Fully rebuilt a 916 last year from the frame up, inc head gaskets, tappets etc. And a 748 but didnt do the engine or frame on that. They come apart and go together pritty easy, if you take a look on the forums nothing is too difficult, Ducati John's web site is quite informative.
Bit slow catching this thread, sorry for your loss, I recognise/remember the bike from some of the Wednesday night bike meets & possibly at Tim's place too.
Tnx 2Good, Yeah I'm sure you would have seen it at Tim's, I'm slowly gathering bits together to get it back on the road, just the wiring loom / imobilisor that looks intimidating at the moment!
Heard back from Ducati customer service - they are brilliant! Thanks for the contact details.. Turns out it's a 916 Hypersport Bip. Question: What's the difference in a Hypersport to the Strada, or standard Bip etc..??? Is that why it's a single seat? and upgraded suspension? or is it to do with the engine? (or do they call them all Hypersports?)
Never heard of Hypersports being tied to this model as a name. If its a Biposto, then it should have come with a Biposto seat unit as stock, so it has obviously been changed to a monoposto unit at some point in its life. Looks to all intents and purposes as if it is a straight 916 Biposto model.
Yeah I'm hearing that, just a big bunch of all black wires! I'm not actually sure which bit is the immobiliser but I'll track it back... Ta
Thing is if you google 916 hyper sport, you get lots of images of a single seat with the white strip - like is on this bike! Just made me wonder if that was the difference? I'll mail Ducati again and ask them what the difference is, they were pretty good at getting back to me..
Please please ( on bended knee) do a video or picture diary / blog of the work you do and date stamp it so we can see where you are with it . ...
1994 916's were Strada's with plain red single seat units, this meant that they had a rather large ECU under the seat unit & a slightly different rear sub frame to the biposta (bip) that came out in 95. Lots of people use to stick a single seat unit onto the bip & unbolt the rear pegs but you could still see one of the lugs on the frame where the pegs bolted on.
This is what I got back on my 996 Bip '02 registered. "In reference to your e-mail, I inform you the bike VIN ZDM*200AA1B*######* matches in our files to an Hypersport 996, Biposto model, Model Year 01, EUR version, but we don't have any information concerning the warranty activation. It's a biposto they call the superbike family hypersport for some reason, which means it a common garden variety but they're all special.
If its a spyball one which was pretty common with Ducati`s back then, then its pretty straight forward job. I removed mine a few months back as the keyfob was on its way out. There was about 4 wires from memory where the unit connects in, plus some surplus wiring for units power/led etc. It did look a bit daunting at first, but take your time and you will be okay. I unsoldered where they joined into the original wiring, resoldered the original wires then shrink wrapped it all up. Was a bit nervous first time i pushed the start button in case it wouldnt, but all is fine. I didnt think the bip`s came with the ohlins rear shock, so im guessing that was added at some point - which is a nice touch. The shock itself should have a number on it, as well as the spring does. You can use these to check which original model it would have came off and if the spring is the correct rate for your weight etc.
Thanks for all your help so far guys with this. I started a blog, but need to catch up and have so many other things going on that it's going to be slow going. I will try and get it all up to speed with where I'm at and keep track of things / issues I bump into. If you're interested in seeing it, it's at: www.916duke.wordpress.com Don't be too harsh with my blog skills, it's another thing I'm having to learn on top of restoring this bike Thanks...
Blog is here: www.916duke.wordpress.com NB Still waiting to hear back from the guy cutting a new key from the ignition barrel - all gone quiet since he first said he could do it easily!!! Maybe it wasn't as easy as he thought.
Thanks for all your help so far guys.... So... I've got a new ignition barrel (and key). Patched up the wiring loom (cut out all the imobiliser bits). New ECU. EPROM chip from Slovakia. Changed the fuel filter. Got the battery charged. The bike has been stood for a couple of years! I looked at the cambelts and they looked OK, seemed reasonably tight and not frayed or dry or anything. What else would you do before having a go at starting? I'm thinking I might do an oil change and change the plugs while I'm at it. Is it worth dropping a bit of oil in the cylinders and turning it over by hand to lubricate the cylinders a bit in case they've rusted at all! Should I check pressure or anything before giving it a go? What do you think?
For piece of mind I would give it a full service straight off the bat. Its easy to do yourself. The belts alone will be due a change, if they havent been done for 2 years, even though they look okay. When I got my 996, the first thing I did was belts, fuel filter+ o ring seals, oil, oil filter, brake fluid, new brake pads, chain/sprockets, spark plugs, air filters and also fitted new tyres. That way at least I knew everything was done correctly. Only problem I then had was 400 miles later the clutch went, so I had to replace that also! On the other hand, it might be worth seeing if it actually starts first before investing the cash in the service bits?