John Zamora: Associate Editor
Miles Ridden: 5900
Modifications: Basic maintenance
I've been on my Ducati 848 for a while now and flogged it on the streets, highways, racetracks and canyons with no major problems or mishaps (knock on wood). All it's really asked for is some basic maintenance.
With just over 5900 miles on the odometer, the black and slippery stuff needed a flush. Much to my surprise, pulling the bodywork off wasn't as bad as other bikes (from Japan) with their numerous clips and fasteners. The process was fairly straightforward really. A couple of bottles of Spectro full synthetic oil and a fresh filter later and I was good to go.
After watching Dave's "How to clean a chain" video on superstreetbike.com, I figured I'd better get on it before the boss man caught a glimpse of my neglect. While my chain was far from worn out, it looked like it had been dragged through the alley and was dirtier than an old Christina Aguilera video. Rather than making the problem worse by caking chain lube on top of the filth, I took a few minutes to give the chain a good cleaning first.
With the bike securely planted on a rear stand, I sprayed on Motul's chain cleaner to help remove the dirt and grime. After letting that sit for a few minutes, I wiped off all the yuck with a dirty rag, then hit it again with some Spectro chain lube, making sure to cover the entire length. After a quick spin around the block to fling the excess lube off, the chain got an adjustment and looked almost as good as new.
I couldn't escape the Ducati repo man though, and his note found me-despite hiding under my desk. Sadly, the bike is going back to Ducati soon, but I'll be dammed if I don't get a few last blasts on one of my favorite do-it-all bikes of all time.
Spectro Platinum Full Synthetic
10w40
$14.66/quart
The Offical Lubricant Of Super Streetbike