748s.com is the brainchild of a Ducati owner who enjoys working on his own bikes but got tired of digging through shop manuals trying to find the right torque and threadlock specifications for the component he was working on. The result is an application which lets one easily find not those details, but also fastener sizes, tool types & sizes, the threadlock or lubricant to be applied, and more.
Liability: Motorcycle riding is in itself a hazardous activity, and maintaining and/or modifying a motorcycle compounds those risks. It is your responsibility to confirm any recommendations, guidelines, or specifications provided here. Your use of this application acknowledges that neither 748s.com, nor its owners, nor its writers are liable for any consequences of your actions maintaining or riding your motorcycle.
Sources: Wherever possible we use official Ducati sources for the information provided here. This includes Official Workshop Manuals and Parts books. When data provided there is vague, incomplete or inaccurate, we only publish the relevant data if we have been able to confirm or cross-reference it with secondary sources (e.g. Haynes, etc.).
Models & Variants: 916, 748, 996, 998, L, Matrix, R, S, Senna, SP, SPS: There are four Ducati models which share the many of their parts: the Ducati 916, Ducati 748, Ducati 996, and Ducati 998. Further, each model had any number of variants with differences ranging from cosmetics (1998 748L: the silver Neiman Marcus edition) to next-generation top-ends (2001 996R, later 998’s: the first Testastretta models). For the time being the data provided by this application is for the 748s, though specifications and parts will often be identical. Regardless, it is your responsibility to confirm whether or not the information provided is correct for the bike on which you are working.
Model Years: The Ducati 916, Ducati 748, Ducati 996, and Ducati 998 were sold between 1994 and 2004. (916: 1994 - 1998, 748: 1997 - 2004, 996: 1999 - 2001, 998: 2002 - 2004) For the time being, this application provides data for the Ducati 748s, model year 2001. As above, specifications and many parts will often be essentially identical for the range of years and models, but it is your responsibility to confirm whether or not that is the case for the bike you are working on.
Organization: For the purposes of this application, we organize the bike into components, each of which serve a more-or-less specific purpose for the functioning of the motorcycle. For example, we classify the front brake lever and the screws which fasten it to the handlebar as part of the 'Brake' component (along with various calipers, screws, hoses, etc.). As with any sophisticated system (like motorcycles), how its parts and functions are classified is subjective, and there are always cases where there is no single, clear choice. (Others might choose, for example, to classify the aforementioned parts as ‘Hand Controls’, or even separately as ‘Hydraulic Systems’ and ‘Fasteners’, depending on how they themselves think about and classify different parts of motorcycles and the context in which they use their classification scheme.)
Part Names & Nomenclature:
In many cases we do not use the names used by Ducati
to refer to particular parts. Instead, we choose names which
most clearly refer to and specify the part in
question. In our experience, we’ve found that not only
do the names which Ducati chooses to be vague or awkward, but
also inconsistent - using one name or phrase in one place,
and another elsewhere - even within the same publication. We
feel it is important that a name clearly describes the part
to which it refers, does so as simply as possible, while also
differentiating it from other parts which could be described
similarly. For example, we’ll use ‘Left Front
Brake Caliper’ instead of ‘Caliper’, or
‘Rear Subframe Retaining Bolt’ instead of
‘Screw’. If part names end up being longer as a result
of this choice, we’re ok with that.
Bolts vs. Screws:
It should also be noted that we differ from Ducati in our use
of the words ‘bolt’ and ‘screw’. (The
closest we can find to a proper distinction is here)
On this application we use the following nomenclature:
Bolt: A threaded rod with a head on one end
which is inserted through an object or objects (usually
unthreaded) and which clamps that object(s) with a
fastener (such as a nut) on the other end, which itself can
usually also be turned. The fastener which is used to attach the
rear subframe is a bolt (4 of them, actually), as there is a nut
which receives it and which can be turned to tighten the two
together.
Screw: A threaded rod with a head on one end
which is inserted and turned into an object with a
threaded hole which itself does not get turned. The fasteners
which hold the valve-inspection-covers onto the heads (16 of them
in all) are screws.
It should also be noted that - in the case of bolts - torque
specifications are provided for the nut which receives
it, and which technically is the part to be turned to the
specified torque value (even though in most cases there would be
no practical difference between applying it to either the nut or
the bolt).
Torque Specs & Applicants: We always use the most accurate specification we can find for torque (in Newton-meters) and whatever should be applied to the thread or fastener, where applicable. It goes without saying that proper use of a well-calibrated torque wrench is required, in addition to proper application of whichever lubricant, sealant, or thread-locker is specified, when applicable.
Fastener Specs & Tools: In addition to much of the part-related data which is culled and curated from original Ducati sources, in the case of fasteners and other parts which require turning or holding, we also try to specify the size and type of tool required. The majority of the fasteners on these bikes are either Hex-head or Allen-head, and many can be turned and torqued properly with easy-to-find sizes of metric Hex and Allen sockets. (3mm - 10mm Allen and 8mm - 19mm Hex will cover you for many operations.) There are, however, a number of fasteners and parts which require a more substantial tool-set, which sometimes means less-common socket sizes (e.g. 41mm & 46mm for the nuts on either side of the rear wheel spindle) and sometimes Ducati-specific tools (e.g. special sockets for the ring-nuts which hold camshaft-pulleys onto the camshafts). Finally, note that these specifications are provided for the Ducati-supplied fasteners, and they may differ from what you find on your motorcycle depending how it has been maintained, modified, and/or molested by you or other owners and mechanics in the past.
Happy riding... and wrenching!!!
