There is some disagreement on how often these checks need to be undertaken. I know that Ducati changed the intervals to make them longer at one stage and I've heard people who do it themselves say it's unnecessary most of the time, i.e.: they get in there and clearance is fine, shims are 100%. I wouldn't take chances with my shiny new Panigale V4 though.
Also: I take my bike to Ebrahim (The Bike Doctor) here in CT. I had my Valve clearances checked, shims changed, belts done and a handful of other bits and pieces (quite a few things actually) just a couple of weeks ago and labour only came to around R4k.
So many people tried to put me off getting a Ducati and every single reason they cited has been utterly debunked in practice.