I obviously checked the air filters. I am pretty sure I was the first one to do it. Like ever… Well since I had some nice foam left over in a corner, I treated myself to a little bit of additional red. Faster air flow, right?
The front discs needed refurb as well. Whereas the tracks are virtually new, the bobins, circlips and shims were all rusted. Time for some no kidding TLC, as the Americans would say.
As I was taking care of braking, I literally got “sucked into it”. Not complaining, quite the opposite, in fact. Again just refurb. Zero new parts needed. Just time, some technique and boatloads of elbow grease… Even the pads were 80%. Just scrubbed them gently them with an old toothbrush.
Complete rear end refurb. Always a pleasure on these bikes. It is so easy to get to the heart of this swingarm. I did brace up after deciding to tackle the infamous swing arm pivot… Took me about 5 minutes to get it out! No kidding. The thing looks new! On the Biposto, it had gone pretty fine by Ducatista standards, with only three hours…
Did I mention the tires were dated 0800 and 1100? Yeah, that’s right, year 2000… They still had plenty in them. But plenty hard! Slapped a pair of brand new Diablo Rosso III (I love these since I had them on my brand new 939 Supersport, back in 2018).
Did the forks too (fluids and seals). That was a first for me. A bit scary at first but it went ok, with the help of the workshop manual. While I was at it, I sent the Ohlins rear shock for a professional complete refurb and tune up (adapted to my weight, road use and style/skill). Again, some nice things here and there…
The clutch. My, my, my… Changing gears was really a bear, finding neutral almost impossible. “All Ducatis do that, it’s absolutely normal!” Normal my butt… First, there was some kind of DIY silence clutch pack setup. With one additional disc making the whole pack 3-4 millimeters too thick. Why silence the god damn thing anyways? I love them loud and clanky! I was able to compare the fitted clutch pack with the OEM one (which came with the bike and some extra parts). The OEM friction discs look like they have a copper or brass friction compound. Apparently, it’s un rideable on the street (0-1). Then, the usual dust boot fitted the wrong way type of thing. After patiently destroying the seal, crap creeps behind the slave piston, and you have a DOT leak on your engine crankcase before you know it. All hidden behind the sprocket cover, with more grease/grime getting into the slave with a vengeance… I only cleaned (a lot) and rebuilt the slave with new piston, seal, spring. I want to keep it stock as, for some reason, I love/trust the design and want to keep it stock. I upgraded the clutch hose with steel braided, replaced the clutch rod o-rings, took a disc off, put stainless pressure springs with a beautiful (red) DP pressure plate and I now have a clutch that feels smooth as butter. Overall, I found the clutch internals pristine. Needed a good dusting with air compressor, but again, just cleaning and refurbishing original parts. Which is pure bliss… In time, I will have to take care of the crank case paint. That bridge I will cross when I go in and check the alternator nut. Next winter.
Went on to completely retune the injection. Bike was a bitch at cold start, not holding it’s idle for a solid 5 minutes (fast idle inop), and very quirky on the road until it warmed up. When I drained the oil, it was full of gas… And fluid and stinky like the waters after the Amoco Cadiz sank… Previous owner thought the vertical cylinder was “not starting until engine was warm”. There must have been countless attempts to start this thing cold, drowning it in its own gas… Long story short, I changed the plugs (for NGK iridium DCR9EIX), put some Magnecor KV85 wires, a lithium battery with mosfet r/r from Carmo Electronics (got rid of the crappy connectors), reset the TPS (always love tinkering with my Mathesis), synched the cylinders, adjusted bleed valves, set an AFR of 12,5 (5,3% CO) on the horizontal and 12,3 (5,8% CO) on the vertical (a tad richer) instead of the crappy Euro 3 factory 2,5% set up), using my innovate AFR probe set up. First time playing with the P8 (I have previous 1.6M experience). Then fed the engine with holy Motul 300V 15w50, drained and replaced the water coolant and … The bike starts/runs fantastic, both cold and warm. Oil stays with oil, gas with gas, and water with water. Woohoo!
I read somewhere in a book (Falloon, most likely), that on the Sennas, the numbered plate was made out of silver. I remember not really believing it. Or at least not taking it very seriously… Well my friends, it is true! Silver it is. With the little markings like on jewelry. No kidding. When I found that out (using a magnifying glass), I decided to treat it like my grandma used to do with silverware, you know. It came out totally pristine… You got to love these things…
The bike was appraised for insurance purpose last Friday. Waiting for the result before I can properly insure it and hit the road. Thanks for reading me. Trying to use my best English but struggling a bit with “French” iPhone setups…
In the meantime, looking out for a couple nice parts. Just received this. Brand new (not NOS, newly manufactured).
Superb write up @Guillaume69 ! Regarding OEM clutch plates - SP/SPS friction plates are thinner than standard and have the metal sintered compound friction pads. Due to thinner plates, the factory manual requires different quantity and stack to a non SP/SPS. I used this stack on my old 916SPS Frankenstein bitsa and it always worked a treat. One more thing…as a stylish French type, you need to know that when taking a photo of a bike on a paddock stand, the side stand should NEVER be extended too!
Yeah, I’ve heard about the side/paddock stand antagonism before. Just didn’t know it was serious! Won’t do it again.
Even though I'm not actually that interested in the 916, or other similar variants, I have to say Guillaume, this was a genuinely interesting and informative write up about your experiences to date, with this beautiful machine. Thanks for doing it and for sharing and enjoy riding the bike as much as you clearly have with getting it back together again, with your approach to Ducati TLC......
Thanks Tony! One of my best mates from my young years in the Air Force was also called Tony. You made me think of him today. Best and saddest memories as he killed himself in the crash of his jet back in 2002 in Africa. Too young to die…
God bless you sir, although I parted company with my last Ducati this year this is why I still live this forum. Absolute pleasure and a treat to experience your experience!
That’s the second time, on a 916. The Biposto was my first “hands on” experience. With the workshop manual and LT Snyder’s book full of precious advice for noobs, all good.
