3rd time's the charm?

[SalsaShark]

Well, steering lock went again on the Strada... Dealer's coming to pick the bike up in a couple of hours.

The new problem... Steering's not locked, bike thinks it is, tries to unlock it for 30 seconds, throws an error and kills the bike.  

At least it's winter.

Tell you what, the new Tiger's looking nicer and nicer...

[Rincewind]

This is your third time with the same error?  Is it just a sensor, or has something mechanical failed?

[SalsaShark]

I'm guessing that it's a programming error. The steering's unlocked, but the bike thinks it is. SO... it's trying to unlock the steering, you can hear it clicking away for 30 seconds or so, the dash throws a system error and the bike shuts down.

[SalsaShark]

Yeah, it sucks... electronic gizmos are great, when they work.

And when everything's dialed in, I do love this bike.

But, when things go bad, they go very bad... very quickly... and without warning.

At least I knew when the speedie needed help. It started misbehaving. The strada was running fine a couple weeks ago and then nothing.

[ConPilot1]

I'm lusting after a newer more modern bike, but it's stuff like this that makes me love the old Connie even more sometimes.

[falconati]

Ugh, that sucks.

[Flyer]

It's at times like this, I like to thank UFO for enabling the appropriate emoticon.
 
When I had a similar problem, it was the result of a broken steering sensor.
I wish you a simple (and permanent) fix for Christmas...

[SalsaShark]

Thank you... and many steering locks and unlocks to you too...  

On the bright side, the dealership was very responsive. I called them @ 4:30 on Thursday and they picked up the bike 12:30 on Friday, giving me an excellent excuse to sneak out of the office early.

I'm hoping for a permanent fix as well, hopefully in time for one last ride in 2011.

[Mr. Whippy]

I predict a sensor failure or rubbed wire (grounding problem).  Good luck with this!

[R Doug]

Lemme get this strait.  You're having electrical issues on the Italian bike and you're thinking about replacing it with a British one?  


I hope your issue is resolved.  The Multi seems to be a great bike.

[SalsaShark]

Lemme get this strait.  You're having electrical issues on the Italian bike and you're thinking about replacing it with a British one?  


I hope your issue is resolved.  The Multi seems to be a great bike.

I'm not considering replacing it at this time. I do really love this bike. That being said, I've never had issues like these with the Triumphs I've owned.

[R Doug]

I'm just being facetious.  It's just the British are known for having electrical issues.  

[SalsaShark]

Survey says...

New recall notice calling for the Hands Free ECU replacement. Parts on order, but Italy is out for the holidays. Will hopefully see my bike back up and running sometime in January.

I'm just glad it happened in the winter... time to hit the slopes and not worry about it.

[Flyer]

... time to hit the slopes and not worry about it.

That's the "ticket"!
When life hands you lemonade, warm it up in the microwave and add rum.
 

[falconati]

So annoying.

[SalsaShark]

yeah!!! 1 month without my bike.  

Tell you what... I'm wondering if this is what it's going to be like over the long haul of owning this bike.  Is this the passion of owning an Italian bike?! I recall hearing jokes about Jaguars (1 week in the shop for every 2 weeks on the road). I'm feeling this way with the Strada right about now.

Came across a Sprint GT this morning and am seriously considering doing a swap, then going and picking up a thumper to have fun with in the mountains.  

Truly irritated this morning while waiting to call the dealership and try to get someone to tell me what the hell is going on.

***EDIT***
Bike should be coming home by the end of the week. Now I need to figure out if this bike is truly meant to stay with me.

[Baz]

Have you tried talking Italian to it?

[SalsaShark]

Have you tried talking Italian to it?

Who knows, that might work... Apparently the language the ECU speaks is unknown to even Ducati  

After a month of waiting, they got the new ecu in and it doesn't work. They called Ducati and were told to order a couple and hope one works. WTF?!

Been reading up on the new Triumph Sprint... I don't need this finicky bike crap.

[ConPilot1]

Oh my god. I'd be flippin' pissed too.

[SalsaShark]

Time for my weekly update...

Spoke w/ the dealership this morning.

They received three ECUs in this week, as well as a call from Ducati asking about the email I sent to Ducati expressing my dissatisfaction with this situation and my intentions to abandon their brand if this matter is not resolved.

The bike's on the lift today... hoping (but not holding my breath) to pick it up this weekend.

[Mike-H]

Hope it works out for you.....when I was at the factory @ the end of Sept the attitude that came across was as long as bike sales remain high in NA who cares.....that's why I'm beginning to prefer the older stuff....less electronics ...so theoretically less to go wrong .....

[SalsaShark]

Hope it works out for you.....when I was at the factory @ the end of Sept the attitude that came across was as long as bike sales remain high in NA who cares.....that's why I'm beginning to prefer the older stuff....less electronics ...so theoretically less to go wrong .....

no reason to duck and cover... I completely agree with you.

[Dan K]

Is this maybe an issue with the mechanics at your dealer?  Sounds like they aren't fixing the problem, which seems to be a sensor - the ECU doesn't sense that the steering is unlocked.  The ECU is doing its job, trying to unlock the steering - problem is the ECU is getting bad info.

Or if the sensor is ok, it's likely a short in the connections between the sensor and the ECU.

- Dan

[SalsaShark]

I have confidence in the mechanic that has been working on my bike. Ducati told them it's an ECU problem. They've had the bike together and apart numerous times.

Anyways, I'm picking it up on Saturday (weather allowing). So I guess time will tell.

[cbsnbiker]

no reason to duck and cover... I completely agree with you.

Bad pun.  

Best wishes.

[UFO]

I've not ridden my Strada lately (work, weather, other issues...) but I had lots of annoying as hell problems the first year.  The first major problem after the warranty expires and I will kick it to the curb.  I love the bike but lost a lot of confidence in it when the key sensing unit failed and the bike would just die underneath me randomly while riding.

No one to blame but myself...and Ducati.  

[cbsnbiker]

I've not ridden my Strada lately (work, weather, other issues...) but I had lots of annoying as hell problems the first year.  The first major problem after the warranty expires and I will kick it to the curb.  I love the bike but lost a lot of confidence in it when the key sensing unit failed and the bike would just die underneath me randomly while riding.

No one to blame but myself...and Ducati.  

That's exactly what I did with my R1100RS. It should have been painted yellow.  

[Mike-H]

That's exactly what I did with my R1100RS. It should have been painted yellow.  

Was it really that bad? Or has time made it seem worse

[cbsnbiker]

Was it really that bad? Or has time made it seem worse

It really was that bad.  

[Mike-H]

Good thing your not hooked on BMW's or you could have really taken it hard ....I think that's why I'm no longer brand loyal....especially with the new stuff & all the bugs (seems more electronic then not these days).....all brands seem to have some good, bad, & ugly.....and I don't mean the movie....unfortunately

[cbsnbiker]

Good thing your not hooked on BMW's or you could have really taken it hard ....I think that's why I'm no longer brand loyal....especially with the new stuff & all the bugs (seems more electronic then not these days).....all brands seem to have some good, bad, & ugly.....and I don't mean the movie....unfortunately

Well, the fact is that the dealer took very good care of me. The bike may have been a shop queen, but the dealer always worked on it without protest, turned it around fairly quickly (most often), went to bat for me with corporate BMW several times, gave me loaners several times when my bike was out of commission (I put over 1,000 miles on one of them), and gave me a generous trade-in when I finally got out from under it.

The BMWs I've purchased since then have been far, far better than that lemon.

The '74? Well, it's old.  

[Mike-H]

Aren't we all?.....Getting old that is......if only human doctors were as good as mechanical doctors.....then we'd all live much longer.... ....wait, that could be a really bad thing.....especially if we couldn't ride .....okay....sorry I take that back

[Mr. Whippy]

This highlights something that bugs me.  These modern bikes have fantastic electronic gadgetry.  It doesn't seem that it would be THAT hard to code in a way to electronically monitor the sensors, flag up errors and then barf out algorithms for likely causes of the error (1. sensor, 2. harness 3. ECU).  Maybe the newest iteration of these bikes do that, but my 04 Multistrada just lists the error codes.

I guess I think these bikes should be more self-aware.  

  (Ducati/Cyberdyne 1199 Terminator)

[SalsaShark]

Picked the bike up this morning... we'll see how long it lasts this time...

Thank God for manufacturers warranties.

[Mike-H]

Crossing fingers & sending good motorcycle karma your way......hope it helps