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OK, all sorted now and the new-to-me S4R now bursts into life!
It turns out that the brand-new GS-brand 12Ah AGM battery the dealer fitted claims a CCA of 180A, which exceeds the equivalent MotoBatt by 30A. It still struggled to spin the motor though, prior to fitting the Exact Start cable upgrade.
The kit I bought was specifically for the earlier S4R but nonetheless some cables were longer than necessary. That's better than being too short, of course, but it's not easy to lose several inches of heavy-gauge cable. Because Ducati terminated loom cables in with the starter feeds, Exact suggest piggy-backing several terminals but this is easier said than done. The solenoid terminals certainly don't have sufficient thread length to carry two cables, and they wouldn't likely fit beneath the plastic shroud, so I just removed the OEM section of the power feed to the solenoid.
It was a relief to find the factory used a proper 13mm hex-head bolt for the earth strap onto the engine case, instead of the little socket-head screw used previously which could never be undone on the ST series. For the earth strap I did piggy-back the old one direct from the battery, so earthing should be very good!
The bottom line is that the starter cable upgrade is very worthwhile, but don't expect to get it fitted quickly. I should add that I made my own cable upgrade for the ST4 for a fraction of the Exact Start price, using quite ordinary heavy cable and regular ends and it has always been a quick starter. Doing a DIY job on a budget means you can choose where and how to route the cable, rather than managing someone else's specification. I just got lazy this time and was seduced by all the flim-flam!
Nick
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