I have. TBH little difference that I can recall. As you know with these old bikes when you wind them open there is a lot of noise but not quite as much action... much like me thinking I'm running up the stairs!
Some pretty nice weather in our parts today. Took the Lady out for a spin. This bike is such a joy to ride and so rewarding…
Good morning Ya’ll, time for some D4 maintenance! I got this bike 2 and a half years ago, with only 4500km. Rode it the last 3 seasons and it now has just over 12.000km. Time for the big desmo service. Like I did for my 900SS, I decided to indulge this Diva with the MBP collets from EMSDuc, sold by LT Snyder. 16 of these little fellows and modified openers are needed for this conversion which will allow less valve lash fluctuation and therefore, more miles between each desmo service (20.000km intervals instead of 10.000km).
Like it’s been said and written many times, stripping a well maintained clean Tamburini is an extremely rewarding experience. A bit like playing Lego when I was a kid. It’s a very quick thing to do. Everything on these bikes has been designed for that purpose…
Then you are left with parts that you can only marvel about… Some typical from a 916 SP3, like the dual injectors set/up, or the « A » and « G » cams. Others, common to all Tamburini bikes, and still incredibly nice to look at and work on…
Obviously, belts will be replaced, along with the tensioners Fuji lock nuts, which are supposed to be single use…
And then, the deep dive inside the heads begins. With everything out of the way (rear shock, exhaust, and cams), access is actually quite decent.
And then, on to setting the clearances to where I want them, with the new MBP collets. Here’s what it looks like on the valve stem: As for the clearances, I decided to follow LTSnyder recommendation, i.e. aiming at 0.10 everywhere, intake, exhaust, openers and closers. I know there are other ways of doing things out there, but I opted for this method this time round. Here are the clearances I measured at 4500km when I first got the bike, then what I found at 12.000km and finally where I set them: Vertical: 4500km => 12.000km => 12.000km set - Intake Opener (L/R): 0.12/0.13 => 0.13/0.12 => 0.10/0.10 Closer (L/R): 0.06/0.06 => 0.05/0.06 => 0.08/0.10 - Exhaust Opener (L/R): 0.14/0.15 => 0.13/0.16 => 0.10/0.10 Closer (L/R): 0.08/0.05 => 0.02/0.01 => 0.08/0.10 Horizontal: - Intake Opener (L/R): 0.11/0.13 => 0.10/0.13 => 0.10/0.10 Closer (L/R): 0.06/0.05 => 0.05/0.05 => 0.08/0.08 - Exhaust Opener (L/R): 0.18/0.17 => 0.18/0.19 => 0.10/0.10 Closer (L/R): 0.06/0.08 => 0.02/0.06 => 0.10/0.10 It takes some time to set the valves exactly where you want them. Probably more time than most mechanics could afford to charge for…
I sent the forks out for maintenance so I will put the rest of the bike back together and will only be waiting for them to return home to wrap this « winter » gig up.
Wow you work quickly as your first post is at 7.42 am and all done by 8.28am. Lovely to see this, now a rarity. Thank you
Look at it will ya. Just look at. It's utterly gorgeous. Especially with that old Cagiva-era branding. I need to lie down.
The forks came back Monday. At this time of year, things go super quick, it’s really nice. Before putting them back on, I serviced the steering column. Well, this area is definitely a crusty one, even on a low miles dry riding only bike… Below the lower tree is even worse. If you’ve never looked in there on your 50k miles all weather daily ride, may be you should… My OCD is feeling much better with everything cleaned, checked and re-packed with new grease. The front is back on, looking good. At this stage, and before filling it up with fresh oil, I am thinking about draining the water coolant and opening the alternator cover to check the alternator nut. Never done that on a bike before, and I don’t have the alternator holding tool. I ordered the gasket and can remove the nut with my impact wrench. Just not sure how I can torque it back. Not really a fan of the oil filter strap wrench around the rotor method, to be honest…
Hey, you know what? When I feel lazy about my bikes maintenance, I open LT Snyder’s book and read a couple chapters. That always has the same effect of making me want to head down to the garage and wrench on one of them. PS: After much wind and rain (and a bit of snow), incredible weather over here today. So less wrenching and a bit of riding.
