As regards the 45 years old FPS cast wheels, I suggest getting them stripped, professionally crack tested, and re-coated. Not crack testing would be a risk. That's what I did with mine.
Are cast aluminum wheels prone to cracking? Magnesium rims for sure can be touchy, but these FPS feel heavy and pretty sturdy. They produce a very nice ring when you knock on them, like a bell. They do not sound cracked in the slightest. Additionally, there’s only 21.000km on them (13.000 miles) which is not a lot. And I really want to save the original paint on these… Looking at fairings, tank and seat, things are looking fairly good too. The seat is really well preserved. The tail section is extraordinarily heavy and sturdy. In fact, most of everything on this bike feels heavy and rock solid, compared to a 916… The front fairing is made of raw fiber glass. Like… really raw. But it does look really good from the outside. And it still has its original windshield with the black/chrome rubber edge protection (which I understand is rare…). Finally, the specific SSD side covers, which will need some attention…
Regarding documentation, brochures and manuals, it’s a little tricky. The SSD had its dedicated Owner Manual. I was very lucky to source an original one in French. I mean how many would have been printed back in 1979? When it comes to spare parts, the SSD also has a specific supplement that completes the 1980 edition of the SD Darmah catalog. There again, I was lucky to find two NOS specimen. These did not come cheap… In terms of promotional brochures, I was not able to find anything for the French market, but found these below that are really nice to look at. Traveling back to the early 80s. And There was no workshop manual specifically dedicated to the SSD. A 1980 SD edition is what you need. I was able to find a 1978 so far, which should do for the time being, but still looking.
Absolutely beautiful and inspiring. Looks fab. You might find that the seat looks great, it does, but the foam will quickly turn to dust now when touched?
Possibly, yes. The foam does look strong, though, we’ll see when the riding comes, hopefully this spring.
I had the exact same bike in the 80's, in the UK. Did nearly 30000 miles over several years. Great bike. When I bought it it had a faulty first gear and just out of warranty. I got it for a song. So fixed it. It was a manufacturing fault. (Poor hardening) The drive dogs were rounded. Anyways one of the problems I had was in the rain. So I put ruberised (??) tape on all external cables. That sorted that. Another thing was the sprag clutch for the starter I think I replaced it twice. Very fragile and goes without warning. So I would recommend you change that. No kickstart lol. At the time they weren't expensive and an easy enough job. Used to get it shimmed at Sports Motorcycles in Manchester UK (Steve Wynne, Glyn Robinson and crew) Used to do all other servicing myself (Basic stuff) Another thing was the swing arm bushes went at about 20000 miles. By this time Steve Wynne had moved to Macclesfield so I rode down there to get some new bushes. Steve said to me they needed to be in lined reamed. Sighh. Fortunately he had one in the back all ready to go. Again great bike and I wish I had kept it but very happy days. I have an old pic at home I will upload it tomorrow I'm sure you will have a lot of fun but for peace of mind I would change that damm sprag clutch. Left me high and dry a couple of times Cheers Bill
Actually there was an owners manual for the SSD I had one. In English. Quite funny taught you how to ride it clutch throttle gears etc IIRC Cheers Bill
@bill green Yeah, as I mentioned, the SSD had its own silver/blue owner manual. That’s the one I got lucky enough to find in French. It also tells you about shimming your valves, etc. Quite another era. But you know what’s the funniest about it: the first words are « Cher Monsieur,… ». No mention of a « Chère Madame » at all. Clearly not a time when ladies where commonly seen as motorcycle riders. Regarding the sprag clutch, Steve from Bevel Heaven sells a sprag upgrade kit, so following your advice, I will add it to my shopping cart.
You might want to research & implement solutions to the common issue of the rear cush drive plate working loose from the rear wheel hub. It's an issue that once started only gets progressively worse and now would be the time to do something to prevent it happening. Quoted from a previous comment I made on another thread "The accepted solution was to add a couple of steel pegs through the cush drive into the hub. For the recent refurb I also re-threaded the bolt holes and added a touch of red thread lock plus some serrated washers. It was these bolts coming loose that allowed the cush to move & get progressively worse." Btw - that other thread has some pics & info that you may find useful, see https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/finally-have-a-darmah.101119/
Relatively easy to replace the sprag if you can get the fly wheel off - because of it's closeness to the casing there is limited access for a puller's legs. I had to get a split machined tool that fits around the flywheel that allows the puller to be fitted to. And remember the engine runs backwards. Much of the reasons behind the sprag failure can be down to a weak battery and the, previously mentioned, poor ignition system. Hence the recommended upgrade to make starting a one button press affair.
My cush hub pulled out of the wheel on my SS early in its life, the warranty replacement had a different type of securing bolt and 2 locating spring dowel pins. Not that you could drive against them though. It's been secure since then so it must work.
@Andy Bee Thanks a lot for two very good points. 1/ Sprag clutch: the upgrade kit sold by Bevel Heaven is quite pricey, at over $500… And as you mentioned it might not be easy to implement, I feel a bit concerned. Now what you mention about a “poor” ignition leading to sprag clutch degradation makes sense to me. Like curing the illness vs curing the symptom. The same was said about 748/916/996 sprag clutches that kept failing and being replaced when all they actually need is bigger starter cables and a good battery… Here, I plan on putting bigger (16mm2) starter cables, brand new 400CCA battery and replace the pickup cables. So I will not get into changing the sprag just yet. By the way, is it a simple job to disconnect the starter cable from the starter unit? Looks like I would need to open the rear of the starter. Is that right? 2/ Cush hub: Is this the part you are referring to? If so, interestingly enough, I found the flat head screws untightened, and some of them already starting to back out… I’ll look into this now. Thanks for the heads up.
Those cush drive drum screws are hopelessly unsuitable. Replace them with Allen head countersunk screws, preferably high tensile. Do them up extra tight. Use Loctite. And that still might not be good enough.
I agree with you a out the wheels ringing clear like bells. If you're in any doubt about their reputation for longevity or not, I'm sure someone like Steve Turner at TPCS or perhaps a French equivalent would know. Loving the unraveling of this beautiful bike so far
The problem with your cush drive might be now the screws have backed off, then the threads in the hub could be damaged. I seem to remember the threads aren't that deep. Might be an idea to remove the cush drive and see if steel inserts can be fitted for hight tensile countersunk screws as mentioned above. At least you have caught it before serious damage has been caused.
Yeah, Bevel Heaven always strikes as expensive and for me after the initial excitement of finding such a supplier I ended up not buying a thing from them. I believe the starter motor is an old car one and it can be dismantled - although I forget exactly how the cable is connected. It would be best to remove the starter from the engine by removing the LHS cover and disconnecting the starter sprocket chain but only before stuffing some rag in the space under them to stop the split pin & woodruff key etc from dropping into the engine. Also make note of the direction of the chain split link direction. Undo the two 8mm long bolts clamping the complete motor to the casing and the complete motor can be removed along with the metal strap to gain access to the internals. Btw these starters are pretty much unobtainium... Having said all that I'm not so sure replacing the cable would be that beneficial.... remember this is a 1970's copper cable not some 21st century flimsy effort. I've only ever experienced starter wheeziness through a weak battery so buying a big fat modern one maybe all you need to do - the battery I fitted only has a CCA of 185 with a 5 sec PHCA of 545. A properly working starter button is also a must. Poor ignition is with reference to both decaying pick up cables (not enabling a spark) and also to the crude (static) ignition retard/advance the Bosch system provides which combined can make engine kick back possible. Further, the advance 'curve' is just a series of 3 or so steps which I have heard say can impart stress to the crank.... I'm not entirely sure you can replace just the ignition pickup cables can you? I thought they are moulded into the pickups - and once the pickups are moved you need to strobe them back into alignment. This thread shows how somebody did replace these wires https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/1981-ducati-pantah-ignition-and-stator-wires.81155/ and notice my comment on the end.
This morning, I worked on the rear rim. Cleaning, polishing, etc. And I checked the Cush drive threads. Without too much surprise, and after a bit of cleaning (threads/tap), it turns out 3 out of five are shot… And yes, there’s not much thickness to screw into in the first place, and aluminum is quite soft, really. As a result, all screws go in but 3 of them wobble around... So this definitely needs to be addressed. I am really grateful for all your advice @Andy Bee @ducv2 and @Pete1950 but I have to confess I am missing some technical vocabulary here. Could you show me pics of what you mean by: - Allen head countersunk screws and - steel pegs - locating spring dowel pins May be a picture to help me understand ? Thanks in advance for schooling me!
@Pete1950 & @ducv2 are bang on correct and their recommendations are pretty much exactly what I did. I drilled out & helicoiled the threads and fitted brand new countersunk Allen headed bolts with the addition of thread lock and countersunk lock washers. I used solid pegs rather than the previously mentioned spring dowels although the latter do sound a better idea. Oh, and one last thing make sure the mating faces are flat and clean and level.
