[no_fear]

Received the tank pad directly from motografix. Total cost including shipping was Rs 3000. The generic ones cost the same or even higher in Delhi.

Now will use a weekend to clean and buff the tank and apply the sticker. In the meantime, some car trouble has cropped up so need to get that fixed.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by no_fear

He owns a fully kitted out race spec 2016 1299S in Singapore and got the race fairings.

Looks good. What make rotors is he currently running? I don't think I have seen a petal design fitted on a Ducati before..

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

Looks good. What make rotors is he currently running? I don't think I have seen a petal design fitted on a Ducati before..

Sachin, he installed the Galfer wave rotors.

[no_fear]

Emulating my fav R1 rider krishnaprasadgg, a few updates on my V4S. Like him, I ordered several parts, including mirrors, but shipping time is now being quoted in months, with Europe on holidays + covid cases.

So all I got done for my V4S is the following

1. Puig raised windshield. Its slightly smoked (does not appear in the pics). I added it to buffet against the wind, plus protect the TFT screen from the harsh Delhi sun. There has been some cases of the instrument panel screen cracking due to sun heat. Thought the windshield looked too bare, so added the Puig sticker to feel like a racer boy My brother threw a hissy fit....



2. Ordered the original Ducati sticker for the nose fairing. Put on a temporary one as a placement holder of sorts.



Generally been lazy doing updates on the bike as I am in no mood to ride due to the rains plus muddy roads. I have to do the PPF coating and then apply the tankguard.



@Athek - side note brother. Saw this 959 at my FNG. The owner didn't top up coolant or engine oil. Rode it with no cares / no maintenance, and as a result head gasket blown off. Now the bike needs a new crank case. Total damage is Rs 3 lacs. I am sure the bike will be put up for sale the moment the repairs are completed.



Sheesh!!! how expensive is engine oil and coolant that a person doesn't even want to add that?

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by no_fear

@Athek - side note brother. Saw this 959 at my FNG. The owner didn't top up coolant or engine oil. Rode it with no cares / no maintenance, and as a result head gasket blown off. Now the bike needs a new crank case. Total damage is Rs 3 lacs. I am sure the bike will be put up for sale the moment the repairs are completed.

Attachment 2187187

Sheesh!!! how expensive is engine oil and coolant that a person doesn't even want to add that?

Sad thing to see how the bike was maintained. Coolant level and engine oil level check are a must at some regular intervals. Wonder how the owner missed doing it. It will be interesting know few details so that it can benefit others.
1) I believe the oil replacement interval for most of the Ducati models is either 12000 or 15000 kms (or once in a year). Please correct me if I am wrong. Generally people do replace the oil much before (considering the conditions). Did the owner exceed those kms (or time duration) by a big margin ?. Or did he use his bike on the track without changing the engine oil ?. Like to know how he missed it.
2) Some bikes tend to drink the engine oil (KTM bikes, as far as I know). Do Ducatis have this behaviour ?. Is there a general recommendation (for Ducatis) for oil/coolant top up even at some intervals even before the next suggested oil/coolant replacement time slot ?. I own Street Triple 765 and I keep an eye on the oil/coolant level regularly. Never found the need to top up and I keep changing the engine oil once in 10 months (or for every 6000 kms). In this case, it will be interesting to know if he missed the coolant/oil top up (due to the engine drinking the oil) or over used the old engine oil beyond the recommended change interval.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by no_fear

Attachment 2187184

@Athek - side note brother. Saw this 959 at my FNG. The owner didn't top up coolant or engine oil. Rode it with no cares / no maintenance, and as a result head gasket blown off. Now the bike needs a new crank case. Total damage is Rs 3 lacs. I am sure the bike will be put up for sale the moment the repairs are completed.

Attachment 2187187

Sheesh!!! how expensive is engine oil and coolant that a person doesn't even want to add that?

Crazy, the abuse is real with these bikes. Majority are just for clicking photos, once done, either sold off or just kept as garage queens. When the seal of my gasket blew off, I was petrified. Thank god it was just the seal, and the condition of engine oil cleared it all, how it was kept before. Now that I think of it again, I think I delayed the service after buying the bike by couple of months. Next time when ever I pick a bike I will just take it directly for servicing, until the previous owner explicitly produces the last serviced bill, and I can verify it.

Nice mods on the bike, but it still needs a wrap or some sticker work on the main body. That will add to the oomph factor.

The three ducatis seems to be in some serious round table discussion about what to do with the odd one in the gang

[krishnaprasadgg]

Originally Posted by no_fear

Emulating my fav R1 rider krishnaprasadgg, a few updates on my V4S. Like him, I ordered several parts, including mirrors, but shipping time is now being quoted in months, with Europe on holidays + covid cases.

Now at last I have somebody to keep me company in waiting for parts

Originally Posted by no_fear

So all I got done for my V4S is the following

1. Puig raised windshield. Its slightly smoked (does not appear in the pics). I added it to buffet against the wind, plus protect the TFT screen from the harsh Delhi sun. There has been some cases of the instrument panel screen cracking due to sun heat. Thought the windshield looked too bare, so added the Puig sticker to feel like a racer boy My brother threw a hissy fit....

The smoke on it is pretty clear in the basement parking pic you posted. Looks nice. And I am with your brother on the Puig stick part. That needs to go!

Originally Posted by no_fear

Sheesh!!! how expensive is engine oil and coolant that a person doesn't even want to add that?

The majority of people don't know/care about how a machine is to be kept in top mechanical shape. Not referring to just automobiles, just machines in general. So things like these are to be expected.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Now that I think of it again, I think I delayed the service after buying the bike by couple of months. Next time when ever I pick a bike I will just take it directly for servicing, until the previous owner explicitly produces the last serviced bill, and I can verify it.

Yeah, that should have been done tbh. As a rule of thumb, no matter how well the previous owner kept the bike, always get the bike fresh fluids, fresh filters, sparkplugs, and cables(if it's not too much of a bother). This will make sure to let the bike run for a long time with just generic maintenance and keep the bike happy as well as your ownership experience will be so much more enjoyable.

Cheers
Krishna

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by AtheK

The three ducatis seems to be in some serious round table discussion about what to do with the odd one in the gang

I assume that this is what was being discussed.

All of them : Why are Team BHP members asking No_Fear to buy an Aprilia? Silly fellows. What do they know about Italian exotics like us? Anyways, its not like his love for us will reduce with the entry of a Tuono.

Ducati Panigale V4S : Did you guys see how many views my thread on Team BHP has got? No wonder I am No_Fear's favourite bike!

MV Agusta Brutale : Shhh, nothing compares to the feedback that my big brother the F4RR got, on Team BHP! MVs are his favourite.

Ducati Hypermotard : Nonsense. If that was the case, how come there are more Ducatis than MVs in his garage?

Ducati 1198 : Wait till my thread comes out next week ...

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by shan_ned

Sad thing to see how the bike was maintained.

1) I believe the oil replacement interval for most of the Ducati models is either 12000 or 15000 kms (or once in a year). Like to know how he missed it.
2) Some bikes tend to drink the engine oil (KTM bikes, as far as I know). .

@shan_ned, Ducatis do burn engine oil, its the nature of the V2 engine, but not so much that 4 quarts disappear. Oil replacement is usually every 1 year or 12k km. I replace mine every 6 months or every 6k km annually. You do very good pro-active maintenance in terms of replacing every 10 months.

I can only speculate but going by the very poor form of the bike chain (its rusted and has not seen a lick of chain lube or any care), I will guess that the owner doesn't take any care of the bike. I think you are right that the bike was tracked and then no preventive maintenance done, but your guess is as good as mine.

Originally Posted by AtheK

Crazy, the abuse is real with these bikes. Majority are just for clicking photos, once done, either sold off or just kept as garage queens. .......The three ducatis seems to be in some serious round table discussion about what to do with the odd one in the gang

Don't get me started. Not just with Italian bikes, but any bike. NCR is notorious for bikes in shoddy condition. With Diwali coming in October, I won't be surprised to see more bikes being offloaded on to the used dealers.

My bikes are garage queens, I will freely admit to that. But I care for them a lot and abhor the idea of mishandling them. The 3 Dukes are thinking, what's with all this gold and silver color, who does she think she is - Monica Belluci?

With regards to the stickers - I am in really slow mode. Its just laziness right now. No excuses for it.

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

Now at last I have somebody to keep me company in waiting for parts And I am with your brother on the Puig stick part. That needs to go! This will make sure to let the bike run for a long time with just generic maintenance and keep the bike happy as well as your ownership experience will be so much more enjoyable.

Lol, I half expected you to go tut tut no on this sticker. I will keep it on for a while and then remove it. My brother has given me enough grief on it and I don't want more.

@Athek, Krishna - it's not that I don't want to work on the bikes, I keep getting sidetracked.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I assume that this is what was being discussed.

1198: Wait till my thread comes out next week ...

Umm, u sure? No one even remembers this bike. Someone asked me the other day which tractor engine did I put on this bike.

[Deaf2Tones]

Congrats on acquiring the V4S.
I get how you feel about the mirrors and the fender coz I have exactly the same issues with my Street Triple RS and I I feel like most premium bikes have these issues.

[greyanaroth]

Good to see that the v4s is not a horror story, but actually a Disney fairy tale (almost). Regarding the suspension: you absolutely must get the spring preload dialled in properly. This is a bit of a pain with the ec2 setup, but you'll, hopefully, have to do it just the one time. Ducati is notorious for setting stock rear preload dialled so far in that there's no static/free sag and makes riding it an, er, experience, to say the least.

I'll be delighted to do a suspension geek out with your babies. It will, at worst, make the change not so profound. But at best, it'll transform your motorcycle. I even have that ohlins shock spanner that's shockingly (haha see what I did there?) hard to come by and should work across all your bikes. And I'm fairly certain you'll have all the other tools required for all the other adjustments where a screen and buttons aren't involved.

[no_fear]

A few updates to my V4S.

After a lot of nagging from bhpian Athek on the boring looks of the V4, I finally gave in and got the decals for the 916 Anniversario Fogarty edition for the V4.

Along with that, got the foldable mirrors from the Italian bike mirrors company called FAR. Their mirrors are far more durable and cheaper than the OEM mirrors. I had also installed the Evotech radiator and oil guards for the bike.

Took the V4 and my Brutale for a road trip through Western and Southern Rajasthan. Both bikes handled beautifully and ended up discovering several roads and twisties that I was unaware about. I rode the bikes with my elder brother.

Below are some pics of the V4's new clothes and our rides.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by no_fear

A few updates to my V4S.

After a lot of nagging from bhpian Athek on the boring looks of the V4, I finally gave in and got the decals for the 916 Anniversario Fogarty edition for the V4.

Now that does complete the look, if one feedback I can give, I would say remove that Shell Sticker, looks out of place.

I do like the fairings on the new V4 though, that has definitely fixed the boring stock looks.

Originally Posted by no_fear

Attachment 2243086

Dhoom look eh!!!

[no_fear]

After a road trip covering almost 2,000 km, I am now back home and decided to pen my thoughts on my travel experience and riding a 229 hp track machine on the roads of Rajasthan.

We loaded up our bikes - 2019 MV Agusta Brutale 1090RR and 2019 Ducati V4S on our Isuzu Dmax. In the past few months, I have made extensive modifications to my Isuzu to carry a weight of up to 1 ton on the cab bed. I used the help of a local SUV custom shop in Gurgaon to install roll cage, lights, ramp, bike wheel chocks, weight supports and harness points. The work was very well executed and the owner of the shop has several BHPians among his customers.

Our journey was a road trip through the following cities in Rajasthan

Day 1: Delhi Pilani Ajmer (My older brother studied at BITS Pilani so he wanted to visit the campus) by car

Day 2: Ajmer - Kishangarh - Jodhpur by car

Day 3: Jodhpur stay - ride bikes from Jodhpur to Barmer and back

Day 4: Jodhpur Udaipur, stay at Udaipur

Day 5: Udaipur - Kumbhalgarh day trip by bikes

Day 6: Udaipur - Chittor day trip by bikes

Day 7: Udaipur - Chomu by car

Day 8: Chomu - Delhi by car


First impressions: Haryana has probably the poorest and most ill kept national highways in Northern India. Tarmac surface is poor and the Delhi Jaipur highway is not a pleasant experience.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, is a dream. We enjoyed the well kept roads, and I drove 15 hours at a stretch on the first day. Fast Tag was a huge blessing.

V4S impressions: The bike is a monster. It produces 229 hp at the crank has been dynoed. I rode it on sport mode for a bit and realized even on empty Indian highways, I do not need that much power. Dialed it down a bit. The bike did not run hot and in the December winter days, was a pleasant experience. The electronic suspension kept things nice and proper. In short, the bike was a hoot to ride.

Brutale impressions: The perennial pleaser. Given that MV put a sky high sticker on this bike when it came out, it was not appealing to most buyers. But this bike is probably the best for highway cruising. I rode 3 hours non stop on the Brutale and the amount of fun I had was immense. Comfy seats, oodles of power, a huge 24 liter tank and an agile frame really does wonders. In the naked sector, this is the bike to have. The downside is iffy electronics, and a lot of commitment needed for servicing.

Enough of my talk and let the pics do the talking.

p.s. I need to post the pics separately as the files are not being uploaded properly.

[no_fear]

Continuing the post above, a few pics of my trip:

The night before leaving for our trip, doing last minute checks to ensure bikes are fully strapped and secured



Fueling up at Delhi near Dhaula Kuan. With both bikes loaded on my truck, I asked the pump attendant to climb on the truck bed and fill the bikes. He was enjoying the attention. Several questions on kitna deti hain were asked.



The open stretch of the Jaipur Ajmer highway. It was a pleasure driving along with minimal interference (cows, humans, bicycles)



First fort stop - Kishangarh, a small fort close to Ajmer. It is private and can be accessed if you have made a hotel booking.



Continuing our journey, we then hit our next stop Jodhpur. The highlight is always the fort. A group of women started dancing inside the fort complex for Instagram videos





From Jodhpur, we rode our trusty steeds to Barmer and back. Both of us have Sena 30k mounted on our helmets, so we kept talking and watching out for any road obstacles. We were stopped only once by police who were curious about our gear and rides. We told them we are tourists and we were let go with a smile.

We pulled over on the shoulder one hour away from Barmer and took some pics. Barmer is a small provincial town, but I watched the movie Sonar Kella by Satyajit Ray and the villain tells the hero that he is going to Barmer. I was always intrigued by the name so decided to venture out. The road was single lane but very well maintained with lots of curves. A whole day spent riding with loads of fun and smiles.



Our next stop was Kumbhalgarh via Udaipur. We checked out the Kumbhalgarh fort. We used a combination of country roads and the highway. Overall road surface was excellent, except for the area around Kumbhalgarh which was absolutely horrid. There was no tarmac. It was sheer terror doing ADV riding with the Italians. But we managed it somehow. Kumbhalgarh is well known for its 36km wall, which is the longest in India and 2nd longest in the world. The fort was rather small and not very well maintained. A disappointment, after seeing the splendors of Jodhpur fort.







Next was Chittorgarh. Again no complaints as the highway 27 was sublime. We rode through the fort gates, snapped pics, rested, had breakfast and headed back to Udaipur. Pic taken at one of the many gates of the fort.



We rested at Udaipur and checked into the Taj Lake Palace. It's a grand affair and it was on my bucket list. Everything was opulent, OTT and uber expensive. I think a visit once in a lifetime is enough.





We drove up from Udaipur to Samode, a small town close to Jaipur. My brother's friend had recommended us Samode Palace so we decided to stay there. It was worth it. A lovely palace hotel well maintained by the current owner. One of my top 3 hotels I stayed at, and definitely worth a revisit anytime.