Sounds excellent - if it's toured Spain his year it's had some proper use, which is what these bikes need - it's the ones that sit around in garages for extended period that give trouble.
And here it is ...... Looks pretty mint, doesn't it? Just took the fairing off .... oh well, I 'spose it is a 12 year old bike but I wish people would take the trouble to squirt ACF50 about under the fairing before the paint goes on holiday without the engine. So ..... sort head races, do a 12,000 mile service (eeek) and get some ride-height added ... then buy a job-lot of Wellnuts and try to put it all back together without scratching anything.. Have to admit to a slight feeling of having bitten off more than I can really be arsed to chew. Goes pretty quick mind, so it'll probably be worth it. Especially if fresh head races and a bit of ride height make it handle like everyone seems to say they do.
Nice, but then i'm biased 'cos i've got one. It does look low at the back and it could do with the newer version seat. Have fun.
The height rods tend to seize. But once the ride height is raised it really does improve the way it turns in.
Looks great: head races seem to only need doing once - they never put enough grease in at the factory but, once replaced, they're fine. A good rule of thumb for the rear ride height is to have 10mm twixt ground and rear tyre when on the centre stand. And I can't overemphasise the difference that makes to handling and feel.
Thanks for the advice and encouragement .... can't say how much it means. Anyway, with the fairing off a few things have become apparent. The engine paint hidden by fairing's goimg AWOL and one of the V-piece mounting's broken off the front exhaust rocker cover (nasty moment, that ... thought it was part of the head casting!). Think I might apply some smooth Hamerite once the top-end service is done ... can't see it anyway and it should protect the ally. And I'm going to need an industrial quantity of WellNuts. 4mm, right? And has anyone actually used the standard (ie quite long) easily available ones .... the ones on the bike are quite short and squashed. As far as the head races are concerned ... any tips? Like, where do most people jack the front? Not used to bikes this front heavy on the centre stand .... my little Deauvilles are so well balanced you can take either wheel off quite safely without needing any type of support. Finally, at the moment, would the assembled experts bother with having the forks serviced at 12k miles and 12 years? Indeed, has anyone done a fork oil change? I'm a bit wary off playing with USD forks. I think what I'm really looking forward to is riding the thing with some ride height.
The commerically available well nuts are fine for the bike. The majority are M5, except for the 4 that fit into the V-piece, which are M6. I'm sure that the ones you have now started out as long parallel tubes of rubber but over time have become like donuts! I got some from here:- m5 Rubber Well Nuts or Rawl Nuts for Motorcycle Fairings and Screens Hope that helps, I can't comment on the fork rebuild - I haven't touched mine. I did increase the rear ride height and it has made the bike turn so much better.
The 'squashed' well nuts are probably the standard ones - that's just how they look after being tightened up a few times! And the shearing of one of the v piece lugs from the front cylinder is standard as well - one of mine sheared off when the bike was about two years old but the other one's been fine ever since (I suspect that having the v piece mounted rigidly between the two lugs sets up a stress that breaks at least one of them). As for jacking, when I've been working on the front end, I've just racheted the back end down to a ground anchor and then just put a block of wood under the front cylinder for safety. So far, so good at least. And, whilst you're at it, check your wheel bearings - for some reason these seem to be pretty much a service item on the ST series - mine last about 11-12000 miles, and that's being careful to keep the pressure washer well away from them. Ducati engine paint is about as protective as a cellophane fire guard, so "they all do that, sir…"
Just back from a 250 mile run up to Kielder. Had a great time dodging the gravel and mud on the road. Bike never missed a beat.
That's nice .... I like the yellow, reminds me of my late lamented 748sps.? Has it occured to anyone else that Ducati buy up surplus Ferrari paint? The colour choices are very similar. What are those silencers? And are they any lighter than the stock ones?
Exhausts are Remus. Probably about half the weight of the originals and nice sound without being too loud ( still sets off the car alarm if I'm too close when I start it though ! ).
Interesting .....hmmm. Do they rotate like the originals, so they fit both the original mounts and the pannier brackets? Much money?
Yes, you can use them in both mounts. I think they were £150 or so off eBay. I wanted some DP ones but these came up first ( and were cheaper ). Might be worth a wanted ad on here it's surprising what people have tucked away.
Just been out for my first ride on my ST4 and I can not understand why these are not more popular. Glad though as It makes them a lot less expensive! The acceleration is brilliant and the bike steers beautifully and is very comfortable. I have a Triunph Sprint RS 955i as well (first time I've ever had two bikes!) and it's wierd how different they both are but both really nice rides.
