Nope - not in the wrong section... I thought it would be good to have a list of SS "character" & "niggles" so future buyers have a clue to what to look for in a new buy. This will be by no means a complete list, every bike has its own problems - so please feel free to add anything I may have omitted? Frame cracks - caused by an underbraced frame & too many wheelies/heavy braking, will appear either side of the upper headstock gusset. Can be dremel'd out and rewelded - ideally some sort of brace plate needs to be added allowing removal of the airbox? Swingarm pivot clamp cracks - mostly caused by overtightening of the clamp bolts. New swingarm needed. Petrol tap snapping - be careful removing the fuel line, very brittle! New taps have been redesigned... Petrol tank rusting out - SS tanks rust no more than other tanks? The problem being due to their shape any condensation/water collects at the bottom point in a small space, this concentration will over time rust througth from the inside, your first clue will be petrol dripping through your tank??! POR-15 sealant treatment or similar will proof/repair most tanks, best do it before it REALLY needs doing... Crank galley plug... (OMG.) best read this, my recent rebuild: 900SS trials & tribulations... - Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum There is an alloy plug in the crank, which over time will wiggle its way free and get eaten by the crank main bearing. When completely chewed you will lose big-end oil pressure & blow your crank & conrods out. Only visible clue small alloy fingernail-size clippings on the oil gauze tube, only cure complete engine strip. New plugs are steel to stop any heat expansion differences. General rot & corrosion on the front pot: Doesnt get an easy life to be honest?? Blasted by crap & water off the front wheel, usual suspects are the exhaust studs & nuts, also other steelware. Front brake light switch: - is a joke. Looks like something that came out of a Christmas cracker & lasts just as long? Best replaced with a brake banjo pressure switch (M10 x1.00mm) Rear brake: isnt great. Cured mine by fitting a wavy disc & sintered pads? Just relieved the front Brembo's are great! Clutch slave cylinder seal:gets fried on the side of a very hot engine... various upgrade slave cylinders available tho? New seal is only a few quid, keep one under the seat... Belts & tensioner bearings:CHANGE your belts, on time every time! Really not that hard a job & catastrophic if neglected... Bearings can seize too, fried on the side of the barrels Starter cables/connections: wont be great after 17-odd years?? Too thin a gauge from new, a new set of thick gauge wires will transform the slow starting speed & power of your Doocat! Oil pressure switch:fails, either staying on or off? New upgrade switch available. Engine barrel studs:can snap, especially with hi-comp pistons... upgrade studs are avalaible from APE etc, the old ones are firmly in place & best removed by the brave. The early silver studs are especially fragile (7.6mm diameter, changed in late 1993 to black studs, 8.0mm diameter) Alternator nut:can work loose & chew its way through your cases?? Easy enough to check & threadlock etc. Engine sprocket retaining plate:can rattle its little tabs off, meaning your sprocket falls off! New plates are only a few quid tho. Drive chains:can snap under load and smash/crack your engine cases, stainless case-saver plates available on eBay to stop this. Oil coolers:on the early carby's are in a truly ridiculous place, right in the firing line from stones off the front wheel - fit a guard or mesh to stop it getting holed & lubing your back tyre.
Front fairing subframes:can crack around the base of the mirror support, weld in a bracebar to stop this & excessive mirror vibrations. Clip-on clamps:can crack due to overtightening, keep an eye on these - not good to have your bars break off! Random stuff/fasteners falling off: will happen... unless you safety wire or loctite EVERYTHING. That'll do for one night. May seem like a lot of grief but once sorted they are the BEST bikes in the world! Love my Doocat.
Howdo!!! Good thread!! Few things I have seen in addition to the above (Which I seem to have had all of them in SS/Superlight ownership. Electrickeery: Early Reg/Rect are prone to going, battery light can be indicated on the dash. Check if battery voltage increasing whilst motor running, keep those connections nice and clean. CDI/Ignition modules are prone to popping causing the bike to run on one cylinder. Spark plugs (Not sure why but on the SS it seems to eat them) also prone to failing causing the bike to fire on a single cylinder. Very poor headlight slightly improved with a better quality bulb. Over heating Rear Cylinder: Normally more prone when running Hi-comps and big-bore kits, due to lack of air flow to the rear cylinder. Ducati tried to over come this on the 2001+ models by fitting air deflectors within the fairing to direct air on to the cylinder. Some people run twin coolers. I relocated mine as per the monster, it looked far better but also seemed to benefit from better air flow. Also as per the old two strokes you could run slightly richer on the rear cylinder, which also cools it (So I've been told). Fly wheel retaining nut: Several cases of these coming loose, the generator is located with a woodruff key once the nut comes loose the generator bounces along causing the woodruff key to cause damage to the crankshaft. Most light weight fly-wheels come with 2 retaining nuts to over come this problem. Only my 2p worth by the way. Cheers Pablo
On the rear brake caliper, get the pad retaining pin cross drilled 1mm diameter just past the circlip groove, so you can get a small R clip in there.....It stops the pin from falling out if the circlip pings off.....which is entirely possible. Also while you are at it, do the same to the rear brake pushrod / rose joint connecting bolt....use a 25mm bolt instead of a 20mm bolt which isn't really enough to keep a nyloc nut on when it is right near the zorst header pipe. Plus you can drill the OEM sump plug and the filter screen 'nut' for lock wiring. AL
Thinking Electrex do a good replacement reg-rectifier, have one on my bike... Oil sight glass will go milky/emulsify in very cold conditions, caused by the oil not coming up to temperature? Tape up the front of your oil cooler for a quicker warm-up (cooler has no "thermostat" control as such so runs open-flow right from the start), also remove the oil filler cap to allow the engine internals to vent & stop any milkiness... this will disappear after a good long hot run anyways, but not always pleasant in the middle of Winter etc. Remember to replace the cap afterwards... I use an aerosol lid with a wrap of ductape under it to stick it on my filler cap to keep the filler cap in so I dont ride off and waterproof my right boot.
The Electrex replacement reg/rec is the RR51...If anyone needs a wiring diagram, let me know. Also, if the rear brake light switch isn't working too well, it may be that the plunger where it contacts the brake pedal stop bolt is worn slightly (plastic against corroded metal)...an easy fix is shown in the pic below. Also, over time, the OEM front mudguard can sag which causes the rear of it to drag / catch on the tire (obvious from the scuffs and wear on the inside when it is taken off).....I developed a cure for this which works fine if you are careful. If instructions and pics are needed, let me know. AL
Carb, fueling, Faults Worn emulsion tubes, worn slides, worn needles, blocked strainer filter on carb inlet, rubber hoses inside tank crack and breakup. Sprocket carrier hub shearing bolts and cush bush's Fuel pumps blocking and burning out reg rec units. you can fit a later 3 phase reg/rec to the older 2 phase SS's just use 2 of the phases. 900 valve guides are prone to wear and expensive to fix. (CJS racing fit carsboro guides as a mod) ignitor units fail and are expensive, a good upgrade is to use a Ignitech unit plug and play device. pickups fail but can run fine when engine cold but breakdown when engine warms running temp. will add more when i remembe!!!r i forget things after owning and racing SS's over the last 17 years.
Changing the fuel filter in the SS is a right PITA. Take the filter out and replace it with a piece of fuel proof 8mm I/D pipe.....then in the OUT line from the tank ( ie the one attached to the fuel tap ) put a clear in line fuel filter in....makes changing it a 5 minute job instead of at least an hr. And no fiddling with microscopic grub screws anymore either......I also put a dry break fuel line connector in each line too, makes taking the tank off simple and quick.
Yellow alternator wires have a bullet connector in each that over time will corrode, melt & generally make a mess of itself, shorting out & frying your reg/rect. Belt tensioner bolt threads are made from cheddar, best helicoil these to stop any major engine collateral. Belt cover bolt threads will strip/crack the covers if overtightened? Sidestands will break off/crack the engine case if abused? It is possible to make up a 1/4"/6mm thick triangular plate between the two mounting holes and the other unused forward threaded hole so you can mount the sidestand bracket in this, will avoid having to strip and weld your cases. It is becoming apparent I should have just listed the stuff that works ok and saved myself writing the new War And Peace, lol
Was really chuffed I have a 750ss, not so sure now Used to my Firestorm, ccts and rectifier is all that goes wrong Ah well looking forward to getting it on the road though Great thread, will be a great help, thanks
clutch pushrods on the 900 can wear a hole in the slave cylinder, always keep an eye on the clutch thrust bearing. front discs can warp but lots of other disc's fit from yamahas and prillas. Nog posted a cross referance chart on the closed forum.
Forgot that one, lol - caused by the clutch pressure plate bearing frying itself/seizing up & spinning the pushrod, drilling through your slave cly. Bless.
I have this all on my F1 rep Nog...wish I had known about it before I built my SL... I spent about four hours with hods of cursing trying to get the O ring, filler cap base and all them barsteward little grub screws in with it all popping out every few minutes before the job was complete... I am not brave enough to attempt all again it just yet
