Learning
Time for major work, unfortunately.
Frame's cracked
Motor is making oil disappear and power isn't what it used to be either, according to seat of pants dyno. Time for the winter layup, get in, strip it, sort out various issues that have been waiting for a while.
Step 1: take it to bits.
Pootler
Cool, fun times. I enjoy working on them as much as riding them.
Cracked by the headstock?
Originally Posted by Katman
Learning
Noticed something unusual when stripping the exhaust system - the header for the horizontal cylinder has aluminium bonded to the stainless. I tried to take a picture, this was shot after I'd been around half the circumference with a file to take the aluminium off again.
Learning
Yeah, the classic. The really annoying bit is that this crack has started at the root of the gusset I'd got F1 Engineering to put in... to fix it the first time. Aargh
Learning
Came to the first problem: Ducati's taste for undersized fastener heads. For whatever reason their engineers just love bolts with a hex the next size down from standard.
The kickstand bracket is the worst: 10mm cap screws, loctited in, with a 6mm hex socket on a semi-dome head. Of course the 6mm hex simply gave up (on both bolts).
Solution: use the 6mm hex as a guide for a 6mm drill and drill a pilot hole, then take drill sizes up to 10mm and hollow the head out until the bolt heads pop off or can be tapped off with a hammer. Then use vice grips to get the bolt shank out of the engine cases.
Learning
Engine stands.
Had to think about this for a while... I want the engine on a waist-level stand, mounted so it can be rotated. I wasn't sure if I had to split the cases yet, but I know that both heads and barrels have to come off. I want access to side covers and accessories as well.
So, first the engine (which doesn't have a flat base) has to be supported while the frame is lifted off, then it has to be raised somehow (there are no lifting tabs), then it can be mounted in a standard car engine stand with some kind of adaptor bracket.
I took some measurements with a steel rule and calipers, working with the bike on a rear stand. Then it was DXF's to a mate - Kiwi perk time, amazing what you can do with connections and beers. Turned out that the side plates fit OK first time. The U-bracket got folded slightly tight, so I opened it up a little with a trolley jack.
The stand comes in two stages: the side plates, for supporting the engine at ground level or on a bench, and the U-channel, for holding the engine in the car engine stand. The side plates have rectangular holes so lifting slings can be run through. This might be a bit dodgy in practice, they'll be side loaded and the whole thing will be top heavy, but don't know 'till I try.
It'd be nice to finish these in something better than rust... I've made a start on primer, but does anyone have a recommendation for a powdercoater in the Lower Hutt area?
Forum whore
And loctite. They love loctite. Oh the positive side - you don't want your side stand falling off! (I watched that happen to a old Triumph years back) fell off in front of me. They bounce a fair bit .... I stopped picked it up and carried on catching the rider up. He stopped at the same destination I was heading to (Little River) looking very confused at the missing stand. Then laughed when I produced it.
Learning
Separating frame and motor, hoisting engine.
The frame lifts straight off the motor, after removing airbox, carburettors, coils, clutch slave and wiring. Undo two long 10mm bolts and that's it. These can be rusted in, CRC and a long drift may be needed. It helps a lot to get the frame lightly supported, I had to fiddle a bit with tipping the motor supports back and then propping up the front wheel.
The swingarm has a couple of snap rings (not circlips) on its pivot axle. I'd bought snap ring pliers for another job earlier so that wasn't a problem... the ghetto tool I guess would be a pair of flat blade screwdrivers used flat to flat. Wear safety glasses, sometimes these things come off at high speed. I used one of the frame bolts (carefully) as a drift to get the pivot axle out, after wedging a screwdriver into each swingarm clamp to open them up.
The motor hoist went better than it had any right to, the motor stand plates didn't need cross bracing or anything. A chain block and four 300kg tie-down straps were used. Using individual tiedowns meant I could get tension on each line set properly before the lift, to keep things straight. Base lift / topheavy load / tipping motor... not good.
Getting the motor into the stand's piece of channel: line up the lower bolt, put it through, release tension on the chainblock until the rear tie-downs relax. Remove these, wind up chainblock again to tip motor upward, line up upper bolt. Nuts on and done. I used the frame bolts off the bike, since they were long enough and would fit through the motor casings, but it might be smart to get some cheap M10's before too long. Don't want to bend the good ones, all too easy to do if I'm undoing tough fasteners on the engine.
Learning
Maybe that's a good thing - I'm finding a lot of non-loctited fasteners (my own running repairs) coming off with a lot less torque than they had going in...
Learning
Degrease / wash engine, before taking anything apart. Paintwork's looking pretty shabby unfortunately. I'll have to be careful about the bits of gravel still stuck to the engine, close to the barrels.
Forum whore
A mate of mine is sitting on two 900ss' at the mo. He is swapping motors and no doubt has a lot of spare parts, both bikes are in good nick apart from his motor issue, summit happened with the alternator which damaged the engine casing.
Let me know if you want to get in touch for some bits.
Manopausal.
Learning
That'd be awesome, thanks mate. A bindup on the alternator?
Forum whore
Not exactly sure. IIRC their was a bit of play somewhere, which led to a bearing issue, which led to 2 bikes in the shed.
He was telling me about a guy locally who specialises in Ducati's and has a shed full of stuff. Who would have thought, in Northland?
Any hoo, he talked about parting out one of the bikes so I just thought I'd mention it.
Manopausal.
Bored Room
Probably the bloke who built Mike Hailwoods 1978 TT winning bike.
http://sportsmotorcyclesducati.com/w...-Wynne-PDF.pdf
DeMyer's Laws - an argument that consists primarily of rambling quotes isn't worth bothering with.
Forum whore
Crikey. I've met him but had no idea of his background. Had I done so I would have offered to lick his feet clean, despite my only Italian possession being a bag of pasta. He's 20 minutes away.
Quite remarkable, some great knowledge and skill in my wee, back water region.
I have heard rumour of another expat round here who makes F1 exhausts, or used to, but keeps his hand in.
Cheers for that link.
Manopausal.
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