So... there has been movement over the last couple of months , in-between summer travelling and quitting my full time job, oh and picking up a 996 I had stored in the UK..(what a bike! ) The friendly TIG man welded up the case, and rather than re-tap I felt that inserts were the way to go...definitely the right choice, first time I've used these things and they are simple and fool proof. @Pict for your swing arm question about drilling for paddock stand bobbins...I would do it this way.
Aqua blasted and painted the engine covers and the other half of the case, again all cured in the oven. Looking good, seeing the transformation of pieces is a real energy generator. So I started to push a bit harder (I want to say faster, but we are already 3 years in! haha)
and then moving into assembly! Tech is really something, the ability to take photos and video on the phone and then refer to it later is definitely the way to undertake a motorbike build, then when you get stuck there are all the Youtube videos and blogs where people are sharing knowledge...super cool. I built my first VW beetle at the age of 16... and now I just don't know how I did it..no workshop manual, no references, no internet, just take it apart and then rebuild from memory! Nuts!
Oooo...exciting! So it was about now I placed an order with Stein Dinse ...loads of gaskets, seals, bolts...while I always intended to re-galvanise the old bolts, I thought seeing a complete engine in all it's glory would inspire the rest of the bike...kind of leave it like a totem in the corner of the garage! Excel spreadsheets with parts lists..very handy!
So the idea of completing the engine first, and then turning the attention to the rest of the bike wasn't really working out... I managed to order the wrong valve shims from Lacey Ducati, arghhhh 8mm not 7mm!!! So had to return and re-order... (not their fault at all, the Lacey team is lovely...an old fashioned family run business!)... but it meant that I seemed to spend weeks waiting for parts.
So... I decided to attack the rest of the (utterly knackered) bike...even though the engine wasn't completed. I could also see some parts on the engine would need zinc galvanising, and I just didn't have the gumption to break out the Gateros plating kit I had bought some years back. I photographed every inch of the frame, following cable routing for reference later on...!
Also about now, I had what you could call a "bonding moment"... admittedly these seem to be much rarer working on motorbikes than cars... Edit: when I think about it, the project idea and thread is to ask if it is "possible to fall in love with a 900ssie" - maybe this is exactly what we need...
This photo best represents the care and maintenance performed on this bike over the years: I would love to laugh, but jeez, come on
As a teaser... Can I just share the word: Chrysalis And share a paint chart so you don't lose interest... (I know I'm a tart)
Fantatstic!!! I love to see this sort of stuff, 2, 3, 4 years I don't think it matters cus much of the enjoyment comes in the doing. And you can almost see the bike itself becoming 'happier' I suspect there will be an immense amount of pride in the result... and so there should be. One question, did you have to shim up all the gearbox & crank shafts for end float when assembling the crankcase halves? I've heard this can er... try ones patience.
I love ongoing build and resto threads , especially with lots of pics , and I reckon plenty of others feel the same way .... ..... so please keep up the great work ! PS - If I don't have some "claret" leaking out of my hands somewhere , I never feel that I've done a proper spannering session ..... PPS - that rear sprocket is just unbelievable ! It's mind-boggling how it was even possible to drive it ..... long before it got to that state !
Thanks for the support Andy! I do hope the end result matches my "fertile imagination"! - we'll see shortly as I'm really wanting this done in the next couple of months! I can share a sneak peak of info... I'm wanting the end result to be the bike Ducati should have built, hopefully you will barely see the fact that it is subtly modified, I'm hoping you would question if the end result is standard or not. Regarding the shimming, thankfully the gearbox and crank was in spec, so no stress.
Yeah, when I did the Darmah I was pretty confident the crank/big ends where in good shape from the professional rebuild it had a couple of years before being laid up. Which was reason enough for me to not split the cases. I hear the crank can be particularly tricky requiring both preload & zero end float or summat horrid like that.
