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1993 900 SS - issues and niggles

31374 Views 340 Replies 28 Participants Last post by  Helgeduc, 
H
Late last year I bought a 1993 Ducati 900 SS with 52000km from a German, private seller. He was the second owner, with the bike having been registered to the first owner for 24 years, The seller had ridden the bike for a mere 2000km. She was in pretty good condition visually: clean, mostly stock with all original parts available, as well as some carbon fibre aftermarket parts (front fender, rear hugger, sprocket cover). I like originality in a bike - at least if I do not wish to modify - and for this bike originality was higher on the list of "must haves" than lower miles, etc. She also came with additional parts (gaskets, spark plugs, carbs) as well as manuals and specific tools (head bolt wrench, clutch basket holder,...).

The seller claimed she was "dry", with the exception of a little oil weep at the rear cylinder. I checked for frame cracks or indications that the bike had been down harder than just a tip over. Nothing. According to the seller, he had to replace the swing arm. The well known cracks. He also mentioned that he had broken off the turn signal control stalk and replaced the left side control unit. He also had exchanged the footpeg hangers with the black colored ones from a later model (this is one of only two items, where the original part was not included in the deal).

When we tried to start the bike for a test ride, the brandnew Li-ion battery was dead. Odd, but hey... We fitted a standard battery and I tried to take off. And stalled the bike - pretty rough clutch, but these bikes are known for them, after all!? We got her running and I took off. And did not get too far. After a couple of kms she started to hickup and eventually died on me. One thing I noticed was how noisy the bike was: the stock cans had at the time of the initial purchase been replaced by open BOS exhausts - and I still wonder how the bike EVER made it through the German TUEV technical control...

Based on how the bike had behaved before it died on me, I suspected having run out of gas and called the seller. When he arrived, it became clear that the fuel punp was not running, which could be traced to a blown fuse. Replacing the fuse did not remedy matters, so we suspected a dead fuel pump, loaded her up and I used the issue as a bargaining chip to reduce the price some.

I brought her home and started to go through her. I'll use this post to describe what I found and learned - I have found similar posts (and the many helpful replies I received when I asked for help) very helpful. I hope this one will achieve the same.
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H
A quick, initial go-through revealed the following:
  • dead fuel pump
  • non-original bolts of different size holding the side stand
  • some idiot lights not running (side stand, charging system, neutral intermittent)
  • additional Veglia T gauge
  • headlight gasket incorrectly installed

Cleaning the tank and replacing the pump
I pulled the tank off and drained the gas. Well, the liquid. At least 100-150ml were actually dirty/rusty water. Which let me to quickly discover that the tank was quite rusty on the inside. No idea why I did not see that when I checked inside the tank when I bought the bike. Oh well...
I removed the gas cap and pulled the pump, oil filter and sock sieve out - indeed dead. I ordered the replacement part via Stein Dinse.
For rust removal I used Rostio cleaner and passifier:
Rostio Tankentroster 1 Liter plus Tank - Schutzemulsion | Tanksanierung | Rostio Rostumwandler & Rostentferner Online Shop - Rost entfernen leicht gemacht
The cleaner is acid based (I suspect citric acid or similar) and is filled into the tank hot (I topped off with close to boiling water), then left sitting for enough time to dissolve all the iron oxide. I left mine for a bit more than 24h, I believe. The used cleaner solution is drained, the tank rinsed with water (I used deionized water) and immediately rinsed with the passifying emulsion. I don't know what it contains but suspect maybe a phosphating agent? In any case: the tank does NOT have to be dried to apply the emulsion. This simplifies matters considerably. I specifically decided for Rostio for that reason: too many horror stories where a polymer based coating either does not stick for long, or sticks too well, or... I reasoned that in the worst case, I could repeat the operation and use a different, polymer based coat. So far, there is absolutely no new rust present.

Gas cap reinstall
The new pump installed easily. Biggest issue was to replace the old, hardened fuel lines inside the tank with new, fuel resistant lines. However, when trying to re-install the gas cap, I was unable to get it to fit - lubricants, mild force, cursing, all didn't make a difference. Since the green inner O-ring was having a bit of a loose fit, I suspected that it was preventing the cap from seating and ordered a new one. Of course I could not wait and tried some more - only to find out that I had installed the top (black) gasket upside-down. If it is that way, one will not be able to install the gas cap. Bugger...
I had mentioned above, that the seller had alerted me to the fact that he broke off the turn signal stalk. Well, I mainly learn from my own mistakes, so I broke it off, too. (if the front wheel is turned to the left and one, like me, is not careful when closing the tank, it will come in contact with the indicator stalk and snap it off...) I'll talk about how I repaired it later.
With the pump in again, I re-installed the tank and started her up successfully and took her for a spin: she ran OK except that at high revs she seemed not to be getting enough gas. All OK at lower revs, though. I also barely made it home before the battery was dead.

So two new issues found:
  • fueling at high revs
  • charging system not running properly

Incorrectly installed tank check valve
The fueling at high revs may have been due to the tank check valve (one-way valve; the small aluminum cylinder in the fuel vent line from the top of the tank to the steering stem). It was installed the wrong way round - it would let fuel vapour pressure exit the tank but not replenish dropping pressure due to fuel consumption. There is a small arrow on the cylinder that has to point away from the tank. Also check if you can blow air through in the direction of the arrow. If you can, the valve is broken. If you cannot blow air through in the other direction, the valve may be plugged or broken. There are multiple posts here that discuss the issue.
I am not sure if this was the actual problem here - the non-functioning charging system and associated discharged battery could likely have caused similar problems.

Replacing dead idiot lights
With the fairing completely removed, access to the lower part of the iinstrument cluster is easy. Two small screws and the idiot light holder comes out. The small, 1.2W bulbs (2721-02B; 286 capless) themselves have to be pulled up and out - the holder they are in stays in place. Be careful not to damage the latter - it appears to be unavailable these days. Bulbs cost next to nothing at your local auto store.
I reinstalled the panel and the side stand light was not working, state of the low fuel sensor unknown (turned out to be OK after I used enough fuel at a later stage), an intermittent neutral light and the engine light not coming on with ignition on.

Charging system
As mentioned, I found out on my first test ride that the battery was not getting charged.
It boils down to: the installed aftermarket regulator / rectifier was shot - delivered only battery voltage no matter how high the revs. Alternator and all fuses checked out OK. I bought a new RR and it did not work either initially - due to a bad earth, as I found out after a while and helpful comments from forum members.
The whole story is here:
(3) 900SS 93 charging problems | Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum
Thanks to all that helped me work through this.

Sidestand warning light / switch
Since the side stand warning light did not work I checked out the switch. It turned out to be stuck in the "up" position. The connection from the cables to the switch was visibly damaged and when I removed the switch, water ran out of the black cable sleeve. Apparently the previous owner kept the bike clean by regularly treating it to a pressure wash...
I bought a new switch off Stein Dinse - hideously expensive at about 60EUR :-( If anybody knows about a less expensive aftermarket option, I'd be very happy if they could post it here. The design of the sidestand switch (and the neutral switch) is such that I expect that they will fail in the not too far future again. And yes: I could live without these but would really like the bike to be complete and close to stock (or easily be brought back to it).
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Lelebebbel
Regarding the fueling issue, it should be relatively easy to diagnose.

First, disconnect the fuel line from the "Y" piece or from the carb, aim it at a bucket and turn ignition on. See if there is good supply from the tank to rule out any upstream issue. Then, check float levels. On the mikunis you can simply attach 15cm of clear hose to the bowl drains, bend it upwards, and open the drain screw to see where the fuel level is at with the pump running. Could even do that with the engine on to see if it changes much. But if static float level, and supply from tank is good, the one thing that remains in between is the tiny little in-line screen filter where the line goes into the carbs.
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Lelebebbel said:
Regarding the fueling issue, it should be relatively easy to diagnose.

First, disconnect the fuel line from the "Y" piece or from the carb, aim it at a bucket and turn ignition on. See if there is good supply from the tank to rule out any upstream issue. Then, check float levels. On the mikunis you can simply attach 15cm of clear hose to the bowl drains, bend it upwards, and open the drain screw to see where the fuel level is at with the pump running. Could even do that with the engine on to see if it changes much. But if static float level, and supply from tank is good, the one thing that remains in between is the tiny little in-line screen filter where the line goes into the carbs.
Click to expand...
If the issue had not cleared up after fixing the charging system and installing the check valve correctly, search for a flow restriction would have been the next step, indeed.
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With the charging system properly functioning and the check valve installed correctly I attempted to fix the broken turn signal stalk.

Turn signal stalk repair
Since I was lucky to still have the broken off piece of the turn signal stalk I first attempted plastic welding, using a soldering iron and black tie wraps as the "solder". While the weld appeared reasonably strong at first, it turned out to be too brittle - three attempts and no resolution. I continued to break the part off again after a short while of use.
I then decided to use the "liquid super glue and baking soda" repair. I used Loctite superglue to glue the two pieces of the stem together. I then lightly coated the link between the two pieces with super glue and added some baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). After a minute I blew off any superfluous baking soda. I did this around the circumference and added a second layer. After a little light sanding the repaired stalk appears quite strong and so far has held up great.
There are plenty of videos on the internet describing this procedure on a variety of substrates.

Timing belt replacement
I also went ahead and inspected the timing belts. While they looked OK, I had no record of the last change and decided not to take any chances. I ordered new Dayco HT belts (the bike had Daycos installed). Unfortunately, I was unable to fit the new "high tenacity" belts over the flange on the cam pulleys. I tried hard, pried with screw drivers but finally gave up.
I instead ordered original Ducati belts, which fitted without much issue. It appears that the Dayco HT belts are somewhat stiffer than the Ducati original. The teeth and belt also appear to be slightly bigger. While I was unable to fit the Dayco HTs to the 1993, I have no doubt that these belts will fit later model bikes that do not have the lip on the cam pulleys.

With the turn signal now in working order and belts replaced I took the bike for another spin. The fueling issue did not reappear - either the correctly installed check valve or the functioning charging system fixed the issue.
However, I noticed some other things:
  • As the bike warmed up, the idle started to "hang" at 2500-3000rpm. Annoying and thanks to the open BOS exhausts VERY noisy.
  • As mentioned above, the bike has an after market oilthermometer fitted onto an aftermarket holder (see pic here: Veglia temp gauge | Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum). It also has a separate thermometer that replaces the oil filler cap. I almost suffered a heart attack when I noticed that the Veglia recorded 140C after a 15min ride at 5C external temperature... Of course, the engine did not display any sign of running super hot and more reassuringly, the oil filler thermometer only registered 80C.

Aftermarket oil thermometer
At home, I checked the oil filler thermometer in boiling water and it read the expected 100C. I inquired on this forum and RockAZ provided a cool way of adjusting the read out (see in above post). I was lazy, though, and ordered a replacement part from Stein Dinse. Once it arrived I hooked it up to the wiring harness, pulled a connection to ground and tested it in boiling water. As hoped for it read correctly and I installed it. I am now typically reading between 90-105C after highway dash followed by city crawling. I attribute the differnce vs the oil filler thermometer to the fact, that the Veglia reads the temperature in the oil, while the filler cap thermometer reads the air space above the oil. I am curious to see how temperatures will evolve in the summer...

Hanging idle
As mentioned, the bike started to display hanging idle with increasing engine temperature. I had noticed that the bike started really easily and that I could take the choke back out almost immediately - quite different from the generally reported "cold bloodedness". I therefore decided to start by simply ajusting the idle setting - under the assumption that the PO may have adjusted idle on a cold engine. I did the same thing but ensured that the bike would barely start with choke in and no idle on the cold engine without choke.
I took her fo another test ride and while it took significantly longer before I could take the choke back out, she now idles at ~1000rpm when hot. Idle is a bit unstable, so I may have to adjust the idle screw a bit. For the time being, the status is OK, though.
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H
As mentioned ealier, the clutch was rather rough and did not allow me to shift to neutral with engine running, so I had a look.

Clutch replacement
It turned out that one PO had modified the standard clutch in a very weird way:
Clutch identification - help, please? | Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum
Unfortunately, it was not a good way as it led to uneven and significant wear on the clutch basket. Since the friction plates were pretty worn, I decided to replace the basket and plates. I went for a 48 tooth set from EVR with aluminum friction plates. I had to shim the worn in big washer on the drum. Also, the clutch push rod was worn by the needle bearing in the shaft - I replaced it, together with the seal.
As on other items, I received excellent feedback and help from a number of forum members - thanks!
After some initial difficulties to get the clutch to properly disengage (due to stupidity), it now works fine. It is A LOT more quiet than the worn out original and provides good feel.

I also replaced the broken neutral switch. Most difficult part was to find a suitable wrench to tighten the switch on the engine case.

I had mentioned earlier that the tank was quite rusty and contained all sorts of crud. Sure enough I got called one morning by my girlfriend that there was a gasoline smell in the garage. The bike had started to leak fuel from the carb overflow. I had seen a post on this forum that it is possible to get to the floatbowls without completely removing the airbox / battery holder, so decided to try it. I removed the airbox top, the filter, and then the supporting grid. The latter was necessary in order to clear the tank latch holder and frame (I was not sure of the latter, so decided to remove the supporting grid). I needed to use a small ratchet to open the screw next to the steering head - finicky but doable. After losening the two screws that hold the airbox / battery holder combo to the frame I was able to move the airbox up enough to get to the floatbowls. Opened and cleaned the offending bowl, stuck everything together, spent an eternity to properly fit the rubber inlets to the carbs again and was happy to see the leak had been resolved.

I also replaced the oil and filter and in the process checked the oil strainer. Unfortunately, I found aluminum shavings on there, possibly indicating the crank oil gallery plug may be moving. I will keep an eye on it.
In the process I made a mistake: the oil strainer nut was fairly stuck and there is another slotted screw that looks like it may be securing the strainer. The manual is a bit vague about the process of removing the strainer, so I removed the slotted screw as well to avoid damaging the strainer. Unfortunately, the screw is not meant to be removed (thanks, Ducvet). In my case this created a small oil leak - nothing major but annoying. I think I will have to wait until my next oil change to put the screw back in with loctite to solve the leak.

I also bought and installed decibel killers for the BOS exhausts. Bike is now a bit more quiet, but still pretty noisy :-(

Next items on my list are:
  • brake and clutch fluid exchange
  • synching the carbs - the engine appears to run a bit rough at higher revs; likely normal (it's a V2, after all; I just wish I had a good comparison) but checking the carbs won't hurt
  • having a look at the rubber dampeners in the rear wheel to see if replacement is warranted. I have seen posts around this indicating it might reauire building an extraction tool and even then might not be easy
  • ride the bike over the summer!!!

Longer term I would like to fix the oil weep on front and rear cylinder / head mating surface. My bike almost certainly still has the original chrome studs - NOT looking forward to taking heads and barrels off... I'll probably wait until winter and consider to look after the crank at that time too and refresh the paint on the engine. Though I'll also try whether I can see the crank plug using my endoscope - I saw a post that this can be achieved via the oil drain plug...

I'll update this post with findings as they come in.
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B
you can just rip the edge rings off the early cam pullies to make the belts easier to fit. leave the ones on the timing shaft though.
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belter said:
you can just rip the edge rings off the early cam pullies to make the belts easier to fit. leave the ones on the timing shaft though.
Click to expand...
Can you do that with pulleys installed? Just grp them with pliers and wiggle them out? Mine do not appear to have a slot that would allow them to slide off.
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Helgeduc said:
Can you do that with pulleys installed? Just grp them with pliers and wiggle them out? Mine do not appear to have a slot that would allow them to slide off.
Click to expand...
Yes. I removed mine by grabbing onto the edge of the rings with pliers, flexing and pulling them until they came off.
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2
So I went ahead and removed the rear wheel Cush drive rubbers. I built a simple extractor tool following this description:
www.ducati.ms

******* guide to cush drive removal.

After much searching I could never find a simple explanation on how the average backyard mechanic should go about removing their cush drives from the rear wheel when needed. I thought I would share my experience with others in the hope it might help someone else who is searching for the same...
www.ducati.ms www.ducati.ms
I used a 12cm 12mm diameter threaded rod with 4 M12 nuts, two thick washers with 42mm OD and a short PVC connecting tube out of the plumbers section of 40mm ID. The M12 nuts fit through the opening at the inner side of the hub and will push on the inner metal ring of the dampener.
Five out of six came out easily, but, of course, I pulled the core metal ring out of one... As per the
he thread above i had tapped on the dampeners using a suitable socket and hammer, but must have either missed this one or not broken free the dampener bush.
So I first drilled out most of the rubber with a coring bit (not sure how these things are called in English):
Insect Sleeve Grey Isopod Arthropod

After removing some of the remaining rubber, I used a diamond coated bit that I had lying around to grind down a slot into the Stuck metal casing of the dampener. I made sure to leave a thin layer, then used a file with a triangular cross section
Sleeve Wood Grey Tints and shades T-shirt

to grind through the casing. The thin edge of the file is great to grind through the relatively soft metal, so This went really easily and in hindsight I could have just used the file and be as quick. A bit of careful work with a hammer and flat blade screw driver to first peel back part of the metal, then work it loose and the metal ring came out with a pop.
I cleaned everything up, used a thin layer of grease on the hub and installed the fresh dampeners (cooled in the freezer for a couple of hours) using the extractor tool minus the PVC tube.
Overall effort around 3h. I hope this will help to reduce some of the jerkiness my bike shows at very low rpms.
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ducvet
I do not remove the guides, I do not have a problem removing the belts any more than the last person who installed them did. If you need to remove a guide to install the belt you need to look at maybe you are not doing something right.
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H
Last week I replaced the brake and clutch fluid. Opened the bleeder valves, pushed the pistons back as far I could and shuddered at the brown mess coming out. Then pushed a couple of reservoirs worth of fresh fluid through each of the lines before reassembly and finally checked for good pressure point.

I am still struggling with a small oil leak I created myself 😡
As I mentioned above, when cleaning the oil strainer I had also taken the small screw next to it out. Ducvet had already remarked not to do that. I clearly second that... Now the engine is losing a bit of oil via the screw. Tightening does not help (at least not with the little torque I am willing to put on it), so for the interim I cleaned with acetone and put on some heat stable silicone gasket from the outside. Better, but not gone :-(
Since I found aluminum shavings on the strainer I will ride the bike for another couple hundred kilometers, then drain the oil to check for more shavings and try to inspect the oil galley plug on the crank with my endoscope.
At that time I will probably take the screw out again, clean it as well as the thread in the case with brake cleaner, then reinstall with loctite. Or should I better use liquid gasket? Could I install a small crush washer or does that lead to internal leaks? Any comments and suggestions will be appreciated!
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Idle Hang part II
I have had some time now to get to know my Italien beauty a bit more. During a ~200mile trip with the Belgian Ducati club in and around the Maas valley, the too low idle became quite annoying. So I took the time to sync the carbs (they were off) but I am still struggling with the idle. If I set it to idle cleanly at 1050 rpm on the tach, it will produce idle hang. I have to set it very low (barely stable), to avoid idle hang. Still annoying.
I also notice that control of rpm between 1000 and 2000rpm is difficult. The engine tends to react very rapidly to very small throttle changes, making control in the lower rev range for pull away difficult. Nothing major but it leaves some room for improvement. Cables are routed and set appropriately.
Have others here experienced similar symptoms and know a potential cure?

Oil leaks
The engine also looses oil on both cylinders at the interface between head and barrel. I have read about the o—rings sealing the oil passage have a tendency to provide a poor seal after some time. Is this the likely cause here?
Engine has, to the best of my knowledge, never been opened — chrome studs still in place…
The engine is also burning some oil. I would assume that this could be related to poorly sealing o—rings (leak to both the outside and the inside)? Any observations on this from others that had an oil leak at the head to barrel interface?

Thanks a lot in advance for any advice or comments!
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rennsportmotorrad
Helgeduc said:
With the charging system properly functioning and the check valve installed correctly I attempted to fix the broken turn signal stalk.

Turn signal stalk repair
Since I was lucky to still have the broken off piece of the turn signal stalk I first attempted plastic welding, using a soldering iron and black tie wraps as the "solder". While the weld appeared reasonably strong at first, it turned out to be too brittle - three attempts and no resolution. I continued to break the part off again after a short while of use.
I then decided to use the "liquid super glue and baking soda" repair. I used Loctite superglue to glue the two pieces of the stem together. I then lightly coated the link between the two pieces with super glue and added some baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). After a minute I blew off any superfluous baking soda. I did this around the circumference and added a second layer. After a little light sanding the repaired stalk appears quite strong and so far has held up great.
There are plenty of videos on the internet describing this procedure on a variety of substrates.

Timing belt replacement
I also went ahead and inspected the timing belts. While they looked OK, I had no record of the last change and decided not to take any chances. I ordered new Dayco HT belts (the bike had Daycos installed). Unfortunately, I was unable to fit the new "high tenacity" belts over the flange on the cam pulleys. I tried hard, pried with screw drivers but finally gave up.
I instead ordered original Ducati belts, which fitted without much issue. It appears that the Dayco HT belts are somewhat stiffer than the Ducati original. The teeth and belt also appear to be slightly bigger. While I was unable to fit the Dayco HTs to the 1993, I have no doubt that these belts will fit later model bikes that do not have the lip on the cam pulleys.

With the turn signal now in working order and belts replaced I took the bike for another spin. The fueling issue did not reappear - either the correctly installed check valve or the functioning charging system fixed the issue.
However, I noticed some other things:
  • As the bike warmed up, the idle started to "hang" at 2500-3000rpm. Annoying and thanks to the open BOS exhausts VERY noisy.
  • As mentioned above, the bike has an after market oilthermometer fitted onto an aftermarket holder (see pic here: Veglia temp gauge | Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum). It also has a separate thermometer that replaces the oil filler cap. I almost suffered a heart attack when I noticed that the Veglia recorded 140C after a 15min ride at 5C external temperature... Of course, the engine did not display any sign of running super hot and more reassuringly, the oil filler thermometer only registered 80C.

Aftermarket oil thermometer
At home, I checked the oil filler thermometer in boiling water and it read the expected 100C. I inquired on this forum and RockAZ provided a cool way of adjusting the read out (see in above post). I was lazy, though, and ordered a replacement part from Stein Dinse. Once it arrived I hooked it up to the wiring harness, pulled a connection to ground and tested it in boiling water. As hoped for it read correctly and I installed it. I am now typically reading between 90-105C after highway dash followed by city crawling. I attribute the differnce vs the oil filler thermometer to the fact, that the Veglia reads the temperature in the oil, while the filler cap thermometer reads the air space above the oil. I am curious to see how temperatures will evolve in the summer...

Hanging idle
As mentioned, the bike started to display hanging idle with increasing engine temperature. I had noticed that the bike started really easily and that I could take the choke back out almost immediately - quite different from the generally reported "cold bloodedness". I therefore decided to start by simply ajusting the idle setting - under the assumption that the PO may have adjusted idle on a cold engine. I did the same thing but ensured that the bike would barely start with choke in and no idle on the cold engine without choke.
I took her fo another test ride and while it took significantly longer before I could take the choke back out, she now idles at ~1000rpm when hot. Idle is a bit unstable, so I may have to adjust the idle screw a bit. For the time being, the status is OK, though.
Click to expand...
The turn signal switch or stalk that you are referring to --if it is the switch on the L combo switch-that turns the signals from L to R -there is someone here on the forum that is making these on his 3D printer & selling them for around $20.00 U.S.
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grrss
Sounds as if you're having tons of (neglected) 900SS fun :)
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rennsportmotorrad said:
The turn signal switch or stalk that you are referring to --if it is the switch on the L combo switch-that turns the signals from L to R -there is someone here on the forum that is making these on his 3D printer & selling them for around $20.00 U.S.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Yes, am aware of that option. A friend of mine also suggested to do that on his 3D printer.

As described in my earlier post, i used the BakingSoda/Superglue repair. So far with great success — very strong repair. If one has the broken off piece still available to them i highly recommend attempting that repair first.
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grrss said:
Sounds as if you're having tons of (neglected) 900SS fun :)
Click to expand...
Just to be expected from a 27 year old bike, I guess. And I like working on my bikes, so that´s all good.
But, of course, any additional info on whether what I observe is an issue that can be cured or just normal for the 900SS is highly welcome.

i am specifically curious as to whether an external oil leak at the head / barrel interface sometimes/often/typically leads to an internal oil leak (and hence oil bein burnt)?
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DME3
Helgeduc said:
So I went ahead and removed the rear wheel Cush drive rubbers. I built a simple extractor tool following this description:
www.ducati.ms

******* guide to cush drive removal.

After much searching I could never find a simple explanation on how the average backyard mechanic should go about removing their cush drives from the rear wheel when needed. I thought I would share my experience with others in the hope it might help someone else who is searching for the same...
www.ducati.ms www.ducati.ms
I used a 12cm 12mm diameter threaded rod with 4 M12 nuts, two thick washers with 42mm OD and a short PVC connecting tube out of the plumbers section of 40mm ID. The M12 nuts fit through the opening at the inner side of the hub and will push on the inner metal ring of the dampener.
Five out of six came out easily, but, of course, I pulled the core metal ring out of one... As per the
he thread above i had tapped on the dampeners using a suitable socket and hammer, but must have either missed this one or not broken free the dampener bush.
So I first drilled out most of the rubber with a coring bit (not sure how these things are called in English):
View attachment 1005074
After removing some of the remaining rubber, I used a diamond coated bit that I had lying around to grind down a slot into the Stuck metal casing of the dampener. I made sure to leave a thin layer, then used a file with a triangular cross section
View attachment 1005075
to grind through the casing. The thin edge of the file is great to grind through the relatively soft metal, so This went really easily and in hindsight I could have just used the file and be as quick. A bit of careful work with a hammer and flat blade screw driver to first peel back part of the metal, then work it loose and the metal ring came out with a pop.
I cleaned everything up, used a thin layer of grease on the hub and installed the fresh dampeners (cooled in the freezer for a couple of hours) using the extractor tool minus the PVC tube.
Overall effort around 3h. I hope this will help to reduce some of the jerkiness my bike shows at very low rpms.
Click to expand...
If you want more practise with removing cush drives: I have to rear wheels that still need the same treatment :D
A job I am not looking forward to doing.
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DME3 said:
If you want more practise with removing cush drives: I have to rear wheels that still need the same treatment :D
A job I am not looking forward to doing.
Click to expand...
It´s really not that bad — provided you break the insert lose with a nut and hammer, prior to extraction. It´s just a bit fiddly to assemble the „puller“.
And if a rubber insert tears apart, just carefully try to use the triangular file first. I wish I had immediately tried that instead of dremeling…
Good luck!
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Helgeduc said:
Oil leaks
The engine also looses oil on both cylinders at the interface between head and barrel. I have read about the o—rings sealing the oil passage have a tendency to provide a poor seal after some time. Is this the likely cause here?
Engine has, to the best of my knowledge, never been opened — chrome studs still in place…
The engine is also burning some oil. I would assume that this could be related to poorly sealing o—rings (leak to both the outside and the inside)? Any observations on this from others that had an oil leak at the head to barrel interface?
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As you guessed, that's a fairly common place for oil leak. The way the o-rings are situated, it's less likely to cause internal leak/oil burning. Cause of oil burning could be anything, valve guide seals, valve guides themselves, the rings, unfortunately. What's the compression?
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