Been there, done that....Kill switch: Check - Clutch pull in: Check, even kicked a few times, it is simply a dead bird :bonk:. Battery weak.... I say there might be drain in the harness, which manifested itself during transport in the van (vibrations/bumps etc.). One has to go through the whole harness, starting at the kill switch and clutch cut off switch with an amp meter and look for a drain/short somewhere, but they can be near impossible to find if due to a loose bare wire intermittently touching the frame.
I know already, the dealer is just going to charge the battery, and call it good to go, because dealers are dealers and do not give a rat's ass anymore. Just went through it with another dealer with my new Tiger 1050 springing a massive oil leak from the stator cover at 45 miles on the odo, with a subsequent near "slippery" crash;but that is another story.
Thinking about going carburated, and giving up on FI, that's all. The street legal plate was just a nice advantage to this bike though. Raced KTM's for years, and would build them myself at the dealer's out of the crate. Never had a problem in 20 years. I live in New England, where the terrain is among the toughest and often very wet. Bikes really take a beating here. If one gets stranded in the woods of the North East US, you're F#@*&d, period. Looking at a real bad time.......
Again, as you guys mention, it is the dealer's responsibility, and I do not believe this dealer will fullfill those responsibilities at all. It is my first time doing business with this guy, and when I saw him fill out the sale paperwork 3 times in front of me because he could do it right the first time, I should have known I was in for a few 'surprises'.
Let us just say, I would be reluctant on racing this bike in a NETRA enduro. I guess I am old fashioned and all my race bikes were 2 strokes; still not used to 4 strokes, especially with FI, so right now I am a little dubious about reliability. If this is what I get when new, what am I looking at 60 miles into a gnarly, wet, rocky, rooty enduro with many crashes ( I do crash a lot) ?.
First time for everything. Buying a new dead non-running bike is definitely new to me. But it is a toy, and at my age, one realizes there are much more important things in life than a dirtbike.
I don't see this bike being a raceable bike at this point.
Thanks for all your input. I'll keep you posted with this little story.
By the way, Looney888, your input, though attempting to be somewhat abrupt and not helpful, is appreciated but wrong. I used to ride and race Ducatis, as far back as in the late 70's and there ARE a lot of problems with the newer Ducatis...that is why I do not buy or ride them anymore. My last Duc was a $17,000 08 S4RS which NEVER ran and ended up catching on fire with less than 2,000 miles on the clock. A lot of electric and electronic issues with Ducatis. Loose stator shaft bolts, oil bypass plugs coming loose in the crank.....you name it, they have it.
Next episode, will be next week, stay tuned.
