and showed me it after the adjustment and, frankly, it still looked quite slack, so the adjustment was minor but still worth doing I believe.

So after the initial rear brake fluid change, does it not get dark quite as fast? At what interval should I change it after the initial change?

porkrind · Jan 14, 2014

HyperstradaHopeful said:
Interesting! Appreciate your chiming in. Makes me feel better about it.

I'd be surprised if the shop I brought it to today tightened a chain that was already tightened to spec. They have 84 (!) 5-star reviews and are one of the best motorcycle shops in the San Francisco Bay Area and work on Ducati all the time. They only tightened it slightly and showed me it after the adjustment and, frankly, it still looked quite slack, so the adjustment was minor but still worth doing I believe.

So after the initial rear brake fluid change, does it not get dark quite as fast? At what interval should I change it after the initial change?

Well, sometimes I sit down with my micrometer to measure the chain and it's awkward enough pushing the right amount that I can three or four different readings. As long as it seems a little loose you're prob just fine. A little too tight can cause damage, but you need to be A LOT too loose to have trouble.

3,000 miles after my first brake fluid change (think I did it at 400 miles just because of the color) it's still almost as clear as when it went in. It' shuts something with the stock fluid, or something that gets flushed out of the system over time. Dunno?

I can't remember what the manual says, but I always change the fluid yearly, and that's probably overkill unless you go to the track. I used to change the fluid before every track day when I had my Lotus.

gatdammit · Jan 14, 2014

My shop said change fluid yearly/7500 miles.

zippy49 · Jan 15, 2014

I use Motul DOT 5.1, and it stays clear. Also has the best temp resistance.

gatdammit · Jan 15, 2014

I didn't even know they made DOT 5. Hope it's on the shelf locally.

zippy49 · Jan 15, 2014

gatdammit said:
I didn't even know they made DOT 5. Hope it's on the shelf locally.

Whoa! Not DOT 5, but 5.1. DOT 5 is silicone based and absolutely not compatible with DOT 3 or 4!

Concerns about inspection I just did on a 2013 Hyperstrada

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