So...some wins and some losses.. (Don't you just hate it when someone starts a sentence with "So" as per the Schpeakin Propa thread ) Decided to remove the anodising on the rear gold sprocket.. Oven Pride is the stuff for removing anodising...about 15 minutes.
Offered up the chain, and couldn't work out why it didn't seem to work for length. Looked up gearingcommander.com to find that Ducati had modified the final drive from the carburettor models... 15-37 to 15-40 for the ssie! Ack. So I need a 43 tooth rear...not the 39...
I also decided to clean up the rear shock and change the spring colour... maybe a controversial choice...but I prefer the way it "blends-in"
A big win was the rear brake cylinder, I'd managed to shear off one of the bolts in the mounting bracket...sourced a rough 748 complete unit and redid all the finishes. For some strange reason, I was super chuffed with this...it's such a perfect little mechanism, very satisfying.
Also redid some of the chromate on some of the bolts/nuts, where yellow didn't really fit...easy enough to change to silver, looks much better...a lot less bling
I had sudden doubts around now, in my keenness to start assembling, I was adding parts and nuts/bolts and not torquing up...just "attaching". So went through every bolt/nut on the bike to check and torque up. I'm sure the first slow ride will be full of trepidation Big loss at this point, the expensive (relatively) Stainless Steel calliper pinch bolts wouldn't hold the 32 Nm.. the heads would just deform around the Allen wrench. Ordered a set in Titanium from a different supplier, but seriously annoying when shops sell sub-standard stuff. Back onto the pillar drill for a second time...
I enjoyed working on the engine a lot more than all the bike ancillaries...but couldn't put it off any longer. Completely stripped down and re-finished...they came up ok... could maybe do with some refinish on the black plastic parts...
It's probably clear that I'm a bit of a perfectionist maniac....I wanted specific bar ends... but couldn't find the exact ones I was looking for. So found the right style in anodised blue...hmmm and then dumped them in the Oven Pride! Quick polish and perfect... Actually, the best finish I found for the alloys and ali on the bike was to polish on the mop, then lightly aquablast.. this gives a bright satin finish.
Beauty, or for those with an inkling of faith God, is in the detail. You don't say... Tis looking fabulous & I particularly like the rear shock.
Talking of checking...does anyone know what these bolts are for on the lower triple? - The manual and parts fiche doesn't show anything...
Been looking for a solution for the exhaust issue for a while... For the band that needs replacing, I can't find a laser cutter powerful enough (non-pro as too costly). I managed to find a metal supplier Rapidmetals Ltd that will send a cut piece of stainless 350mm x 14mm x 0.7mm for less than the price of a coffee as it is priced by the m2 - so only the slots to sort. I have a donated benchtop mill for light work, so I've purchased a 6mm Carbide End Mill and will attempt to cut the slots. In the mean time, I cleaned up and re-varnished the carbon and polished the pipework. For the decals, they are no longer made, so mocked up a perfect copy in Illustator. Pretty Good Stickers in Sweden made these up...trim off the white border...perfect! Ps: if anyone needs a couple of these...give me a shout.
I'm still waiting for the stainless for the band, but I was still able to do the rest of the exhausts. Rather pleased with that!
The throttle bodies sat untouched on the bench for ages... I think like carbs, they are symbolically the heart of the engine, so kind of left them till last! Very intricate...I managed to have 2 separate incidents with a spring and a circlip shooting across the garage Dug out a massive halogen lamp and systematically checked square by square...eventually found them phew!
