To say the weather has put a dampener on the enjoyment of the bike, is putting it mildly! Ridden it 6 times now..and a few things I've discovered: -Clutches can be burnt out after 12,000 miles. This came as a surprise after riding around on a Honda with it's original clutch at 90,000 miles: Doesn't look too bad in the photo, but some of the friction plates have worn almost flat. On the left of the photo above are some of the seals / in-tank hose & filter (dated 1999!) that were also replaced today. In goes the new clutch basket: Cannot believe how much quieter this makes the bike. -I'm feathering the clutch too much, which is causing some of the overheating. I am working on the correct technique. -I asked my mechanic to check the belts tension; they were fine: -There's a small oil weep from under the bike, bit I'm not terribly concerned: I'll address this in a few hundred miles with an oil/filter change. I'm very happy with Rosso Corse in Bethnal Green, when the bike comes out of there it feels transformed. The 14 tooth front sprocket means I'm not slipping the clutch continuously, and the new clutch has made things even smoother. Overall (though quite a bit poorer than this time last month), still very happy with the bike, though I am now desperate to escape the M25 and do some twisty roads.. Humbug
Welcome H to the wonderful world of the SS...... When you change the oil filter, check the old sealing ring comes off with the old filter - common cause of leaks at the filter is two rings! The suspension being fully adjustable means it is quite often wound up too hard by previous owners trying to make it 'sporty'....... not a brilliant idea on the SS ........ the standard factory settings give a surprisingly predictable ride and good feedback, and are a good basis for gaining confidence in the bike before making any changes to suit your own riding style (and height/weight etc). Enjoy - they're a very rewarding bike capable of keeping up with most newer stuff on road rides ..... only downside is top end speed if taking it on a track .... but that can be addressed :wink:
Thanks..I am enjoying it (see below) Funnily enough, my mechanic suggested the same thing this morrning. I'm going to get it put back to standard at some point. A few minutes after my first post above, my friend Ken, who lives in a picturesque part of the world (well compared to London) calls me up. I ask him what he's up to and replies not that much. Right, see you in an hour :wink: An hour later I'm drinking coffee in Windsor, and chatting about our old MAG days in the '90s. I then disappear down the Drift Road, enjoying the addictive roar of the bike on acceleration, and discover what the handling is about. Small 'B' roads will have to do, and the bike never worries me! Pausing at White Waltham for a few photos: I carry on through the back roads (some of which I've not ridden for ten years) through Farnham, Beaconsfield, Denham, and join the A40 for the journey back to the smoke. Excellent fun! Humbug
When you check your oil gauze screen see if it has an alloy sealer ring behind it, may be why its leaking if it is missing? Take two opposite springs, caps and bolts off your clutch - lever pull will be 33% lighter for free! Been running 4 springs on mine for the best part of a year with no slippage, even with hi-comps & a pillion? (Foursprung clutch technique? :biggrin Here's a good link for the suspension: suspen
Strange as it may seem..........the oil temp/strainer screen bolty uppy thingy has an ally washer as 470four says, but it is slightly different to the oil drain plug ally washer........who knows why?..... ....but a lot of people (including some specialist mechanics and me) get them muddled up......and when the two are swapped incorrectly, they can leak. AL
I concur with the size differential between the sump plug and the strainer plug. Also a tip as passed on by John Baines, put a smear of grease on the washer to hold it against the head of the strainer bolt as this will stop the washer from moving whilst doing up the bolt and getting trapped and damaged.
Great advice - but as I have no garage of my own I'll let Rosso Corse sort this in a month or two, with fresh oil and filter. The temperature gauge seems to have a bit of 'bounce' in it - reading accurately most of the time, but oscillating wildly from time to time. I've just come off a Guzzi, and while the 850 T5 was quite light for a Guz, it is still a fair bit heavier than the Ducati. To be honest, the Ducati clutch doesn't bother me at all, even in heavy traffic. The limiting factor is the seat/riding position, which seems to be comfortable for about an hour and a half at the moment. One thing the garage did do is change the tank seals - this meant I could fill with fuel right to the base of the filler neck, without fuel burping straight out again!
The best thing about the Le Mans Guzzi clutch is that I never had a bit of trouble from it in thousands and thousands of miles.......and maybe it was a bit heavy, but as my hands could grip very hard, I never really felt it much. At least you knew the Guzzi clutch had 'bit' when releasing the lever.......big cable operated as well. AL
3 months in..and the experience continues to be a mixture of pleasure and frustration! I've not ridden the bike that much, due to travelling for work, and the pretty poor summer so far. Today I took it on a long ride around Bucks / Oxfordshire, visiting Beaconsfield, Amersham, Wendover, Stoke Mandeville, Wycombe, and back to home. The whole time the speedo malfunctioned. I'd had gauge problems already (the temperature gauge has now settled down, after cleaning the contacts), but had a very irregular oscillating, underreading speedo, similar to: Speedo drive diagnosis tips? - Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum Enjoyed the ride very much, but slightly disconcerting when in top at 5,000 revs, and the speedo's reading an average of 60mph.. Humbug
Sounds likely, can they be bought separately from the cable outer? By the way, this site is amazing for figuring out what speed I really was doing, on non-standard front sprocket: http://www.gearingcommander.com/
Humbug......a few things jump out at me here.......when you had the tank seals out to replace the fuel filter you SHOULD have replaced it with a length of pipe....and put an inline filter and dry break fuel line connectors into the out and return lines in the tank.....makes changing the fuel filter much easier.......the suspension, though adjustable, is pretty basic, and a new set of fork springs will make it a much sweeter handling bike.....the rear shock is too short too, and allows it to squat under acceleration........
Yes, I had read this..but the shop seem to think I want things kept very original! It only needs replacing every 2-3 years doesn't it? Heck of a lot better suspension than a 1988 Honda Bros with 150,000km on it..I really don't have a problem with it - the bike far outhandles my ability. I'm fairly light (a shade over 10 stone) so maybe that is a factor in this. Thanks for your comments..I really like reading what people do to their bikes, and appreciate the input into mine.
Great bikes to own full of little quirks My rev counter never worked or would burst into life for a split second I believe you can get the inners I did for the rev counter eventually They love false neutrals They chatter away keeping you company on long rides The riding position is comfy till you alter it for any reason your neck will ache and so will your bum use that as an excuse for coffee They adore corners and stick to the road and mine kept me out of many scrapes Bear with it the smile it provokes will far out weigh the quirks Enjoy
They are great bikes Humbug, with the potential to be even better with the investment of time and money. I had a similar problem with my speedo when I first got the bike. I eventually traced the fault to the inner cable being just a tad on the short side which meant that it would only just mate with the speedo drive. I solved the problem by putting a dab of blue Hylomar on the end of the cable before carefully reassembling, starting at the speedo end. The Hylomar helped locate the end of the cable and stopped it slipping out with the action of the forks. HTH. WW
