1989 900 Supersport In France.

Discussion in 'Supersport (1974-2007)' started by Guillaume69, Mar 31, 2023.

  1. Beautiful ! :heart_eyes:

    Do you still have it? What rear stand is that?
     
  2. No I only had it between 1989-1993. That stand is homemade by me.
     
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  3. I have a 1990 I bought new, need new motor though will be a retirement project, ideally a 1100 evo motor...
     
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  4. Been away for work for a while. I am back home now and was able to continue with the project. Let’s catch up, shall we ? :)

    First, I was able to get the fuel tanks done. All filters and pre-filters replaced by new ones and finally only one fuel pump needed to be replaced. Fuel delivery shouldn’t be an issue on these two.
    8EB1E02E-FB0F-4503-A5F3-983EBBC53E13.jpeg
     
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  5. With the front end out of the way, I decided to check on the Chosen One’s (#0054) steering bearings. 6F0C6AC9-1E91-4E55-A079-AD568FF8985A.jpeg The locking screw of top nut used to adjust the bearings play was over torque at some point and the nut was destroyed. 21C98F31-501A-47AB-8D3C-462E66490B2D.jpeg D90AC3F7-1B63-4B8A-9959-8C04796755FF.jpeg I was lucky enough to very quickly source an OEM NOS replacement. 51EE83C7-2279-4898-8578-77DBB49E44D3.jpeg
    With all those marks I decided to replace everything: bearings, tracks, dust seals. 53597A1A-E51E-4B3A-8159-F7CF26795E3C.jpeg E93D0232-F2C1-448F-9725-ABD0DD24BD32.jpeg 38856FC1-832B-4E58-8030-FEEAAC5CA5E4.jpeg F121BC7B-E0E4-4ED1-BA97-0DDF01AC50A9.jpeg The lower bearing was a bear (no pun intended) to remove. I had to grind it bit by bit… D072BC64-E85B-470B-B6AB-00FCC8B59FCF.jpeg Putting the new one in was much easier after having the lower triple spend a night in the freezer and the new bearing 10 minutes in the oven. 93E52411-E79C-4BDA-9106-54C12C3627E1.jpeg
    Looking and feeling all nice and new now. B42519A3-9949-4806-BA8B-ADDD9F7DF3AA.jpeg
     
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  6. Next I decided to look into the belts. As you must have already understood, I now mostly work on #0054. I will get back on to #1282, with new belts, when I will be ready to sell it.

    So here’s what I found under the belt covers of #0054. A3D6CAAD-6F23-421C-A2D1-30BA587F9C17.jpeg D0CE21D9-2281-4576-93EF-36C4A10663DF.jpeg Belts themselves looked okay, but overall not very impressed, very dusty and some surface rust. Again, I decided to replace all the pulleys by some brand new ones and associated hardware. And a lot of elbow grease, of course (mostly WD40). That went well until the horizontal cylinder fixed pulley decided to act up on me. That son of a b*%$ snapped when I tried to unscrew it… E68B860F-71E6-4597-80F2-8F7FA50A4967.jpeg D50BA9D3-296A-4390-84E8-1E1CB0CA3BBD.jpeg
    Well, sorting this one out took extra careful drilling (starting with a 2mm drill bit and then moving up in sizes) and the use of a helicoil. But it worked perfectly. 0344F1E2-9086-4AF8-B37C-6108FC635A6F.jpeg BCE53A60-883B-4A28-BFB7-067638831E95.jpeg 66230735-3D23-4F81-9908-FC7A075610AE.jpeg 7922232B-81C2-421C-803D-BFA3F5687A89.jpeg 78E230CE-CD09-4D7B-B3C4-363D48025578.jpeg I’d be lying if I said this was not a stressful experience as it was my first using this type of tool. But in the end, it came up really well. Beginner’s luck? 98A1C211-55F9-495F-98CF-388F771F9F68.jpeg
     
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  7. I am also getting ready to check/adjust the valve lash on this baby. Valve covers are with their weird OEM mustard yellow paint. I think it looks good on a black engine, though. 29DB85F6-62CF-4B4E-820A-87736EF9415E.jpeg B9E0C39B-6D90-48C4-B826-75488ADA1B25.jpeg 7D955A1E-B811-4E6D-B3C6-9265063F2168.jpeg 5BEBC943-4232-4B90-B140-549B4563FCD0.jpeg
    With only 12.000km, the valves have probably just been able to sit and now is a great time to do this. I ordered everything I will need from LT Snyder (who does ship again to Europe with UPS) and decided to give a try to the MBP retainers. B3ADECF1-EF8E-4CEA-ADA4-CFCC25C4B799.jpeg C0746F87-B420-4F50-BF6D-1629D6E6E728.jpeg 50180F96-5BD1-416A-843A-1F5DCC985605.jpeg I perfectly understand these may be overkill on this bike which I intend to use as a weekend cruiser, but I wanted to try them out of curiosity and because it should help space valve adjustment pretty significantly. These Supersport are a serious pain in the butt, as you have to remove the rear shock to access the vertical exhaust valve cover…
     
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  8. Something I have not mentioned yet. Keys woes …

    These bikes come stock with two keys:
    - 1 for the ignition
    - 1 for the saddle + helmet hanger locks.

    #0054 came with only one key (ignition).
    #1282 came with two keys but the saddle key decided to snap on me the first time I tried to use it… 63F96F64-16E9-447E-B47E-BF7D67ECE2CF.jpeg 7B254A81-23AD-4F36-A3E4-12C5277797AA.jpeg I found a good locksmith near us who was able to successfully duplicate that broken key, allowing me to finally open and remove #1282’s saddle and to study and find a way to open these saddles without a key. When I was finally able to open #0054 saddle without a key, there was a nice surprise waiting there for me: a perfectly well preserved tool kit! No tools missing, and even a couple extras!! :D
    B70BBAC7-257D-454E-A8C5-6D3BEB0E38EE.jpeg D3E6925F-527B-44A2-95AF-A57C46811131.jpeg
    Once again, I was able to source an OEM NOS lock/latch mechanism with two brand new keys and everything is now back to nice looking and functional. FA5E3331-FD80-493F-9815-A2DF53FE3F29.jpeg E27FE356-15E7-40DC-AEB2-AAE150ACB9E9.jpeg 3CFC0D7F-572F-443B-9ACC-FC95BA170423.jpeg B96C3B1D-01D5-4100-A06D-82895B2DC6FA.jpeg

    I decided to celebrate this little victory with a nice key ring. Impossible to find anything « Ducati/Cagiva » era, so I went with Cagiva only. Still works for me! 9E6761BD-B4B3-4324-B22F-B2B6EBBEAB60.jpeg
     
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  9. Removing that saddle was a great step as it finally opened the way to the rear of the bike. Saddle undercarriage needed a bit of TLC. Very dusty under there as well, but in it’s original configuration. E1924D37-1B9D-41F5-BE89-71B75435349B.jpeg 9075C1F5-5E85-447C-B975-BFA495465D97.jpeg CA8C52D8-54A8-47BB-99CF-9B9BEC3FF0EC.jpeg
     
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  10. I was then able to get to the rear wheel, shock and swing arm.

    The swing arm is a beautiful piece of aluminum designed by Verlicchi. With it out, I was able to check for cracks in the usual places (L & R pivots + shock upper mount). Nothing to report. Once cleaned, that thing looks brand new. C5CCD06A-E98F-4072-9AB0-0B4AD1CEDB1B.jpeg 87270576-214F-4430-97EE-269266795393.jpeg 9E27889F-CCCD-4C8C-8DFC-5A29C711F2E4.jpeg F0B98F57-A7F7-43EE-9CD3-E13DDE357EEE.jpeg A05681E7-937C-47AD-92DD-79B8ACD015FA.jpeg
    DF4ED55B-834A-42FA-9630-ECE5DC5FE973.jpeg ED0E85DF-7EC7-4CF2-B22D-B67C384141AE.jpeg BB1A2B1E-AF79-4683-A75D-4B902A94537E.jpeg
     
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  11. The rear shock is a Marzocchi PBS1R. It’s been sent to get professionally reconditioned.
    84A5FE3E-195D-48FC-8B6E-973748A99A7D.jpeg

    In the meantime, I took care of the wheels. Both adorned with 20+ years old tires, that still looked like new
    (Pirelli Dragon in the rear and Michelin Macadam in the front). Unfortunately, these had to go. I love the sculpture of the Pirelli Dragon GTS. Beautiful, imho. 4BA17A3B-4D65-42D1-A32C-A28798782706.jpeg 062B83C2-2438-49DE-BFCF-792DBDFEF220.jpeg C565354F-DC83-43EC-965A-CB3747AE5749.jpeg

    These have now been replaced by a brand new pair of Pirelli Angel GTs. I also cleaned the discs and replaced all 6 rear wheel rubber cush drives. A0902694-AB4C-43F8-9446-ABAB5DC71BA8.jpeg 6BBBD633-2816-4603-9459-ACCA35C13877.jpeg 367AF100-2EDF-4811-B01E-68310B9D8A6A.jpeg
    The chain was super stiff and I decided to replace it along with the sprockets. I will stick with OEM 15/39 and 520.
     
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  12. On the electric side of things, I wanted to test Motoelectric starter cables upgrade kit. They seem to have experience with the late 80’s Ducatis (750 Sport, F1, Pasos, 900SS) and their kit is really awesome. But costly, especially once you factor in shipping and customs from the US… Check the difference between OEM and upgraded wires in the second pic. I am really happy with this mod. 8F30BE9E-2718-4E7D-974E-1110EFB81A47.jpeg D69EE229-B777-4E35-A8A6-E751514BF68C.jpeg
    With a brand new lithium LiPoFe4 battery (SHIDO LB16AL-A2)
    and Mosfet r/r from Carmo, I shouldn’t have starting or charging problems and touring this bike around France should be delightful.

    At this stage, not much is left on the frame, which allows deep cleaning of both frame and engine. No intent to remove/repaint the engine this time round. I like the way it looks as is. For now anyways. 356587B8-2132-41B4-8F45-95A0ADCED6FD.jpeg 20BA0F46-586C-47ED-824F-4BCEBE37D78D.jpeg 4A278826-5DAB-4F12-91C1-AA285ADA711D.jpeg CFBDD811-98CB-4240-B110-5821880436DC.jpeg

    More to follow with clutches, valve train, etc. Stay tuned!
     
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  13. Great stuff Guillaume, you seem to advance so quickly! :upyeah:
     
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  14. Well I started late march and didn’t post regularly, more like by bursts, so that’s probably a false impression. ;)
     
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  15. I do like the braided finish on the starter cables.
    Been trying to look the company up but i keep getting a warning about their site not safe don't open? have you had any problems.
     
  16. #36 Guillaume69, May 14, 2023
    Last edited: May 14, 2023
  17. Thanks for the link.
    Im still getting -This connection is not private and there website certificate expired nine days ago- warning don't open,
    Will try another time :)

    Edit, found them on ebay.
     
    #37 Roadtrip, May 14, 2023
    Last edited: May 14, 2023
  18. I used this URL link, which appears to be the same as that above:
    https://motolectric.com/products/hicap.detail.html ;
    and 4 browsers gave a range of messages querying the security of the site certificate, possibly having expired 10 days ago!
    Apparently the website owner needs to address this, to prevent the warnings and allow secure access.
    Hope it's sorted soon.
    Tom.
     
  19. upload_2023-5-14_15-31-9.png
    Yeah, I'd just proceed and not worry about it.
     
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  20. Worked on the valve lash adjustment yesterday. I put the MBP collets on, which are truly a blast to work with. Aiming at 0.10/<0.05, I managed 0.11/0.04 on both cylinders admission. To get the same on exhaust, I unfortunately have to order two intermediate opening shims. Hopefully, I should get them by the end of next week. 0BCBA05A-342F-44C2-89CA-EC5CBBD93660.jpeg C7AB17B6-57C6-4830-8C31-52A4C3EE3F71.jpeg 06A2DBE4-285B-45A8-94D9-0153D5DCF8FE.jpeg
     
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