Just bought 2004 749s after a variety of Ducati's, a V4s Multi as my keeper and this one as a somewhat romantic return, it was either going to be this or an old Bonnie, the 749 requires a little less constant oil leak chasing. I had a red oine several years ago and always regretted getting rid of it for an 848, the S really feels so much more visceral and last of the real 'man's' bikes, so that is what i was after. Nice pics and decent spec on e bay (7500 miles) and £4800 later she turned up today and regretably not up to what i was hoping. looks like someone left this outside for 20 years as everything is corroded, all bolts, subframe, engine paint peeling off, fork spring rusty, but worst of all leaky fork seals and pitted lowers, completely dissolved uppers, right bloody state. I ran her out for 30 miles or so, still handling OK with a sagging front end and oil pissing out of the fork leg, clutch VERY heavy, not sure if I remember it that bad, brakes Ok, idling and tickover OK ish. So it is a bit of a head scratcher now, cant go out again until the forks are oil tight, but really should get a new set of fork legs, and then of course it all starts...spending money trying to redeem this old bird. any good advice to offer? maybe someone recognises the bike and can tell me what the hell happened to it to cause all this corrosion? was it tracked at some point?
Lesson learned by me a few years ago: never ever be ever buy sight unseen u less willing to throw your cash in the river.
Unless of course it’s worth significantly more in parts than the price paid. Which is a nice insurance policy on such occasions.
Was it a private or a dealer ebay sale? If it was a dealer you should have some protection under distance selling regulations if you want to return it.
Hey Dude, private, put through an MOT with an obvioulsy bust fork seal. The guy is called Shane, a 'collector' from Harrow. 100% on e bay It's just the fact that the relevant photos were not on the ad, it would've been better to be a bit honest and i would still have picked her up for a bit less. Anyways, it commits me to make room in the garage and get the spanners out again.
For the cost run one of these around the fork seal (in fact do both) https://sealmate.net/ Other cheaper versions are available on eBay.
OK, in we go!, cleaned up the pipes nicely, checking what i can as i go. Now, can i get the front forks out without taking off the front fairing/airbox tubes/coolant bottle etc? or do i have to keep tearing it down ? going to either remove and repair/clean the fork legs or replace.
oh, nice. she is up on the engine block and stable so just wheel out, pinch bolts,bars off and slide the fork tubes out? I should be able to manage that just didnt want to get too deep in the first breakdown. anything to be aware of?
thanks man, my job requires a lot of cleaning and polishing so had some nice scotchbrite wheels to hand.
erm,nope, no way to get a 6mm allen key up into that space with any movement, so all that shite needs to come off as I feared, airbox legs dont come off without the front fairing coming off, what a to do!
Yes. I’d mark where clip ons are now (if they don’t have a pin) as well as how high the forks are thru the top clamp. Pencil or chalk works well for me. Wheel out, incoming bolts, slide out downwards (iirc)
Can you move the bars from lock to lock to access? I’ve had forks off 996, 848, 1299 and various other Ducatis and never needed to remove anything else
It can be done without removing the nose fairing but one needs suitable tools to allow access to the lower yoke clamp bolts. Personally, I tried once and then just removed the nose fairing as life is so much easier with clear access and it’s not much bother to remove it anyway.
yes indeed, done it and got the clamps loose so we are in business, bran d new set of showas arriving in the next few days, of course that is going to show up all the other tatty bits, but for now I would like to get som e riding in this year and more fiddling about as we go.
