1St issue is when coming to a stop or at a stop like with bike in neutral, is will randomly shut off with out warning, and without an engine code. It happens 3-4 times a day. Second issue is my bike leaks fuel randomly depending on the temp of the day I notice it alot in my garage. Search online and there are a ton of forms of people experiencing the same issue.
Engine & cooling
Ducati 848 Engine problems by year
15 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Ducati 848's engine & cooling. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
Engine complaints by model year
Latest 848 engine complaints
After coming home from a ride, I noticed the radiator was leaking coolant from a pinsized hole. Many other owners have reported similar findings with their radiators. *Tr
THE RADIATOR DEVELOPED A LEAK. *TR
The radiator has a leak under the left mounting bracket on the back side of the radiator. This has caused extremely hot coolant to spray out the left vent onto the riders leg. Also coolant has covered the front wheel and brakes, left fork and fogged out the left head light. This is a known complication with this model bike, with hundreds of documented cases. My bike has less then 6000 miles, with no accidents, and no damage to the radiator. This leak at the left mounting bracket is known to ducati, but they are unwilling to help with the problem. *Tr
Failure of gas tank. Gas tank seems to undergo changes over time a use. The changes are, swelling, leaking, internal failure, damage to fuel system. Swelling causes inability to turn handle bars to move to full turn. Leaking causes harmful gas fumes to be consumed by rider which can lead to cancer and other health problems, fire or explosion is also a problem. Internal failure also causes the above problems. It has been found that also the inside of the tanks also undergo flex and cause cracking inside and outside the tanks. Damage to fuel system from the materials that mix and fall into the tank. This can clog the fuel lines causing injector failure or even engine failure. *Tr
On the top left side of radiator mount cracked and starts to leak. I heard from my friends, dealer and research on the internet and ducati.Org forum. This is a common problem for 2008 ducati 848 and many others were saying this is the factory failure and known defect. Radiator leak caused by weakened mounting bracket. This design flaw is due to extra weight placed on the left side mounting bracket from the battery mounted on the same bracket. This is a potential safety hazard as it caused extremely hot coolant...
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to spray out of the left fairing on to the rider's leg, in addition to causing a crash due to lubricated fluid being expelled under the bike which compromised the integrity of the contact between the rear tire and the road. This item needs a recall before someone loses their life. *Js
Radiator leak caused by weakened mounting bracket. This design flaw is due to extra weight placed on the left side mounting bracket from the battery mounted on the same bracket. This is a potential safety hazard as it caused extremely hot coolant to spray out of the left fairing on to the rider's leg, in addition to causing a crash due to lubricated fluid being expelled under the bike which compromised the integrity of the contact between the rear tire and the road. This item needs a recall before someone loses their life! *Tr
My 2008 ducati 848 (which only has 4100 miles on it) developed a radiator leak on the rear-left upper side of the radiator. There were no events leading up the leak. My bike has been sitting for two weeks and was not touched by anyone. Due to the nature of this issue, riders may be in danger as radiator fluid may leak onto the front tire and/or front brakes. *Tr
One day riding home from work I started to feel like my knee was burning. I looked down to my left knee and saw that it was getting wet and was burning from something hot. Pulled over and saw that I was leaking coolant. The coolant looked like it was coming out of the coolant hose. I had the motorcycle towed to the dealer ship that I work at. I removed the fairing to check where it was leaking from. Saw that it was leaking out of the radiator. Tried to get some help from the local dealer and they just kept trying...
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to say that it was my fault. The first thing they told me is that it was a stone that hit the radiator. When they told me about the stone I wanted them to show me where the stone hit but they couldn't show it to me and before taking the bike down to the dealer I had the radiator pressure tested and found out that it was leaking from the left upper hanger spot weld. After they couldn't show me I told them that I had it pressure tested and it seemed to make them mad and then they started to say that I dropped the bike and I asked them the same thing as before and they couldn't show me where it had signs that it had fallen. Then they seemed to get even more mad. I called ducati of north america and told them what had happen and they told me that they were sorry for what happened and that they would help me out but that I had to take it back to that dealer so they could check it out again. But I wasn't going to have it towed down there again at that point I could've bought a new radiator. When this happened in march I looked up the price for a new one and it was $548 and now its gone up to $948 and the part number has changed to 54840742b from 54840741b. Even when I talked to the person at ducati he told me that they knew that there was a problem with the radiators that are in the 1098 and the 848. And as for my knee I had to buy a burn cream so it wouldn't hurt from the burn and the glycol in the coolant. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ducati 848 motorcycle. The contact stated that the temperature gauge displayed a reading of 205 degrees as he noticed coolant fluid leaking from the radiator. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that coolant fluid was leaking from a spot weld on the left side hanger. The dealer had not been notified of the failure since the vehicle was no longer under warranty and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileage was 22,500. The vin was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ducati 848 motorcycle. The contact stated that the radiator was leaking abnormally from the rear. There was no road hazard that caused the radiator to fail. The contact stated that the vehicle would be taken to the dealer within the next two days for inspection and possible repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vin was unavailable. The failure mileage was 3,600.
1. My 2008 ducati 848 motorcycle developed a radiator leak. There are no events leading up to the failure other than normal riding. My motorcycle has less than 5000 miles on the odometer. 2. The failure is a leaking radiator. Consequences are higher risk of crash (due to slick fluid emanating from the machine), and massive engine damage due to overheating. 3. No repair has been made. The vehicle is currently out of service. *Tr
Driving on highway and 170f-215f degree hot coolant/antifreeze began blowing onto my leg. The radiator on my 2008 ducati 848 with only 4,000 miles, which is a known ducati 848 problem but refuses to recall, began to leak from the upper left bracket area. Called ducati north america and they were not very friendly and less than willing to offer a solution. Will eventually be a injury or crash due to this coolant/radiator leak. *Tr
1. No events leading up to the failure. Just all of a sudden. 2. Radiator leak. Coolant splashes all over left side fairings. 3. Dealership said they'll replace radiator under warranty. They said it might take a month for the parts to come in. *Tr
I own a 2008 ducati 848 motorcycle. It has only 4000 miles on it and the radiator started leaking. The leak on the radiator is located on top of the radiator where radiator mounting bracket is located. This is a very serious defect due to the fact that the radiator is right next to the front wheel of the motorcycle where 80 percent of braking is mostly done and also steering. I informed dealership about leak and they said it is a very common problem on this motorcycle. The dealership ordered radiator from italy and...
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wait times vary from a week to 3-4 weeks (even more when ducati goes on their 1month vacation). I was also told by service director of dealership that part is not an updated radiator. Contacted ducati of north america customer service and they seem oblivious of my complaint. I am a member of a few motorcycle forums and most 848 owners have experienced this problem (some of them have installed their second radiator due to the dame problem). I am still waiting on my radiator and it has been more than 1 week (went to dealership on july 16th). *Tr
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data