Using a tool devised by Mike at EMS Duc, I'm demonstrating removal of the tapered collets on my '06 749S.
Ssshhh
Actually that was a prototype he made, he never put it into production and apart from 2 or 3 of them existing they’re not available to buy.
The ‘official’ way to remove the tapered collets so you can get the closer shims off is to buy a special shaped nylon block from Ducati, remove the cylinder head from the bike, lay it on the block and then, with the right size drift tool and a hammer the collet can be hammered downwards to loosen its grip. The valve is resting against the nylon block which has an indentation exactly the same shape and angle as the valve head and the vslve can’t get damaged.
Hence it’s a big job and when most owners are given the quote by the dealer for the Desmo service, around £1500, they pass and take the view ‘sure, it’ll be grand’.
I’ll own up, it caught me out, the first 749S I had to do a valve service on, the measurements were way out of spec, 21,000 miles or so on the clock, the owner had won it in one of those online raffles, it only cost him €25 for a ticket. I suspect it had never had a valve service done in its life, much else sadly judging by the state of it, leaking fork seals, front disks 1mm below their minimum thickness, oil as black & thick as treacle, next to no coolant in it. Anyway, I tried to get one of those tools from EMS, now Desmotimes, but no. I had to get my own version made by a local engineering company so, yes, I can do them without taking the heads off, but it’s a bit redneck and don’t tell everyone as I need to recover my time & costs on the next job
, but weren't the three spokes on the early 996's to later change to the far nicer 5 spokes?
