Bike Maintenance/Prep

With under 2 weeks to departure, it's time to get busy prepping Ikran.  First order of business was to call Pro Italia and talk to Eric, the service manager.  My concern was the 15K major service.  I'm at 13K, I'll likely finish the trip with over 17K, so do I get the major service done now, or wait until I get back?  Eric makes my day by telling me to "ride the shit out of the bike and bring it in when you get back"...love that guy!

Now that I don't have to worry about the major service, it's on to the minor stuff that I can handle.  First up was a chain maintenance.  To accomplish the this I had to order a 'spanner' from MotoMFG, which is where I purchased my stand.  MotoMFG makes first class tools for Ducati and others.  The stand is a life saver when it comes to performing maintenance on my bike.  Here's the link to what and how the stand works...
(MotoMFG Ducati Stand)

Using the chain spanner and adjusting the chain on Ikran is pretty straight forward.  Mount Ikran onto the stand and raise him off the ground (this takes all of 30 seconds), then remove the rear tire flap, loosen two bolts, secure the spanner into the notches on the mini-flywheel behind the sprocket, then pull up to tighten or down to loosen.  Reassemble and done!

After the chain adjustment it was on to the oil change.  I use Redline, fully synthetic, 10W-40W oil.  The 10W is good for the Ducati wet clutch and the 40W will handle the California heat.  I've heard it said that you need to remove the center stand to access the oil filter, but I guess my years as a Sears mechanic, in high school (LOL!), have taught me how to "improvise, adapt, and overcome"...I've never removed the center stand to accomplish the oil change.

Additional prep accomplished:  Front & rear tires changed out, brake pads checked, and the brake & clutch fluids checked.  Pretty much ready for the road.

Chain Adjustment & Oil Change