Services, who's the best

[DJ749s]

I think the S does have the Tapered type collets that your talking about, and it does show the head off method on the manual for the 749S, but i asked Justin from Pro Twin today and he said the heads don't have to come off maybe they have a way around it, the forum thread does suggest that a way around it is possible.

DJ

[ducmon]

+1 ^^ Easy thing to do is ring your mechanic, take every thing on an internet forum with a pinch of salt. If the time it took to do the valve clearances on the 749R etc was 3 to 4 hours different then the charges through the workshop would reflect this, but it dosen't.
Justin is probably the best person to talk to in perth regarding Ducatis, he does have a way of doing it without the need to remove the heads. My apologies for thinking that all Ducati mechanics should have realised this procedure already.

[LabRatt]

+10 for Justin @ Protwin. He started as a Duc mechanic with Brook Henry @ Vee Two and knows just about everything about Ducs whether they're old or new. He's pretty flat out though so be prepared to wait but its worth it for a quality job....