DUCATI 996
Jim Lindsay finally finishes his bella with an MOT pass!
Whoopee! My Ducati 996 passed its MOT this morning and I’ve just taken it for its first ride.
After nine months, it’s all done and I am experiencing that mixture of satisfaction and sadness that comes at the end of a successful project. The final leg started with collecting the bodywork from Paul Cowern at KAS Race Paint in Kettering, Northants. The finish was brilliant and, I reckon, good value at £992 including VAT. I had to ban house guests for a few weeks because the safest place to store all the carefully wrapped bits of ABS was on the spare bed. Not enough room in my workshop, see, and too much danger of scratches. Although I was itching to start attaching the plastic, I practiced restraint. It’s too easy to get carried away with the pretty stuff and neglect the vital details. First off was to lock wire the retaining clips for the sprocket and rear wheel nuts. You don’t have to do this, but it’s an extra bit of safety, it looks good and it’s fun. The next task was to route all of the wiring correctly, clip it to the frame then attach the battery holder. Harness routing is a job to take slowly and when you’re at your most patient because you always end up redirecting one or more sections several times. I’d had the battery on my Optimate charger for a month keeping it properly maintained so, it had plenty of juice for testing the lights, horn and indicators. I’ve added a permanent charger connection because these big twins demand a lot of a battery and I always like to keep them plugged to a charger when they’re parked up. I do the same with my more modern, but just as electron-thirsty, KTM RC8. Ancillaries like pillion rests came next. To counteract those big twin vibes, I made widespread use of thread locking fluid. All the plastic bits and the rubber cable straps and frame protectors got a thorough going over with Silkolene Pro Prep conditioner before refitting. It’s miraculous stuff and a must for any workshop, bringing hard parts up as well as can be. Absolute shock horror, my local Ducati dealer had a set of original handlebar grips in stock. The original throttle side got mangled in my collarbone snapping crash a couple of years back and aftermarket ones just didn’t look right when I offered
them up. I took a plastic hammer to the new bar ends (also gen Ducati) to whack them into place. A final check of all the little bits and I was ready to fit the first piece of bodywork. I began with the front mudguard, choosing to make my own clip for the brake hose rather than source a Ducati original, which has to be fitted with a blind rivet. That first piece of freshly sprayed ABS gave me a rush. I contemplated it for the length of a cup of tea before spreading a soft sheet on the work bench and fitting new rubber seals to the air-box. I worked with paranoid care around the new paintwork, even wrapping tool handles with rag if there was a danger of them striking the surface. After a final cleanup round the throttle bodies, I took the gaffer tape off the openings and screwed the air-box in place. Before the painter set about the tank, he had the interior cleaned and sealed. I blew it clean with an airline and used a vacuum cleaner for a final sweep. The previous owner had used a couple of bits of cut up leather and some washers in place of the proper rear fastening – vintage looking maybe but a bit crap at absorbing vibration. I found a grommet of the right size and machined up an aluminium spacer to make a proper mounting and then… In with the fuel…fingers crossed that I’d cut and joined all the right wires when junking the alarm… the pump buzzed, the motor span, backfired a bit and on the third stab of the button, stuttered into life for the first time since the middle of 2016. I ran it up to working temperature, no oil leaks, no water leaks: all good to go. As bought, the mesh vents in the seat unit and over the oil cooler were missing. Knowing it would take several ages of man to find new ones, I fashioned replacements from 30 mesh woven stainless steel: indistinguishable from the real thing (perhaps). See end of the story for where to buy. The original fairing fasteners were past their best so I shelled out for a shiny polished stainless steel set from Pro Bolt. The screen that came with the bike was part of the rubbish Chinese bodywork. I got a new one from Skidmarx – excellent folks to deal with and with a range of parts for all manner of old bikes. Manoeuvring all the bits of bodywork into place was a delicate task. I managed it without any scratches, apart from the ones on my hands. It took several goes to get everything correctly lined up. I had to fuss with the nose cone mountings to get a good fit between that and the side panels. Getting the Dzus fasteners joining the fairing lowers underneath was also a lengthy task. And all of a sudden, there it was; finished, functioning, gleaming. I went over the whole bike again checking the fasteners, making sure cables, wiring
and brake lines were carefully tucked out of harm’s way. I rode it up the lane and back. Nothing fell off so I booked it in for MOT and called it a day. Now, I hate taking newly refurbished bikes for MOT for ‘fear of failure’. To ease the pain, I use my local outfit, Bike, Trikes and Stuff a) because they’re thorough, b) because they’re a decent bunch and c) the banter is usually worth turning up for. Well it turns out that the DVLA had made a mistake on my V5 and entered the VIN incorrectly. It took a while to sort that out. The bike passed with flying colours though and on the way home I enjoyed again the punchy thumps of the motor and the occasional admiring glance from passers-by. Sow’s ear to medium quality silk purse – I am happy with the outcome. I also have a new respect for the people who designed this bike. The 90° V-twin layout is great for primary balance but it does make for a long engine. The way Ducati shoehorned everything in to keep the wheelbase to a manageable length is worth contemplating. They save a lot of space at the back by having the swingarm mounted direct to the crankcase. The long thin battery hangs on the right hand side. The regulator/rectifier hangs beneath the battery from an alloy bracket angled to tuck in close to the bottom of the motor. The small area fore and aft of the battery provides homes for the starter solenoid and a couple of relays. The space between the V of the cylinders provides a nest for the coolant expansion tank, the breather tank sits tight against the rear pot. It’s all very compact and surprisingly easy to spanner. According to friend and Ducati expert Mark Brewin of BSD Motorcycles, the later 999s, 1098s and 1198s are pigs to work on by comparison. So that’s that then. I’ve enjoyed every minute of this refurb and ended up with a nice looking bike. It’s the first Ducati I’ve worked on and it has been an informative experience. I’ve given the workshop a thorough clean up in readiness for the next project, a certain V4 Honda from the 1980s. Chocolate for your camshaft moulds anyone? cmm