[Rideon]

Brandon moved on from Oceanside Ducati. He was a very personable guy, and seemed eager to learn. I know that in any field, experiance counts for A LOT, and it is more than a little disturbing to have a stream of neophytes working on my Ducati.

The word is that they are getting someone from GP to fill the void made by Brandon leaving. Maybe troyslap can give some details on this.

Rideon

 

[geeniusatwurk]

this sucks. he was my favorite person to talk to about mods over at O.D. At least he had the honor of seeing my new paint job before he left

 

[troyslap]

The other 2 mechs there have an excellent grasp on the bikes, just everyone is used to dealing with Brandon as he was the lead mech. I would trust either one on my bikes and have. Not sure about another mechanic just yet, but I know they are not behind like many other Duc shops out there are.
I think what makes Oceanside Ducati stand out is they have got good equipment, a nice work area, and people that care and love Ducati's.

 

[infoage1]

Too bad Brandon left. A very nice guy and a competent mechanic; I wonder what the problem was?

I'd be curious to know who from GP was brought north to work at Oceanside. One of their wrenches pulled a butcher job on repair for me a couple years ago (and Paul, the GP owner, was not at all sympathetic: basically said, "I didn't buy the bike from him. It was a warranty job so he wasn't making much money on it. His mechanics don't make mistakes..., and so on")

Scott, I talked to the lead mechanic at Spectrum, Neil, for a quite a while at their "Open House" a couple months ago. He was also nice guy, and very much sounded the business. Let us know your impressions.

 

[SoCalSar]

I talked to Brandon last week; it was actually his last day at work. He's leaving because he is opening his own repair/service shop. He gave me a few business cards to throw around. The shop is at 603 Seagaze Dr., #330, in Oceanside. Phone is 760-672-7590. I believe it will be appointment only so you have to call ahead of time to get a spot. He'll also pickup and deliver according to his card.

I wish him the best of good fortunes. It's a ballsy move to open your own business.

 

[troyslap]

The Mechanic will be Nick, who is a recent addition there at GP. The 2 guys at Oceanside are Brandon Kirk and Ben, who were in the top 1% of their graduating class at MMI, and Nick was as well. I for one would rather have a shop work on my bike that specializes in Ducati and Aprilia, not a primarily Japanese bike shop and Spectrum is going to be adding Suzuki cars. The partner Tony Bell just left(fired?) and got some of the mechanics to quit. Brandon has only been there about a year, so there is not a wealth of experience there. Any mechanic could go make more working on Japanese bikes, they have to love Italian bikes to stay with those. Usually those primarily Japanese shops

 

[troyslap]

Actually, Ben did the work on your bike. Degreeing cams is a full days work itself, and add time for dyno runs it adds up. The bikes come timed differently from the factory and there is no set way to degree every bike, it is a trial and error setup.
You are adding the cost of the mods into your 12K service and that is not the case. Yes the little things can be done by you, but make sure you have someone experienced to watch over as a mistake can cost even more, not to mention safety.
By the way, how is it riding now? Infoage answered the question of what exactly degreeing does and posed the same question.
Many said the same thing when Matt left and someone stepped up to the plate and that will happen again.

 

[Speeddog]

troyslap,

How long do they figure it takes to do valve clearance adjustment, assuming it will require all shims to be changed?

Just curious, as I recently did the valve clearance myself...it's quite a bit of work.

 

[troyslap]

Don't quote me, but I believe it is like 3 or 4 hours to do the check plus 1/2 hour for either each one out of adjust or each cam pulled. Two valvers are a little less. I have not done my 4 valve bike, but the rear cylinder takes about an hour alone to get at. Longer on the Supersports.

 

[Speeddog]

No quotations planned...Thanks.

 

[Rideon]

Troyslap:

Rode the monster for the first time since the tune and it was revealing.

1. The thing is four cylinder smooth. you can open and close the throttle at will and there is NO snatch, either from the driveline or from the engine coming on/off. This is the best it has ever been. Throttle positon sensor is magically ,precisely, exactly, on the money.

2. Torque is up. going over the little rise on Highland valley road I goosed it at low RPM (5k) and got air. This would not have happened before, I would have had to have been in a lower gear pulling more RPM's. Stunning.

3. Not sure about the horsepower. I might be the same or down somewhat at 9K. don't seem to have the same acceleration from 110-120, but that could be due to smoothness of power delivery. Don't know. Only had one chance to try this due to riding later in the morning, with all the cagers.

4. Overall delighted with the bike. Don't know if I can afford this as a hobby. May have to stick with mountain bikes for my grin factor.

Regards,
Rideon

 

[troyslap]

Damn, now I gotta spend some on that light flywheel to keep up now! Glad your diggin it, now I am sure you will be liftin it regular, just for fun.

 

[Bad Dog]

I have read all of the above and perhaps this is where I can ask a question or two......
I Just obtained an S-4 and with 2000 miles on the OD and I feel as though I should take it in for a "physical".
Is Oceanside the place ? Or should it be Brandon's new venture ?
Has anyone out there gone to Motoservizio/Scott Waters in Signal Hill ?
Please let me know...I'm new to the Duc pond.

Also, BTW...I have delt a bit with Spectrum and didn"t get the warm and fuzzies there. Additionally, have not heard possitive comments about Spectrum from two friends, road bike lifers (with track Duc ).

 

[troyslap]

We are too old for the WM Greeter position, maybe security at the mall?

 

[Bad Dog]

..................Okay......and the cost for the 6k tune ???
What's the hit ?

And,....who's gone to Motoservizio ? Any feedback ?

 

[Rideon]

What ever they quote you for the 6K plus 300 for the PC III, 150 for tuning it (the PC, not the bike) plus another 90 for dyno run and incidentals. 900 to a 1,000 for the above fun, I could be wrong, but I haven't been in estimating my own bills.

Damn, I forgot my Prozac this morning! ;D

Rideon

 

[Rideon]

Another way to look at it is 10 percent of your bike's worth wholesale for the 6K, 20 percent for the 12K tune up.

Darn, forgot the thorazine chaser! ;D

Rideon

 

[troyslap]

It's not just a motorcycle, it's my therapy!!

 

[Rideon]

Troyslap:

Your line of thinking is the only way I could possibly justify this insanity.

Thankyou for your input. I needed the rationalization.

Regards,
Rideon

 

[Bad Dog]

....And, who has gone to Motoservizio ?
Any feedback ?