Wolfie's Ducati Multistrada Pages: Troubleshooting Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

Multistrada FAQ's

Clunk/Shudder in Rear
Fuel Cap Flooding
Brake Issues
What Stuff to Carry on Trips?
Slippery Center Stand
Fuel & Engine Light Problem
Temperature Gauge Display
Electrical Gremlins?
Iridium Spark Plugs
Multistrada Shim Size
What's the deal with the extended service intervals?
Does your dash reset to EU settings (also how to change MPH to KPH)?
My grommets keep popping out (not a personal problem)

Clunk/Shudder in Rear
Q. I don't know if anyone has had a similar experience but I have heard a clunk coming from think the gearbox on deceleration in gear when I apply the REAR BRAKE Eh? It is strange in that it doesn't happen all the time but there is a noticeable noise/shudder from the area of the drive sprocket at low speeds. Anyone have anything similar? I have an MTS1000 with the single sided swingarm.

A. Your rear wheel might be loose. If you have a centerstand or a rear stand check it out. I had exactly the same sensation on my 916 once and I found that the wheel nut backed off just a tad - enough to put waay too much stress on the locator pins on the hub. I was worried, but no damage occurred. Lucky! If that's not it, take the front sprocket cover off and look for wear/movement on the front sprocket retainer. How old is the chain? Also, take a look at the hub assembly. Maybe the locking bolts on the adjustment mechanism are loose.

Fuel Cap Flooding
Q. I live in a rainy area & regularly the rim around the fuel filler cap gets flooded with rain water - not a problem until filling up in petrol station, then water goes into fuel tank. When the filler cap is open it looks like there is a small hole that possibly leads to a drain pipe ( ? it's hard to tell - but my ST2 had something similar) I've tried to unblock what i thought might be an overflow pipe, but either it's blocked or kinked under the fuel tank.

A. If your bike is a 1000, try blowing some air through the drain hose that exits the gas tank on the right side, near the front of the seat. There are two drains moulded in to the tank; one is from the vent from the gas filler cap and the other is from the area outside the cap. I had the same problem after washing and found the hole in the cap area, but it takes a sharp 90 deg. turn through the inside of the tank and could not be effectively cleaned with anything from the top, so I found the end of the drain on the bottom right side of the tank, near the front seat area and slowly put compressed air through it. Whatever was blocking it, probably just dirt and assembly paint flakes, dislodged and drained. I have not had the problem since. If ti happens again while on the road, it is not a problem to do it by blowing into it manually because it does not take much pressure.

Brake Issues
Q. I'm Having Rear Brake Issues. Anyone know what's going on?
A. [from Scott Bigalke (bigal915)] I had an incident with the rear brake that got me researching some answers on the Multistrada.net forum site. I had adjusted it over the weekend, trying to get some of the play out, and went to tight. I ride off-road a lot, and I like my brakes tight – little free play. A little ways into my ride, the rear brake gradually got tighter and tighter to where it was pretty much locked up by the time I was able to pull off and come to stop in a parking lot. The lever didn’t budge, and I could barely push the bike. Without a lot of tools on the bike, I eventually got the brake pin loose and off. When I put it back on, I adjusted the lever itself by turning it one spline on the shaft so it was closer to my foot, and readjusting the pin, leaving a fair amount of play. I can only assume that the heat generated by riding and the slight useage of the brake along with it being tight, caused it to gradually become locked.

The lever still travels a long way before it does anything, and even when stepping on the pedal, it really doesn't do much. I can tell there’s braking power there, but not much.

I’ve found that the rear brake on the Multi is a source of concern on the forum site. Some bikes seem to be ok while many others are quite honestly, worthless. I have ordered some EBC HH brake pads that many people on the forum site have highly recommended, so I will see if they make a difference in braking power once installed.

What Stuff to Carry on Trips?
Q. What spare parts do you guys carry when away from home?
A.
- tire plug/patch kit
- hose to siphon gas
- spare spark plugs
- spare clutch cable
- spare throttle cable
- duct tape (hold busted fairing parts together)
- electrical wire (to McGiver stuff if needed)
- tools to remove/replace the above
- bike lock (in case I have to leave it somewhere)
- JB Weld/JB Quick
- tie wraps
- tiny tire pump
- patch kit
- allen wrenches, small crescent wrench, screwdriver set, socket set w. extensions and multi-directional 1/4" drives, T7 wrench (for the screen), multi-end screwdriver, thread-locker, and 10, 13, and 19 MM wrenches (and of course the wonderful Ducati tool kit)
- the red key code (on my keyring)
- cell phone
- telephone number for tow/breakdown service
- electrical tape
- spare shift lever.

Slippery Center Stand
Q. My center stand footpad is slippery when wet. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
A. (from Gary Nichols [gnichopd]) The foot pad on the center stand is smooth and, if the sole of your boot is wet, very slippery. My foot slipped off one damp morning and the bike went down -- fortunately, very softly. I immediately went to the hardware store and bought a stip of black grip tape and stuck it on the pad. You can't hardly tell it's there, and my foot won't slip off again. Two bits worth of grip tape could save hundreds in repair costs.

Fuel & Engine Light Problem
Q. Has anybody had the issue where they were riding along and all of a sudden the orange fuel empty light comes on together with the orange engine management light? May stay on for 5 mins or go off straight away. Whilst on it tells me that the tank is empty, but it was not.
A. (from Mark Hollingsworth [lotus54]) Yes, my Multi did that about a year ago. The dealer replaced the fuel sender under warranty, but I think it may have just been a poor connection. Try cleaning, tightening the connection to the fuel sensor, if you can reach it. In this scenario, the engne light would come on at the exact same time as the low fuel lamp.

Temperature Gauge Display
Q. My temp gauge just shows a bunch of dashes.
A. (From Mike Wolf [Wolfie1]) The wire that comes from the oil cooler just presses on to the temperature sender. I'm betting that fitting is loose or disconnected. Check it out, and if you find that it's loose or disconnected, make sure you put on a dab of dielectric grease to insulate the connection. Look on the right side, just behind the removable chin fairing piece under the main fairing.

Electrical Gremlins?
Q. Weird stuff is going on! Help!
A. Wow. My Duke has been driving me nuts the last few months. I use it to commute back and forth to work most days, but before tonight I could never be certain if I would be able to get it to start or not. Some mornings I'd wake up, put my gear on, hop on the bike, throw the kickstand up, turn the ignition on, pull the clutch in and hit the starter button and would get nothing. This used to be my only sure fire way to get the bike started. But it did not take long before that method failed also. I always had to start it that way because rarely could I start the bike in neutral with the sidestand down. Most times when I tried the neutral/sidestand method the green neutral light and oil light would turn off after pressing the start button and the temp gauge would display three dashes (---). When that happened the bike would simply refuse to start. All I could hear was a clicking sound but the starter would never engage. I found that if I wiggled the RPM sensor wire that many times I could get the bike started. But just last week this method no longer worked. I push started the bike and drove it straight to the dealer. They called me back three days later and said that they could find nothing wrong with it, that it starts for them. I reluctantly road it back home knowing full well that the problem would return. Later that evening it did. I could not start the bike again. Tonight after work I traced the problem down to a loose ground connection on the engine. The grounding point is hard to see but can be easily traced to the engine by following the ground wire from the battery. The engine ground connection is located near the RPM sensor behind the oil cooler lines. You can use a 10mm socket or wrench to tighten it. With the bolt now tightened, the bike starts correctly and the neutral light stays on. Also, my oil temperature gauge reads rock steady and no longer fluctuates while riding. I am definitely going to make it part of my routine maintenance to check the ground. I'm glad that the solution was simple and I hope that this post helps someone else with a similar problem.

To summarize:

If your oil temp gauge fluctuates or displays dashes, check the fitting on the right side of the oil cooler and make sure the connection is tight.
If it is and the temp still fluctuates rapidly check the ground.
If your bike won't start and all you hear is a clicking noise, check the ground.
If your green neutral light turns off intermittently, check the neutral safety wire connection on the rear of the engine. If it's tight, check the ground.
If you try to start your bike and the oil temp displays dashes and the green neutral light and red oil light turn off, check the ground.

Iridium Spark Plugs
Q. I want a set of iridium spark plugs for my Multistrada. Which ones do I get and how many should I buy?
A. (From Activator) NGK part number DCPR8EIX. You need 4 for the 1000, 2 for the 620.

Multistrada Shim Size
Q. I'm about to adjust my valves. What shims do I need?
A. (From Mike Guidera - http://www.emsduc.com/) The 1000 DS motor has the 7 mm diameter valve stems and uses the "4V" shims.

What's the deal with the extended service intervals? Does it apply to my pre-2007 Multistrada?
Q. I'm about to adjust my valves. What shims do I need?
A. (from ?) This past weekend I attended a Maintenance Seminar for 2 Valve Ducs at BCM Motorsports in Laconia with 6 other Ducatisti. The class was excellent in all respects (well, the pizza lunch was only so so), we even got to adjust a set of valves on a bench. We spent a great deal of time on suspension too. I learned a lot. My overall reaction was to gain even more respect for the way Ducati engineers and build bikes, more confidence in BCM's service dept. Also, it re-confirmed my belief that I will probably leave most of the tricky stuff to the pros.

One topic we covered which has been of considerable interest on the site is the extended maintenance schedule on the 2007s. The guys explained that BCM is a "developmental shop" for Ducati and one result of that is that they have been documenting for Ducati the maintenance experience on the bikes they work on.

They explained that there is nothing changed mechanically on the 2007s vs. earlier Ducs to warrant the extended service intervals, but rather, Ducati has the documentation to be comfortable with them. As respects the valves, BCM experience is that once checked and adjusted correctly (say, at 6000 mile service), the valves should be OK for up to 10,000 miles. In this context they feel that any (I suppose recent) bike should be OK for an extended interval once it is done right.

Q. Does your dash reset to EU settings (also how to change MPH to KPH)?
A1. (From Colin Martin, London, UK) You need to press both the dashboard buttons down similtaneously (I do this with a coin over the both of them, as I don't have 3 hands) and then turn on the ignition. Keep holding the buttons down until the readout begins to flash, then scroll through the functions by pressing buton 'B', the right-hand one. When the correct model flashes (MTS 1000 USA) press and hold button 'A'.

A2. (From Mark Gallagher, West Grove, PA) If it keeps happening you will NOT need a new ECU, but you will need a new dash. Some 07 models would not hold the US setting -in a day or so they would revert to the EU setting. For some reason guys that had the Termi kit seemed to experience it more but some stock bikes had the issue too.

Q. My grommets keep popping out...what should I do?
A. (From Scrambles, Hatfield, PA, USA) After using a bunch of alternatives, including "factory specified" white lithium grease, I've gone back to using dielectric grease on rubber grommets...especially the ones that hold the side panels on. I first discovered this years ago on my RZ350, which still had the original 15 year old (at the time) rubber on it. Not only did the clear silicone grease make installation of the grommets on the frame pins super easy, it also had the desirable effect of immediately stopping any dry-rot. The rubber became soft and pliable again after just a few days. It works better than anything else I've ever used (WD40, wheel grease, white grease, Teflon lube, whatever), and it has a tendency to keep working up to about a year and a half after application - longer for keeping the dry-rot away. It also keeps the rubber looking shiny and new. Your grommets will not rip or pop out of the panels anymore, and you won't have to push so hard that you might crack a panel during installation either.

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