[abtyagi]

Thank you for sharing and it was really engrossing journey. Right after reading through it, I stumbled upon this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s_wuwTFhdU&t=1653s

A guy with really deep pockets, just couldn't restore the 1199R engine and had to put a 1199S engine.
So this is an amazing feat. So hell yeah, I am proud of you for doing that in India, given our constrained resources.

Also, I believe you should write a thread on the Checklist/Guide on buying a Pre Owned Italian bike.

[v12]

Wow, this was an amazing read. I cannot really imagine the emotions you would have gone through throughout this whole experience. Frankly speaking if this was me, I would have given up at the start itself.

Apologies if I may have missed it. but what's the future like in terms of service, upkeep and regular maintenance for a bike like this. Will Ducati India be servicing this bike in the future or will you be getting it service outside ?

[sharath1234]

Hello,

Just curious - Is it the same bike I am sitting on?

It was lying in my friend's house for few weeks.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by abtyagi

Thank you for sharing .........A guy with really deep pockets, just couldn't restore the 1199R engine and had to put a 1199S engine.
So this is an amazing feat. So hell yeah, I am proud of you for doing that in India, given our constrained resources. Also, I believe you should write a thread on the Checklist/Guide on buying a Pre Owned Italian bike.

@abtyagi - thank you very much for the kind words. Regarding the video, actually the gentleman 650i is a very spirited rider and pushes his bikes to the edge. He blew up the 1199R engine 2 times, so Ducati America offered him the 1299 engine as they didn't have the 1199R engine anymore.

I will write a thread on buying a used bike (not just Italian).

Originally Posted by v12

Apologies if I may have missed it. but what's the future like in terms of service, upkeep and regular maintenance for a bike like this.

@V12 - hahaha, yes it is a test of perseverance. Regarding servicing - I service my own bikes, and it will be the same for this one. The bike is actually easy to work on, if you have the service manual with you.

Originally Posted by sharath1234

Just curious - Is it the same bike I am sitting on.

Yes, the very same. I believe the pic was taken sometime between 2015 - 2019. The tank was painted white for a while.

[Supermono]

In the annals of interweb automotive forums this post surely must rank as one of the best. Suffice to say, it even prompted a long time casual lurker amongst the tbh pages to stop moseying around and finally put in my registration here just so that I could add my two cents to this post.

Don't get me wrong, while your story weaving skills are right up there with that of movie script writers, what I really want to appreciate is the fact that you actually managed to salvage this absolutely unique machine. It's fearsome performance notwithstanding, this certainly is, Giandrea Fabbro's masterpiece and to my eyes the best looking post Tamburini era Ducati.

You see what made me perk up when I received a forwarded link to this post was the fact that I've had more than a few run ins with this very bike in the past. Unbeknownst to most here in Bangalore, this bike is a true Italian thoroughbred collectable, and everytime I happened to chance upon it on the highways leading out of the city, I would always spend a few minutes to soak in the intricate details of this beauty.

And then, one day while visiting a local garage, what did I find tucked away in the corner? Well, the one and only 1199R ofcourse! A casual chat with the shop incharge revealed a mystery issue that the team of mechs were grappling with. The details in your post gave me less than pleasant flashbacks and I recalled that miserable feeling I had back then knowing, the bike may never fully be how it was meant to be. Much worse, where it would have likely ended up...

So, a massive hat tip to you Sir, for achieving the seemingly impossible and bringing her back to 100%. You will encounter fans and well-wishers where ever you take her. Now, at this point the last thing I want to do is share snaps of the bike in completely dismantled form, so I'll leave you with a pic of my favourite profile of this bike. I hope some day I will get to see her again in all her glory. Godspeed!

[narula123]

What a lovely read. Thanks for sharing this and more importantly taking up a project which possibly everyone else would have walked away from barring few privateer race teams.
It is heartening to see such a special bike finally getting the due TLC and care that it deserves and it paints scary picture of the apathy these bikes can go through in the wrong hands. To me that is just plain curelty.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by Supermono

And then, one day while visiting a local garage, what did I find tucked away in the corner? Well, the one and only 1199R ofcourse! A casual chat with the shop incharge revealed a mystery issue that the team of mechs were grappling with. The details in your post gave me less than pleasant flashbacks and I recalled that miserable feeling I had back then knowing, the bike may never fully be how it was meant to be. Much worse, where it would have likely ended up...
....... I hope some day I will get to see her again in all her glory. Godspeed!

@Supermono, thank you for sharing that information. Can I ask when was the bike at the garage? I am guessing around 2019. I wish it was not taken apart and messed around with. It caused untold damage to the engine and internals. Took us a long time to put everything back in pristine order.

We are hoping we can bring it to its pristine glory shortly. Will update on this thread.

[neil.jericho]

A genuinely hero motorcycle. An old school Hollywood-esque storyline. Take a bow, no_fear and your equally fearless brother. What an amazing thread, this is one of my all time favourite reads and it gets even better on the second and third read. There is so much that I want to quote and appreciate, but Ill save that for a leisurely fourth read.

The other thread that tops my all time list is the adventures of AntiHero, on a coast to coast ride with his Ducati Panigale 1199 S. Truly inspirational stuff and now thanks to both these threads, my YouTube recommendations are filled with videos like this.

1199R

[Supermono]

Originally Posted by no_fear

@Supermono, thank you for sharing that information. Can I ask when was the bike at the garage? I am guessing around 2019. I wish it was not taken apart and messed around with. It caused untold damage to the engine and internals. Took us a long time to put everything back in pristine order.

@no_fear, Sure. The bike was seen at the garage for almost the whole of 2019 (feb-oct at the very least).

[Tuborog]

That is an amazing feat! Glad to see your passion and dedication to revive the bike. I have seen this bike in Gurgaon, and it seems we share the FNG. First time I saw it, I literally was staring at it for ~15 mins! Bike is truly a masterpiece (you expect that from a Ducati though!)

[kiredd1005]

Such a wonderful find and read! Kudos to your efforts and hats off to the mechanic(s) who sorted the gem of a bike out for you! Wish plenty of happy miles (ironic for a Ducati)

[Brumby]

Really admire your passion for the bikes and envy your commitment, determination and resources to get the things done the way you want.

Congratulations for a rare gem that you have acquired and keep updating the thread.

Originally Posted by no_fear

Bike rebuild commences

A massive setback, panic attack, and a mystery to crack

After all the months of hard work, we were back to square one. Coolant was mixing with the oil. How is that possible? We rebuilt the engine completely. Is the bike cursed? Are we doomed? The Ducati service techs were all stumped. We analyzed both the coolant reservoir and the engine oil sump. The oil sump and coolant reservoir were both clean and not contaminated. We realized that coolant was mixing with the oil, not oil with the coolant. A very important distinction here. That means there is a pressure differential which is forcing the coolant to mix with the oil somewhere in the engine casing. But we had changed everything. So now back to the drawing board. My brother, my FNG, the Ducati service person and I regrouped over several video calls to figure out the culprits.

1. The heat exchanger - we suspected the heat exchanger was kaput. Maybe a gasket inside has blown or the exchanger itself has hairline cracks inside. We borrowed a heat exchanger from a Ducati 899 and attached it to the 1199. We rode the bike a few times. When the engine is idling, the coolant does not mix with the oil. But when the bike is ridden for 40 - 50 kms, then this mixing happens. We were onto something. When the engine revs, the pressure inside builds up and that causes the coolant to mix with the oil. We took out the heat exchanger and checked it. There was no leak. We re-attached the old 1199 exchanger and ran it. Again, no issues. The heat exchanger was working perfectly. Suspect 1 was scratched off the list. For good measure, we ordered a new heat exchanger out of caution.

2. The water pump assembly - brand new and rechecked. There were no leaks. Suspect 2 was let go.

That left only 2 more suspects - a) the crankcase that held the heat exchanger and the water pump and b) the pipes for the coolant and oil. The pipes were brand new and did not have leaks. So the pipes were scratched off the list.

This is something that ridicules me as why even a trained Ducati technician could not trace the source of coolant mixing with oil.

A few pointers related to this issue from my side based on the engine design:

1. On a running engine, the oil has higher pressure than the coolant, so only time the coolant will leak into the oil system from a heat exchanger is when the engine is not running, with a running engine its the oil that will flow into the cooling system.

The oil return from the engine is at almost atmospheric pressure and is draining into the sump (crankcase) if there is a common partition between the two which is breached, the coolant will flow into the oil system, more so if the coolant is under pressure while the engine is running.

2. The coolant can find its way into the oil system where the two systems share a common boundary at a point where the oil pressure is less (or nil) than the coolant system which is very much known to a trained technician and from the schematic diagrams (as was the case here).

3. From cracked cylinder liner/block which is much easier to trace and very rare.

Cheers

[100Kmphormore]

WHAT A THREAD. PERIOD.

Absolutely speechless at this monumental effort to save a bike that would have otherwise been instinct. I am new to Triumph/BMW/Harley knowledge and am learning the ropes, hence Ducati/Aprilia/MV is atleast a 100 km away from my understanding XD. We have to thank youtubers like DV, Kripal amanna etc for providing an introduction to big bikes in India. Though the former i no ways support for his rash ways of riding. The only Duc i know is the Panigale V4 for its serious power rush. I knew about V twin, parallel twin and crossplane engines but L twin is new to me.

Another aspect of what you covered about dealers loaning bikes/covering up issues it seems to be the same in all Kannada youtubers. The name is not the owners or RC transfer wouldnt be done while they take care of service and fuel and ofcourse, the posing with the senseless revbombing. i had reported one such youtuber due to a careless near miss and giving a flyby with that loud exhaust and got to know this through a contact in the traffic police.

Here i am cribbing about a Vstrom 650 vs Versys 650 choice and service, maintenance cost to replace my Himalayan. like you said, the bitter pill to swallow is, premium motorcycling is not for everyone. Track days are another story altogether given the time and money required to do it and to cover any untoward damages. As you have said expensive spares and service is what makes the bike costly not the bike itself, added to it the appropriate high quality riding gear and insurance, accessories. I bought the Himalayan solely because the G310GS would soon eat away whatever little i have left after all of the above.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

I bought the Himalayan solely because the G310GS would soon eat away whatever little i have left after all of the above.

Thanks for the kind words. End of the day, we are all bikers and we enjoy riding on 2 wheels. The Himalayan is a bike that can truly endure whatever is thrown at it and you can go anywhere without worrying what can happen. Carry on riding!! No bike is too inferior or worse than the other. Every bike is unique and carries a special place in our hearts.

That last line was too cheesy.

[100Kmphormore]

Originally Posted by no_fear

Thanks for the kind words. End of the day, we are all bikers and we enjoy riding on 2 wheels. The Himalayan is a bike that can truly endure whatever is thrown at it and you can go anywhere without worrying what can happen.Every bike is unique and carries a special place in our hearts.

That last line was too cheesy.

Agree 100%. The Himalayan is my first bike with my own cash and I will remember this always, whatever I may upgrade to. The overall ride and suspension is top notch but I have grown out of it relatively quickly due to low power figures. The last line is not me but my bank account speaking