2004 Ducati 999 problems

Filed Jan 21, 2005 · Engine · 800 miles · CA

I own 2004 ducati 998 matirx motorcycle. It has a problem of stalling at low speeds. There is absolutely no warning. The bike dies instantaneously. Initially, it was stalling while stopped and idling. Later, it would die as I was riding the bike. In september of 2004, I was crossing a busy intersection when the bike died and came to an immediate stop. The car behind me was forced to swerve to avoid colliding with my motorcycle. I had to push the bike out of the intersection because it would start then immediately die. I took the bike to my dealer. They had it for 6 weeks and failed to fix the problem. I went to the internet and visited several ducati websites. I discovered from other owners throughout the country, the stalling problem has existed for almost 10 years in ducati motorcycles. I then emailed ducati in italy. Their response was for me to file a complaint with the federal safety agency and to contact ducati north america. I returned the bike to the dealership and they kept the bike for 2 more weeks and again failed to fix the problem. I returned the bike a third time. Again, I was crossing a busy intersection when the bike died and came to an immediate stop. This time the car behind me had to lock up the brakes to avoid hitting me. The bike is now in the shop. It has been there almost the entire week. The dealer told me they have contacted tech reps and attended a ducati school where they discovered that the stalling is not an isolated problem. I was very fortunate when riding this bike. The drivers behind me were very alert. I could have suffered injuries or even death due to ducati ignoring this problem with their bikes for almost 10 years.