Ducati 1000ds Custom Build #10

Probably my final post....


Well I said I wouldn't build another bike this winter, instead focusing on some house renovations which I started in September, planning to finish around March. But I got my skates on and had them finished by Christmas, gaining me MANY brownie points...


Last week I got chatting to a mate who had this Honda SLR 650 at the back of the shed, not ridden for a few years. Well I have always fancied doing a big single, and as this was Electric start, it fitted the bill perfectly! I have gone to the dark side!


I like to have a design brief in my head before I start, In this case, as always it will be minimalist… As light as I can make it… Parts I do put back on I will ask myself, “can I make it?” The front wheel will be changed to a 17” to match the rear, which will entail a wheel building session, something I have wanted to do for years… we will see on that one!


I ordered the tank soon as I got it... Brand new... off a CG125 Honda, great quality, came with a new cap and tap... £38 delivered, how do they do it for that little!


If anyone wants to follow this build it will be on my blog... www.jtccc.wordpress.com or I am happy to post on this thread if that's what people want?

 

first job has been to fabricate the rear subframe. I bought a pre bent hoop off Ebay and some Rod Ends.  Its quite difficult to get a nice bend like this without kinking or specialist equipment, but I was able to put a slight bend in there by heating with a Mapp gas torch. I did think about just welding it on, but I do like the industrial look of rod ends, and they make attachment point easy and adjustable. The bolts through the frame will be 8.8 high tensile and not stainless in this application. I will also be sleeving the frame where the bolts pass through and welding the bosses I have made on there.

 

Next job took some thinking about and making… the footrest plates are structural to the frame as they support the ends of the swinging arm. I also wanted to move the pegs forward slightly… here is the result… more chunky than I usually make but they need to be!

 

Thanks!


I bought a new Keihin 41mm FCR carb for the bike… while it actually fits on the original manifold I wanted it to stick out a little more, so I decided to make a longer and different manifold. I am still not sure which one to use, but now have the option.

That plate of aluminium is aircraft quality and mills really well... However, the milling chips are small and exceptionally sharp and I have received an official warning that I must shale my overalls off in the garage and remove my shoes before coming into the house :'(

 

now one of the more satisfying jobs… exhaust fabrication! the original headers were 28mm but its very hard to get any sorts of bends in that diameter so I went up to 32mm, which aesthetically I think looks better. 32mm bends are available in quite a few angles, its just deciding which ones you need, and that’s just an eyeball thing.

Its not that difficult to make a system, its more time consuming. Cuts are made using a 1mm cutting disk in the angle grinder, and if you wrap masking tape around the cut line you can get it very accurate. then it’s a matter of assembling it together, initially with Jubilee clips. I cut slots in these so I can tack it in situ. A tip about tacking is to double the amps on the welder to what you would use to weld… and then put the tiniest of tacks in place. A tiny tack also has the advantage that it does not pull a gap on the opposite side that you will get if you make big ones. Three tiny tacks are actually very strong, but if you make a mistake, can easily be broken by touching them with the cutting disk. 

Note the 2 way spirit level… this is a VERY useful (and cheap!) way of making sure build lines are correct. If you have the bike vertically (using a long spirit level on the wheel) and horizontal you can place the 2 way level on the bike and tape it there… that becomes your datum. To get it right on this bike I had to drop the stanchions through the yokes as I will be replacing the 19″ front wheel with a 17″ on soon.

 

That's a brilliant idea to make exhausts!


I have agonised over what to do about the number plate… In the end I decided to copy the current crop of bikes that hang it off a bracket off the swinging arm. I quite like how CCM do it so have sort of copied their design. I have used thin wall steel tube which is always difficult to bend, so to prevent kinking I fill the pipe with sand. First I block one end off, and weld a nut on the other. Then its filled with dry sand until its below the threads in the nut. I then hold the tube against the bench grinder and the vibration compacts the sand, so I fill it again. Finally a bolt is tightened onto the sand which compacts it furter.

Doing this means its far less likely to kink as its bent!

 

we look to have used the same tank!

I have used these GPS speedos on a few builds now, it makes things simple, neat and light. The hole for the ignition switch made a handy holder for the warning light LED’s!

 

The rear number plate mounting looked OK, but it needed a hugger… I wanted to keep things as light as I could so I decided to try some carbon fibre.. first and probably last time as its a nightmare to work with! I had to buy a meter, so I decided to also make the battery tray as well… That’s currently drying, its nice and light but not that pretty, but its unseen so I will live with it. I used an old mudguard to make the mould and the hugger came out rather well! with what’s left I will probably make a front mudguard, we will see how that turns out, on this one I will try the vacuum bag approach.

The new 17″ front rim and new stainless spokes have also arrived. Expensive, but you can't have rusty spokes, it spoils a build

there will be a short interlude in updates now as we are off for some sun for three weeks!

 

I have wanted to try Cerakote for a while due to the great reports of its durability and finish. So I purchased a pint to see how it went… its not cheap! I read the instructions on their knowledge base and it seemed simple enough so I thought I would start with the wheel hubs.

First job was stripping the thick powder coat off, and for this I used some commercial paint stripper. As you can see this makes short work of removing it! the stuff you buy from DIY stores is next to useless for this.

Next prep for the coating. I gave the hubs a good blasting with aluminium oxide grit to give it a key, then cleaned then in hot water with some detergent in. I never use washing up liquid for things like this (or rubbing down paintwork) as it contains silicone, which kind of defeats the object of trying for a clean surface! I then popped them in the warm oven for two reasons…. one is to make sure they are completely dry, and secondly if you mask them while warm, the tape sticks MUCH better. With regard to masking, I put the tape on, and then brush the edges with a riffler file and then you can peel it off perfectly.

Next i gave them a single thin coat of Cerakote. I used a paper strainer as they suggested. Its very thin, but highly pigmented and covers really well. It flash dries in 45 mins, and is handleable in a few hours, but it takes 5 days to fully cure. I was impressed with the ease of application and the finish!











with the hubs now painted it’s time to try something I haven’t done before, and that’s wheel building. I watched a few videos on Youtube and managed to loan a jig off my mate, which actually proved really useful! I got special dispensation to do it on the dining room table as I knew it would take a while and I wanted to be able to sit down!

I was actually surprised how easy it was! I managed to get the correct offset, and up and down and side to side within half a mm.. here they are complete with new bearings and seals.

 

headlight brackets took some thinking about, but I had plenty of time to do it lying in the sun! thank goodness for the Ipad and Ipencil!. I sent the drawing off to the water jet cutters and they cut them out of some nice 25mm plate, they came out well. I also designed them so i could mount the custom made indicators. it will all be polished later as I like to do all the polishing over a few days, horrible and filthy job!



the carbon battery tray came out OK, I initially made an alloy one, but it hung down too low and spoiled the lines, so I made the carbon one stepped so the battery can sit in a recess to the side. its going to be tight with the electrics!





Here it is in profile, not long before i can take it all apart for painting! At this stage its really important to try to mount everything... you don't want to get it all painted/ powder coated and then find you are missing a bracket for say a horn! I also wheeled it around and found that the forks hit the tank... the lock stops are not adjustable on this so I am gong to have to extend them before painting...

I played around for hours on photoshop trying to decide on high, low, beak type mudguard, but decided in the end to go low with a carbon one... with the advantage of a nice fork brace as well. Just ordered some orange fork gaiters, will see what that looks like!

 

one of the few items on the bike that needed real attention was the swinging arm bush and needle roller bearing. it was badly rusted and seized… I checked and the bush is no longer available. I made one out of good quality steel, and case hardened it several times to build up the depth of the hardened layer. I also did a test piece and was pleased that I could not touch it with a file! I have not done case hardening for a LONG time!



I finished welding up the frame and parts. Where I had modified the frame tubes I put an internal tube so it didn’t crush it when I tightened the bolts, then I welded the support bushes on. Then it was off to the powder coaters, along with a big box pf parts to be plated.



Its always stressful pulling an engine apart… you never know what you are going to find! I was really pleased as it came apart. there is no discernable wear on the bore, all bearings are nice and smooth, so its just gaskets, seals, and a new cam chain. I can see why these engines do mega miles, it’s VERY well built!

 

the engine build is well underway…its a nice and simple engine to build, I do like the way honda gets all the tolerances spot on! While I was on I polished the ports, and matched the inlet manifold to the head. I also did a bit more Cerakote, and I have to say its easy to apply, and gives a superb finish, I would say that its easily up to factory standard! I have used the air dry titanium colour on the side case for a bit of contrast and will also be using this on the oil lines.

 

Onto rebuilding the forks, boy the oil was black in there! they were all OK though so new seals and dust covers, and some new oil. I often hear of people replacing fork seals and still having them leak afterwards…. This is often because people install the seals by tapping them in with a punch! this invariably damages the seal lip, hence they leak. the best way to install them is with a nylon collar supported in the vice… that way you can tap them in nice and square and get then seated on the bottom of the land.

 

The engine is all back together now and I am pleased with the results. There will be a break in my posts for a while as I am off for a bit more sun!