s4/s4r..

[OgriUK]

you know that thing, where you buy a bike, an everything conspires to annoy you, an you start to wonder if you did the right thing..
on wed picked up a nice s4r, after much soul searching, and spending money that was allocated to summat else.
good clean low mileage bike with loud pipes..happy happy happy..

as soon as i got home unloaded it from the van an though it really needed a few minor things doing, we decided to go for a rideout.100 miles or so later dropped the gf off at her house and noticed that as you look down the front of the tank you can see straight into the airbox..lifted the tank and its got a seriously modded (ie just enough to get the clips on) airbox cover...kerrist..sixty miles from home and it had just started raining..so with visions of breaking down set off sharpish.
got home ok and was so cold/knackered put me now filthy bike away in the garage without washing it.
next day got up and decided tio have a day off to clean it proper and sort a few things.
put a standard box lid on with holes drilled in the back and tried it to make sure it runs ok. tried to buy a paddck stand (how much!!!)for the single sider, nobody had one so nipped to bsd and borrowsd one.tried to adjust the chain, but once id found out how to do it realised there was no c spanner in the toolkit(that is bloody scandalous, over 8k new and they dont give you the tool you need to adjust the chain!!) so back to bsd to borrow one of them.found out that although its only done 720 miles from new chain is rusty and on way to being knacked through lack of lube/adjustment so decided to treat it..phoned up bsd for a price on a new renthal set up and discovered you need a £88 sprocket carrier if you wanna fit summat different to oe, so decided to glean it up as best as an live with it. checked tyre pressures, 21f/22r psi..crap..no wonder it didnt like rounabouts and steered heavy..pumped em up an went out..loads better but now the speedo starts pissballing about..
spent two hours cleaning it proper and it does look bloody gorgeous, took it out for a fifty mile blatt round the fens, during which i started to realise although ive always loved race pipes, this thing really is very, very noisy.
got caught is a small shower and speedo packs up ..again.
got back and the small shower has made it look crap ..again..especially the white wheels.
clean it ...again.
got to drop some plans in for a job that ive priced so decide to take the s4 for a change.
and guess what, it feels nice, it rides nice, its not that nuch slower, nothing packs up, its quiet..

perhaps im getting too old, i dunno. the s4r is a gorgeous piece of kit.
but bearing in mind i put my mint s4 in mcn cheap this week and didnt get a single phone call, im wondering whether to keep it and sell the s4r on.
if i keep the s4r, i gotta get some quiter cans an a 'spensive paddock stand
and spend my life cleaning it to keep it looking nice, unless i dont use it much(not an option)
and i got 6k tied up in a bike. and when i get a prob like the speedo thas got to be fixed under warranty im miles away from ducati dealers
if i keep the s4, which is a understasted but lovely bike, i can have the suspension set up by top blokes at mc technics and the 916 lump tickled a bit by brew come winter, and be perfectly happy i reckon..it aint as flash as the 4r, but then every monster looks good whatever the model/engine size, an i got the kwack for fast stuff.
gonna use both over the next few weeks an see how i feel.. ;)

[slob]

'sfunny, from the angle of the photo the biggest difference appears to be the mirrors.
If you don't like cleaning the thing, I can thoroughly recommend a large tin of black Hammerite(tm) and a 3" brush.

[PaulS]

The "seriously modded" air box lid sounds like the one you get with the DP Termignoni pipe/filter/ecu kit. It's just big enough to keep the uprated filter in place and that's it. I believe the ECU is programmed to work with this set-up so putting a more restrictive lid on may have an effect on the fuelling. Did you get the standard pipes/ecu/filter when you bought it? You might be best off putting it back to standard if you don't like it as it is now. I have an S4 with this type of kit on (obviously the pipes are a bit different as they are not over and under style) and although I can see the edges of the filter when sat on the bike, I can't say I've noticed any ill effects when riding in even quite heavy rain.

[OgriUK]

black hammerite.. :D :D :D
cheers blokes... jus been reading about them db killers that might be the way forward..will put the modded lid back on then if i get any probs have got a pc3 on the s4 will put that on the s4r and have it set up to the box thats drilled to see whats what..do yuo reckon itd be ok to run the bike on a dyno yet its only done 900 miles mind you the bloke must have had it done when he had the pipes/ecu/airbox fitted..

[Scotty]

too noisey, use earplugs if only for the wind noise. s4r must be so new it still needs ironing out you could persevear and fix all the annoying 'character traits' tough choice, not much value in the S4 now that it got booted off the top dog spot

[OgriUK]

i think thas whats bugging me more than the teething probs with the s4r in truth, s4's dont seem too be worth bugger all, no matter how nice, and yet they really are a good bike...to sell mine i reckon realistically it would have to be priced nearly 3k below what the s4r cost me..and theres no way the s4r is almost double the bike that the s4 is.. :( :(

[PaulS]

I would get the S4R run in completely before putting it through the stress of a dyno test. I doubt if the original owner had it dynoed when the DP kit was fitted - there's not much adjustment to the fuelling that can be done as the ECU is not programable in the way a PC3 is. If it was fitted by a Ducati dealer the most they would have done was tweak it slightly with their "Mathesis" set-up kit. Did you have the PC3 fitted to your S4 or was it already on it when you got the bike? I.e. do you know what difference it made over the standard set-up? I would be interested to hear of your experiences with the PC3 as my S4 stutters badly at small throttle openings and I wonder if a PC3 would improve it. Two different Ducati dealers have set up the injection on three occasions and declared it normal - but then they would! It makes negotiating roundabouts an interesting experience!

[NattyBoy]

Interesting about the rusty chain Ogri..mines going the same way and ive oiled the bugger regular...I will be having a warranty chat soon me thinks.

Other than that, mine hasnt missed a beat in 2000 miles. Love it..and it goes like feck !!!

Nat

[Nonnie]

Hi Ogri! Lovely bike.
My chain was rusty very quickly. 200 or so miles. It's had a good clean and is passeable now but I was surprised how quickly it went.
More piccies of the new addition please! Have fun
x

[OgriUK]

paul mark from bsd put the pc3 onnit for me and dynoed it when i bought it..never ran it before but he said they are lumpy low down and run a bit funny an the pc3 sorts it..certainly no probs now..from the dyno charts he gave me(before and after) it only gains 1bhp BUIT smooths out the line lovely..if your near me your welcome to try it.
nat your right about the extra poke, bloody thing lifts in first three gears the old s4 never did that.. :D :D :D

[OgriUK]

nonnie, karen trying it for size when we got it off the van.. :)

[OgriUK]

the garage is getting crowded.. ;)

[OgriUK]

cleaned up and jacked up on the ride height

[OgriUK]

certainly a much better looking bike than its owner..

[PaulS]

Thanks for the info on the PC3. Thanks for the offer of a test ride - I'm about 70 miles from you so it's possible - I'll let you know.

[OgriUK]

:) ok buddy..forgot to mention another thing that initially peed me opff the only way carol nash would put the s4r on the same policy as the zx12r an the s4 was to upgrade it to fully comp..been third party since i killed a busa on a roundabout in milton keynes..so it cost me a few bob..still, nice to be fully comp again i spose..

[Nonnie]

Garage piccies. Nice one! I think your good lady at least deserve one of you bikes. You're just being plain greedy.

[OgriUK]

steady..... ;) :)
when i met her 3 years ago shed only been on the back of a bike a coupla times, i had a zrx1200r then, sold that and got a fatboy, then a busa, then a bandit twelve, then the zx12r, then the monnies so shes been on a few now :)

[Nonnie]

Good for her. Tell her it's more fun directing! Saying that, I still go pillion with my chap sometimes. Get her some lessons go on! You've got a spare one for her after all.

[OgriUK]

its on our list, just after selling out houses and getting one together, changing schools for her daughter, and funding a car and uni for mine.. :D

[jvp]

Personally I don't like the look of the S4R I prefer the S4 and even though I run high level termi's I prefer low level,its just I got them cheap.
I have put the standard airbox back on with the K&N filter and the standard ECU but kept the pipes, it has made the bike a lot smoother and usable at low revs and doesn't feel a lot slower if at all, in fact I can keep up with a friends 916 to about 130+ before he starts to pull away. I have managed to lose about 7 kg in weight and get a bit fitter and feel that that probably more than makes up for the 4 or so hp I have lost
So I would lose the 4R cose the S4 isn't worth selling, I only paid £2800 for a 01 8000 mile senna.
Jay