Anyone own a F4S in the Phoenix Area? Where would you recommend me to go for the 600 Mile Service? Can I trust a ducati dealer to do the job correctly? I have read that the valves need to be checked. The nearest MV dealer is 2 hours away in Tucson.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Cheers,

- Asok

-- Asok Boopathy (aboopa@netscape.net), October 09, 2002

Answers

Allan will probably be best to answer this, but I believe he still comes down to Tucson to get service. I'm from Tucson, so it's an easy call for me. To tell the truth though, I'd probably have Renaissance do the work anyway, even if I did live in Phoenix

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), October 09, 2002.

Hello. Actually, we are quite lucky that both Cyclemoto and Renaissance are quite good dealerships. However, in this instance, I'd recommend going with Renaissance in Tucson. The intial service will run a litte under $400 and take about six to seven hours.

Cyclemoto has done worked on my '00 MV (I actually bought it from them used). That MV did have a lot of problems (oil leaks, O2 adjustments and stalling problems) and Cyclemoto fixed them all successfully. However, it was more of trial and error (especially for the 02 settings) because they don't have a shop manual. Also, they cannot help you with warranty parts or repairs. When my '00 MV's sidestand broke, Cagiva screwed Cyclemoto by verbally agreeing they would cover it under warranty, but refused warranty, when the claim was submitted. Cyclemoto ate the cost of repair (sidestand, mirror, and billable hours). Incidentally, I believe Cyclemoto is still in the process on becoming an MV dealership (once MV's financial dust settles).

As for Renaissance, I took my '02 MV to them a few weeks again, when the fuel-line clips broke. Yes, I had to tow it down there. Renaissance was able to fix the problem very quickly, at which point I had the initial service done (at 1,700 miles....yes, I know). There is a valve adjustment and at 1,700 miles, my valves were "slightly off". In any event, the cost was only $320 because I had already changed oil myself at 700 miles. Steve, owner, felt we "shouldn't waste good oil". With an oil change, the initial service would come up to around $400. Good thing about Steve is that he's very honest.

Because it's the first service, I'd say its worth a trip down to Renaissance. At least that way, you'll be covered if any warranty problems occur in the future. Personally, I'm thinking of doing the minor 3K service (oil change and inspection) myself or at Cyclemoto. For the major 6K service (w/ valve adjustments), I'll definitely take it to Renaissance....unless Cyclemoto can get their hands on a shop manual.

PS: If you ask Cagiva if Cyclemoto can do warranty work, they will tell you to "take it to your nearest authorized dealer who is 90 miles away in Tucson".

Hope this helps.

-- Allan Gibbs (Phoenix, Arizona) (Agibbs996@aol.com), October 09, 2002.

Hi Andy / Allan,

Thanks a bunch for your advise. After reading you guys' post I think I am going to ride it down to Tucson and get the first service done there.

Thanks a bunch again.

Cheers,

- Asok

-- Asok Boopathy (aboopa@netscape.net), October 10, 2002.

Were you in Tucson on Saturday the 26th? I think I saw your bike outside Renaissance. I was going to stop by but I was in a hurry to get across town. I was driving my car too so that's depressing...

-- Andy Ruhl (quadreverb@yahoo.com), October 29, 2002.

Hi Andy,

Yeah.... I was there and got the 600 mile service done. Runs quite well now. I guess I need some more miles on it to get it running really smooth. It was raining like crazy there, we camped out at the Catalina National Forest camp grounds. Very nice except for the rain.

Steve said there are signs of coolent leak and said that it should probably be looked at and fixed under warranty. I will have to call him and setup another appointment and go down there again.

Cheers,

- Asok

-- Asok Boopathy (aboopa@netscape.net), October 29, 2002.