I finally got up the courage to perform the 12,000 mile routine maintenance on my 2002 Ducati 748s. I've already done the maintenance on my 2001 Ducati 900 Supersport with a 2-valve motor, but the 4-valve motor in the 748s is much more complex and the maintenance is much more involved. In addition to replacing the cam belts and inspecting/adjusting the valve clearances, it is also recommended to pull the cams out of the heads to check the condition of the rocker arm faces and replace any that show excessive wear, which is a known issue for 748/916/996 Superbikes from 1995 to 2002.
I purchased all of the specialized tools that are required to perform the 4V maintenance from Desmo Times, and stripped the bike down to just the motor and frame. I worked on things a little at a time so that I wouldn't get too overwhelmed with it all. I was happy to discover that all the valve clearances were within Ducati's recommended specifications, however I found two opening rocker arms that needed to be replaced. :-( I should have the bike back together and back on the road within a few weeks. While I have the bike stripped down this far, I'm also going to install a new custom aluminum coolant reservoir to replace the plastic one that is prone to bursting.
