Battery acid on my engine - (bad, DNA, bad) - Page 51 - Ducati Monster Forums: Ducati Monster Motorcycle Forum

mdozier · 04-01-2004, 04:18 PM

tjr178- do not pass go, do not collect $100 - go directly to the dealer and get that son-of-a-b!tch gs out of there.

monster_drill_sgt · 04-08-2004, 12:07 PM

Well people it has happened to me. My damn battery has started leaking. Called the dealer and he said bring in the battery and he will replace it free of charge as long as it was still under warrenty. I then asked him about all the stuff that the battery acid has leaked over. It got the top cylinder the side cover and the clutch slave cylinder. He said to bring it in and he will see what he can do. Well Saturday I am off to the dealer and see what he says. I can kick myself in the behind for not replacing the battery I assumed that it wouldnt of happened yet since I only had 940 miles on it.

TriadS4 · 04-08-2004, 03:07 PM

Hey all - I'm just getting ready to deal with this too. My GS brand battery leaked on my S4. I caught it quick and have minimal - but noticable - cosmetic damage. My battery box and coil got roasted. My dealer said the best DNA will do is replace the battery, the box and the coil plus give me a $250 store credit. Here's the interesting part: When they replace the box, the dealer said they'll be putting in a "battery mat". When I said I don't have one now, the dealer said that it's something DNA is putting in the box now to catch acid...hmm...

I'm taking the battery, box, coil and cash. The dealer said that a year ago, DNA was fixing the destroyed parts AND covering new heads that had cosmetic damage BUT had started to back off what they'd do over the last year.

My advice: Get a Yuasa and a battery mat right NOW.

04-17-2004, 07:14 PM

Well I had heard there was a thread on battery issues from a friend who is on this board. Two months ago the original battery in my '01 S4 (3k miles) wasn't holding a charge so I replaced it with a GS GT12B-4 that I bought at Munroe ($$$$). So tonight I thought I'd look up the battery thread that I heard about, after reading the first 12 or so pages I freaked out and ran to my garage and sure enough the new battery has started to leak!!!! Dripped on top of the cylinder head, not too bad but leaked nonetheless. So I quickly pulled that battery out of there and now I'm gonna have to read the rest of this thread to figure out what battery to buy.

Sheesh!

Bill · 04-17-2004, 08:08 PM

The same thing happened to me last week, I was cleaning my bike when I noticed acid marks on top of the motor. I took out the battery and the battery box and I could see that it had been going on for a while. I trucked it down to Fast by Ferracci in Philliy because it's still under warrenty. They told me yesterday that the parts are on backorder, So I'm just going to have to wait and hope it won't be to long. These guys are really good, so at least its in good hands. :'(

infoage1 · 04-18-2004, 05:50 AM

It really is a crime Ducati North America has still not accepted responsibility and issued a recall. By now, had DNA done the right thing, there would be no new cases posted on this thread. So far, the bikes that have been damaged have still been under warranty. There are still thousands of Monsters with the sh!tty, GS/FIAMM ,batteries that are at risk. I wonder what DNA's response will be when they start having to deal with out-of-warranty bikes.

I have little reason to be hopeful...

http://users.adelphia.net/~infoage1/..._usa_euro.html

I hope you guys/gals are following up and leaning hard on DNA. Good luck.

Bill · 04-20-2004, 12:57 PM

After leaving 2 E-mails with DNA, 2 E-mails with Ducati/ Bologna and 2 voice mails with DNA customer service, someone called back. They wanted me to give them the part numbers of the parts on backorder, I explained to him that I don't know what parts were ordered and that it was not my job to find out. I told him where the bike was, the phone number and the name of the service manager. So I guess I'll have to wait another few days to find out what DNA is going to do , if anything. I hopeing that they can help, but they didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. Maybe you have to buy a 999R before they think it's worth their time. The outcome of this is going to be a determining factor if I ever purchase another Ducati. It may already have.

04-20-2004, 01:11 PM

Needless to say, there's nothing wrong with buying Ducati's. After all, we love em right?

Just don't buy new one's expecting to get treated well. Only the uninformed are potential victims. Those days, arguably if ever really, are ancient history. Ahhh...Days of Wine and Rossa's !!

Bill · 04-21-2004, 08:52 PM

Well I heard back fron DNA again today, they said my parts are no longer on backorder, but they still have to come from Italy. They said that they should be in country sometime this week and then they will be overnighted to the dealer. I called the dealer yesterday and told them that instead of replacing the battery with a GS, to install a Yuasa instead. So now I'll wait and see what happens.

mdozier · 04-22-2004, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Well I heard back fron DNA again today, they said my parts are no longer on backorder, but they still have to come from Italy.

Bill, what parts have they ordered for you? did they offer to replace your damaged head? - so far it appears they are only offereing to strip and repaint the heads, not replacing.

this will be interesting if you're getting all new.

tx-m