DUCATI 996
Jim Lindsay is nearly done!
Ihate bike alarms. They drain batteries, go off at random, wake your neighbours and bike thieves fear them as much as they would fear a small, toothless dog. The Ducati had one fitted when I bought it. It had been disabled but the previous owner had fought shy of disconnecting the mass of cables designed by Beelzebub to spoil a perfectly good wiring loom, cutting power here, making the indicators flash there and emitting unearthly screams from under the seat whenever it felt like it. The first task this month was to banish it. Until disarmed, it cut the power to the starter solenoid and the fuel pump, ruling out hot wiring and bump starting (as if anybody would want to bump start a big V-twin with a compression ratio of 11.5:1). The starter solenoid was easy. It had been incorporated into the alarm with a sub loom so all I had to do was unwrap the altered section of the loom, trace the cables through, then unplug and re-plug the various connectors. The fuel pump was less so. The isolating circuit had been connected into the alarm box, by splicing the connector into the main loom. Out with the scalpel then, and I carefully cut away the sheathing until I reached the crime scene. The splice had been properly done with solder and decent insulating tape. You wouldn’t catch me soldering fine connections on circuit boards but I can handle an iron well enough for this sort of work. I unsoldered the splice, discarded the alarm connector then joined the fuel pump power supply cable back together. A length of self-amalgamating loom tape finished that part of the job. It’s not quite factory, but it looks okay, tucked away behind a frame rail as it is. The final task was to unpick and disconnect all the wires that spark up the indicators and light the stupid light fitted between the clocks. I need to make a small plug for the exit wound, or perhaps cheat by gluing an M4 cap head screw in the hole. I then chucked the remains in the bin. Good riddance! I took a load of pictures when taking the bike apart, but not enough, of course. I did find a parts catalogue online. These are very useful for showing the relative arrangements of sub-assemblies. For the reassembly my lap-top has become a regular fixture in the workshop so I can consult the drawings and photos. Add in a Haynes manual and I have half a chance of getting stuff in the right order. So do remember: technology can help! First back in were the rebuilt fork legs. Perversely, the compression adjusters on these Ducatis are in the upper part of the front wheel spindle housing. There are holes in the spindle which you have to line up when fitting the front wheel so you can reach the adjusting screws from underneath. Urrgghh. Cost engineering at the Showa factory, I imagine. It’s easier to set the adjustment before fitting the forks, which is what I did before installing and setting the rebuilt rear shock. The radiator had been aqua-blasted so I left it with a garden hose rammed in the return pipe and reverse flushed it for 30 minutes to make sure there were no traces of blast material left before putting it back on. Next I turned my attention to the rear sub-frame. It looks used but not scrappy. I refitted it, attached the ECU, and fed the relevant bits of the wiring loom through the finger scraping gaps.
I’m not sure what possessed me to dismantle the seat lock in its entirety – it wasn’t working that badly. Goodness, what fun I had chasing the dropped springs and plungers round the workshop floor at each failed rebuild attempt. It works nice and smoothly now though, so maybe it was worth the time. Popping the headlamp and instrument subassembly back into place proved to be pleasantly straightforward. I have routed and connected most of the wiring loom and sub-looms now, although I know almost for certain that I will have to redirect a few sections as I progress towards the finish line. I got a new chain and sprockets from B& C Express. They sell quality goods, they are friendly and helpful, and their prices are competitive. The chain is Izumi with a solid riveting link. You’ve got a couple of options when joining a chain with a solid link. It is perfectly acceptable to use a pair of hammers, one held static on the inner link with ball end of the second hammer being used to peen the rivet ends over. You need just enough deformation on the rivet ends to hold the assembly in place without causing the joining link to tighten. Or you can buy another tool (yes please) specifically designed to work with solid rivets. After years of using the hammer method, I treated myself to a Whale tool. It’s exquisitely made, quicker and easier than the hammer method, but not quite as satisfying. By the way, don’t try and use a tool designed for hollow rivets on a solid rivet. You won’t achieve a secure fastening and you’ll probably ruin the mandrel into the bargain. Heavens above! It was starting to look like a motorcycle. I had to make up a threaded insert to hold the lower exhaust bracket to the lug in the crankcase. The original was seized solid so I had to drill it out. I machined it to be a snug fit then secured it with Araldite. I also needed to fashion some spacers to suit – both good excuses to practice my basic lathe skills. The polishing machine I bought a few months ago has been a great addition to the workshop. I spent a joyful hour or so buffing the exhaust headers, link pipes and silencer pipes to a pleasing dull shine. Even little parts like the retaining springs got the treatment before I slapped the whole assembly back on the bike. I drained the old oil at the start of the project but left the old filter in place. What should have been a simple task of fitting a new filter turned into a bit of a battle. The correct filter wrench just slipped round on the filter body. There is not enough room to get a strap or chain wrench on the filter. I resorted to the bodger’s best friend – a nice big hammer and a screwdriver punched through the filter body to form a crude but effective temporary tommy bar. I do not like doing stuff like that, but occasionally you just don’t have any choice. Usually, you only need to do filters up hand tight but on these engines I’ve always found it hard to get an oiltight seal without using a filter spanner, which is what I did here. Finally I put the wheels back in and got the bike off the trolley I’ve been using to support it for the past few months. I refitted the front brake calipers. Bleeding was a snap with my recently acquired Venhill Vampire vacuum pump (just over 70 quid and worth every penny). For fluid I used Silkolene Racing Brake Fluid. It’s an enhanced DOT4 specification with much higher wet and dry boiling points than standard DOT4. I had left the rear brake disc and caliper in place so all I needed to do there was refit the master cylinder, pedal and fill it with fresh brake fluid. I changed the fluid in the clutch while I was at it. It was great to wheel the Ducati out into the sunshine for some picture taking. My repainted bodywork is ready for collection so I’m going to beg a loan of the wife’s four wheeler and get over to KAS Racepaint and (I confidently hope) marvel at the splendour of the finish. We are getting satisfyingly close to completion people!
Thanks this month to:
B& C Express – chain, sprockets and Whale chain tool www.bandcexpress.co.uk Venhill – Brake bleeding www.venhill.co.uk Silkolene – Oil and brake fluid www.silkolene.com