looks like there is a mod on the side stand to stop the stand automatically going up when bike is taken off stand common problem people dropping bikes when stationary not realising stand had flipped up the plate that the spring attaches to goes around the bolt head the original plate does not if i remember correctly ahh found pic
Mine has definitely had that done. I was expecting it to have the spring loaded stand and wasn't looking forward to it!
Finally on the side stand switch thing - in your original photo it looks like the swtich might still be there screwed into the side stand assenbly, but the wire has clearly broken off. You'll need to replace it as repairing it won't usually work in my experience.
The frame cracking was a serious problem with the 900ss, I think a welding mod was available to strengthen the frame. If you're going to keep the bike it's a must-do. All the oil on the engine looks like a cylinder head gasket has failed. Apart from that the bike is mostly awful, but bikes were that way in the 90's.
I had two now with no cracking to the frame, I thinks it’s down to how they were treated in a previous life. Constantly popping wheelies certainly increases the probability. Now fork seals, that’s another story.
Thanks, when I get a chance I'll check that out. It will probably all be coming apart before I get round to addressing it though.
I see that BBB have a frame reinforcing bracket that clamps on. I was considering getting one of them along with their hi level pipes and brackets. I hope 'mostly awful' is a typo.
yes the clamp on bracket is good i believe some have welded a brace in before but you cannot remove or fit airbox hence clamp on brace think a few people on here have fitted them well mostly awful could be the way its been looked after probably a honda owner owning a ducati is definatly a lot more owner involved and more rewarding plus how many times have you stopped and looked and thought that vfr 8oo lokks awsome cue abuse from honda owners go on i can take it i own a suzuki and a bsa lol
My previous bike was a Honda VFR800fi so the abuse will come from me lol! That cost me £700 and had 105K miles on it. I did another 15K miles commuting from Kent to Herts once a week over a couple of years. I loved the engine and did like the looks but it never felt like a bike worth attempting to restore or modify.
oh the abuse he says in his best theatrical voice (possibly a bit camp aswell just imagine it as kenneth williams that will work ) where was i oh the abuse gosh normally have to pay for that quote : I loved the engine and did like the looks but it never felt like a bike worth attempting to restore or modify. and that my friends is the moral of the story totally reliable predictable dependable mechanically sound and no soul ......a ducati can stir your soul piss you off to the point of wanting to set fire to it but... when its good damn its good sorry about this have had 2 weeks off work really need to get out lol
Thanks for the pic. I really like the white frame. I think I will definitely be changing the frame colour but not sure about white or black.
have to admit i like the early white frame white wheels combo but white frame would also go with your black wheels you could go for the bronze wheels or a bronze frame white frame + wheels best combo in my mind there are some people who think standard colours are the best thats ok if you are going for originality but the choice is yours my 750 had blue wheels when i got it a lot of people said it was nice a change but not for me lol
this is what i like about this forum lots of good advice from people who know what they are doing and some from us that have made the mistakes and learnt the hard way and yes 90's bikes being rubbish well gsxr cbr zxr some of the top and best selling bikes about but maybe rastar prefers a nice 70's puch maxi
I definitely won't be going for blue wheels! I do prefer the white wheel white frame look and I prefer the font used on the decals of those models. I know people would says it's wrong to do. My original plan was lots of modification but I am already starting to doubt that as the bike is in much better condition than I expected and it feels wrong to overly modify it.
I like 90s bikes because to me it seems like the development investment fell way after that and manufacturers built either very expensive toys for the rich or very cheap bikes for commuters. Admittedly this bike is from an earlier period than I am thinking of. It feels like the bike industry really peaked in terms of constant development and competition in models a lot of people could afford in the late nineties and early 2000s.
Thank Sev. I hadn't considered how those high level pipes work vs the 'correct' Termignoni ones. I am not married to the idea of Termignonis at all. In fact I like the idea of an unbranded silencer of the right appearance for the time so maybe the custom built route might be best.
Its embarrassingly loud right now. Thankfully the MOT isn't due til September next year so I'll need to sort out the exhausts or find the 'friendly' MOT place near me by then.
