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Advice Needed: Ducati Hypermotard Problems

For California Lemon Law it is 30 days in the shop. Hattar needs to look at their calendar because it will be on them.
As for the shift easier? :wtf The Hyper is marketed as a pretty aggressive bike so someone on the dealership level is really screwing up an already delicate matter.
Next message to DNA let them know they have just crossed the parameters of buyback and ask them how they wish to handle things.
If you like the bike and want to keep it I would ask for extended warranty, the updated shifter spring kit, and some other perk for not making them buyback the bike.
Should get their attention.
 
Its just a freakin spring.. I dont know why they are giving you the run around. There is write up about why that spring might be breaking. And yes, abusing the shifter can cause it to break, but I doubt thats your case. "shifting easier" is a total bs suggestion
 
Of course you can't just jam it in there. You just need to talk softly to it and warm it up, but worst case scenario, just spit on it.
 
ohio said:
Of course you can't just jam it in there. You just need to talk softly to it and warm it up, but worst case scenario, just spit on it.
Click to expand...

Depends. I've ridden a few bikes that like it raw dog. Just get in there and wiggle it around for a while.
 
Springs breaking? That is such an outrage...Metal has been around for a long time. The characteristics of spring steel are well known and the heat treating process for spring steel needs is well known. Quality control is well known. Engineering is well defined.

There is no freakin excuse for broken springs, None.

Ducati should be ashamed of their sorrry ass failure.
 
I agree with Scott, that you typically cannot shift lightly, or you get false neutrals. So that line you got is ridiculous.

Whenever I tried to contact DNA, their response was useless, if they bothered responding at all. Do not hold your breath waiting for them. BTW, their new CEO starts any day now, so who knows if that is a further distraction to getting anything done.

I think the head mechanic at Hattar is Michael, and I would talk to him, not someone from the counter. He is pretty well respected.

But I also agree with Scott that the BEST service I got from a dealer has been with Modesto Ducati.
 
Xof711 said:
Need three strikes to qualify... one more left!

This being said, I know for a fact that Hattar is indeed slammed with work at the moment. Keep the pressure on the Rep.!
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3 incidents OR a single one of over 30 days. I know as I've successfully used the lemon law against a dealer and Kawasaki..
 
Gragorin said:
3 incidents OR a single one of over 30 days. I know as I've successfully used the lemon law against a dealer and Kawasaki..
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Within the first 12 months an accumulation of 30 days non consecutive single incident also qualifies.
 
Pretty sure when they released all the p/r shots with Ruben he wasn't shifting lightly.

ruben-xaus.jpg
 
That's why I got rid of my Duc and bought an aprilia.
I am now going on 4 years of riding 3 different aprilias
a combined mileage of 11x,xxx miles problem free.
you could look into the SXV or something.
Don't blame the Italians, not all of them are constantly breaking.

Shifting lightly is stupid. As long as you are not abusing it, it shouldn't break.
If you do shift lightly it may engage neutral, I know this was common when I had the 998.
However, among the many things that did go out on it, the shifter spring was not 1 of them.
I'd go to another shop if possible.

I always found Ducati customer service to be terrible, I hated dealing with them.
 
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So they called me back Friday (two days ago), and said it would most likely be done Saturday(yesterday), or this Tuesday. Didn't get a call, so I can only assume it will be Tuesday.
I would like to say that Hattar has been very polite, and the first time this happened, they were also very quick. But a month later on this second time is horrible. My diesel pickup gets less than 15mpg, and ive had to take it most days without my Hyper, since my other motard had such a small tank.

An extended warranty, or something like that is a great idea to put my mind at ease. How and who do I talk to about proposing something like that? The head mechanic?, DNA?

I probably have >100K miles on bikes, anything from dirt, supermoto, enduro, street, supersport, superbike, track etc... I am not sure what you guys mean by "abusing a shifter?" I have never ever had a bike give me issues with shifting.
 
HalfEvil said:
So they called me back Friday (two days ago), and said it would most likely be done Saturday(yesterday), or this Tuesday. Didn't get a call, so I can only assume it will be Tuesday.
I would like to say that Hattar has been very polite, and the first time this happened, they were also very quick. But a month later on this second time is horrible. My diesel pickup gets less than 15mpg, and ive had to take it most days without my Hyper, since my other motard had such a small tank.

An extended warranty, or something like that is a great idea to put my mind at ease. How and who do I talk to about proposing something like that? The head mechanic?, DNA?

I probably have >100K miles on bikes, anything from dirt, supermoto, enduro, street, supersport, superbike, track etc... I am not sure what you guys mean by "abusing a shifter?" I have never ever had a bike give me issues with shifting.
Click to expand...
Trust me, with your experience as you state, shift abuse isnt the issue.
 
HalfEvil said:
I am not sure what you guys mean by "abusing a shifter?" I have never ever had a bike give me issues with shifting.
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Its bullshit. When I had my KTM the seat broke after the first 200 miles. I took it back and told them to warranty it and they said the same thing, you ride too hard. So, I pointed out that the bike only had 200 miles and was still being broken in and if you think I'm hard on bikes, wait till I hit 600. Its total bullshit.
 
westie said:
Its bullshit. When I had my KTM the seat broke after the first 200 miles. I took it back and told them to warranty it and they said the same thing, you ride too hard. So, I pointed out that the bike only had 200 miles and was still being broken in and if you think I'm hard on bikes, wait till I hit 600. Its total bullshit.
Click to expand...

New KTM slogan:

"Ready to RACE........but be careful not to break anything."
 
So draft a concise letter outlining the following:
purchase date of bike (or into service date if you purchased a demo)
every incidence of a service visit (include services)
original occurrence of sift spring problem (date in-date job completed, call from dealer not when you picked up)
second occurrence (date in and document all communication)

IF the bike is 12 month or newer AND you have a total of 30 days in shop with service related issues you fall into the parameters of California's consumer lemon laws.

State what it is you want from DNA - extended warranty? Hot pipes? Ask for what you think is fair.

Email, fax, and send certified this letter to DNA you can cc Hattar to be polite.

DO NOT PICK UP THE BIKE until you have a resolution.

I think you should find a happy win win solution to this dilemma.

Keep us posted and good luck.
 
OP, sorry for this happens - 'shift lighter' is totally BS... Hattar's parts and sale department are really good; but their service department sometime can get a bit sluggish; especially on a repeated problem. I would suggested you contact Adeeb - the owner of Hattar and tell him exactly what's going on. The gaol is have it fix under DNA warranty. If you still having problem, talk to Nichols - they are probably the best shop to work with on all Ducati related issue.

Check PM for Adeeb's e-mail. Good luck.
 
I've already spoken with him. Our goal is not to tell him he's breaking his bike, it's to work with him to figure out why it keeps happening. He's going to be out of warranty soon and we want to make sure he's not going to have the same issue. It has nothing to do with us being sluggish. Like any warranty issue, we can only do what is approved by the OEM. When things happen more than once, you could only expect the OEM would be a little more careful approving it the second time.

We never told him that his shifting method broke the bike. Shifting lighter wasn't the exact term that was used, but the idea is correct. We want him to pay as much attention as safely possible to the shifting mechanism and functionality. Again, he had the same problem twice, which is rare, so instead of just sticking a bandaid on, we have to try to rule out any possible issues so it doesn't hurt once his warranty ends. He is an experienced rider and is probably not doing anything wrong, but it's worth looking at. There are not a lot of things that can go wrong because the mechanism thats breaking is very simple. It's not like he's locking up the transmission.

Hopefully that clears things up a little. For the record, he didn't pay a penny for the work. His bike was delivered for free on us. The problem here is that this has been a pain for him and we understand and want to try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

achung123 said:
OP, sorry for this happens - 'shift lighter' is totally BS... Hattar's parts and sale department are really good; but their service department sometime can get a bit sluggish; especially on a repeated problem. I would suggested you contact Adeeb - the owner of Hattar and tell him exactly what's going on. The gaol is have it fix under DNA warranty. If you still having problem, talk to Nichols - they are probably the best shop to work with on all Ducati related issue.

Check PM for Adeeb's e-mail. Good luck.
Click to expand...
 
I received the bike back. They detailed it very nicely for me.

I have still yet to hear back from DNA.

And although this took over a month, I will say Hattar has been very polite, especially Ari, one of the mechanics.

But for the record: multiple employees, from Hattar, specifically stated I have to shift easier, or this will just keep happening. My wife had to drop me off the first time this happened, so I could ride my bike back to Santa Rosa, and she heard it also.

I'm not terribly worried because I bought the bike brand new last October, so I still have over a year of factory warranty left.

I think this thread definitely helped speed up the process.

-Brad
 
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