My '98 ST2 Story

[scottieducati]

Found this bike over this past winter for $1600, needed a thorough going through and had been stored in a metal shed with a leaking, rusty roof and as such was covered in a fine coating of brown. Fortunately, the rust came right off the plastics and took only a dry scotch-bright pad with very little elbow grease to come right off the frame as well. Exhaust took about 6 hours to polish both canisters. Beyond cosmetics, I did the following maintenance this spring:

• New Tires (Pirelli Angel STs)
• Rebuilt Forks & Shock, New Spring for 200 lb rider
• DP Clutch Basket, new clutch plates, spyder retainer & springs
• Desmotimes Maintenance Free Battery Upgrade
• Desmotimes Voltage Regulator Relocation
• Rick's Electrics Radiator Upgrade
• Brembo Full Floating Cast Iron Rotors
• ASV Adjustable Levers
• Desmotimes Billet Reservoir Covers
• Rebuilt and creased ride height adjuster, axles, etc.
• Valve Check (all in spec)
• New Belts
• Oil & Filter
• Helibars, polished and cleaned, new grips
• Wired for heated gear

What she looked like this spring:



At the track giving a 2-up ride to my girlfriend:



Sadly, I had a lowside at the track at relatively low speed, so the left side fairings are rashed and the windscreen had to be cut down after breaking a piece from the top. I was quite upset as it was a direct result of not dropping my tire pressures from the street, and my first ever lowside with a passenger (during a 2-up ride with a friend, fortunately we're both A-OK).

At least from the right side, she still looks lovely:



Now that this season is winding down, I've got the following on tap:

• Desmotimes Tapered Steering Head Bearing Upgrade
• Desmotimes Billet Reverse Shifter
• Replace Rear RH Turnsignal
• Galfer +1" stainless steel lines all around (I have HeliBars)
• Evoluzione Clutch Slave Piston (double seal) Upgrade
• Replace clutch pushrod seals\
• Desmotimes Case Saver
• Repaint bodywork (debating staying silver or going with a gloss / satin black w/ old style Cagiva font)
• Stealthworks lightweight sprocket carrier w/ steel toothed sprocket
• Bestem Carbon Fiber Tank Protector
• Brake Master Cylinder Upgrade (Brembo gold line or 749R OEM)
• Mounting point and wiring for radar detector

I also stumbled across these glorious pistons (95mm, 966cc, High Compression) for a deal I couldn't pass up.





Depending on how the lower end looks after removing the cylinders, I plan to either do the boring and drop the pistons in (I hope), or if the crank slug is backing out I'll split the cases and do a bottom-up rebuild. Heads (going to nab a spare set) will be ported by Bruce whenever I can catch him. Unsure whether the motor will happen this winter (lots of other projects) or next.

Future plans include lighter wheels, and an Ohlins shock.

I figured I'd start a thread on here so anyone interested can follow. I've been extremely pleased with the modest upgrades thusfar and couldn't be happier w/ the bike. Just wish she still looked as pretty as she did earlier this year .

If anyone has any questions about any of the mods, feel free to ask!

[stryder]

Nice write-up, though I'm sorry to hear about the low side with your gal on board. Looks like either she rides too, or you've done a lot of very sporty/track riding together, ie full leathers with sliders. Look-forward to reading about the outcome of those mods.

[scottieducati]

I run trackdays at Loudon (bostonmoto.com!) and have been giving 2-up rides for the past few years. The pic is of my gal on the back, her first track experience. Afterwards she came up to a 2-day event we held with her '89 Honda CB-1 and had a ton of fun.

Unfortunately the lowside was with another friend of mine, and it was on the exit of turn 12, one of the slower turns on the track at maybe 30 mph. Fortunately she was wearing a full Dainese suit as well and fortunately, we both walked away from it with little more than scuffed up leathers and a pretty bruised ego (yours truly). She's planning on selling her Rebel 250 and picking up a track-dedicated bike in the spring though, so I guess it was a success! She's also been back on the back during another track day a couple of weeks later. Chicks who ride = awesome.

Will try my best to keep this thread up to date, and take some more pics of the work this winter. I'm not sure about the motor, because I'm building a 428cc superbike motor for the VFR400R and have some planned mods to the 749R as well, along with a full service and suspension refresh.

Since I can't quite do this on the ST2, the 749R is my current priority...



Gonna be a busy off season

Originally Posted by stryder

Nice write-up, though I'm sorry to hear about the low side with your gal on board. Looks like either she rides too, or you've done a lot of very sporty/track riding together, ie full leathers with sliders. Look-forward to reading about the outcome of those mods.