Hi TJ. First of all, great bike!! I am in the process of restoring my 1993 Superlight. Regarding the bolts, I've been having them replated the yellow chromate color. If you want the contact of who I use let me know.

Btw, I miss the roads in the bay area. I used to love riding to Alice's and through Santa Cruz.

 

Thank you for the kind words and advice. Yes, I'd love to get the contact info for your plater.

You've got some nice machinery in your paddock.

When my friends and I were all buying our Ducatis in the early 90s, there were several choices. Ducati's North American dealerships then were scant and inventory small. In the Bay Area there were three, and they usually only had one of each model. I remember going to Cycle Imports in Sunnyvale and seeing a 907 and an 851. The 851 seemed like something I'd never have the talent to ride. Barely 4 years later I was racing a 916.

The Superlights were so cool, and I remember that when I bought my first SS, from Wilson's out in Fresno, they had two other Ducatis on the floor; a Superlight, and a Bimota DB2. The Superlight was about $2K more than an SS, if memory serves, and the DB2 was about $4K richer.

We live on Bear Creek, so my weekend rides/drives, are usually Bear Creek to 9, up the back side of 9, North on Skyline to Alice's, and then back. My wife and I did that one this morning in our Alfa Romeo.

Where are you now?

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

 

I have done a couple of resto's using these guys and they do a good job and didn't lose anything. Couple of guys I know also use them w similar results. It's a batch fee so you want to send as much as you can on a single shot. My process is I degrease everything and the let it all sit in Evaporust for maybe a day or so to get any corrosion off and evaluate. Larger parts to be plated are first glass beaded and then cleaned. You want to send a plater the cleanest parts possible as they will not fluff them up and you won't be happy. I take notes upon disassembly as to the size of the bolts/nuts and the size of any unthreaded section on the bolts as the parts books/exploded views usually overlook this detail. I also make notes on bracketry, where stuff goes, what needs to be replaced etc. You're a bit past the note writing stage! If your bike has any of the "dished" fasteners such as those found on the 916, they are impossible to source.

Sav-On Plating – Committed to Excellence Since 1969

 

Thank you! Yes, past the note writing, but I did save them in labeled tea cannisters.

Thankfully my SS does not have any of the dished fasterers.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

 

Any pictures of the frame crack?
This would be the first pre-1994 frame I have heard of cracking.

I assume the mechanic changed the studs when he did the hi comp pistons?

 

I certainly can provide some.

I'm confused, I thought it was the early SSs that had that crack.

I'll have to look at the receipts. The motorcycle was purchased from BMW & Ducati of Marin, who was fairly highly regarded back then. The only other shop that had as much experience as them was Munroe in the city. The original owner was also a highly skilled and meticulous mechanic (built big bore hot rods of very high quality) I would be surprised if that work was done without replacing uprated studs.

-tj

Any pictures of the frame crack?
This would be the first pre-1994 frame I have heard of cracking.

I assume the mechanic changed the studs when he did the hi comp pistons?

 

The bolts should be available from a fastener shop, and I think Gotham Cycle has a 2v bolt kit for this bike. Make sure you check the rated strength of the bolts. I was going to use stainless steel ones but they only have a rating of 5, whereas the OEM are rated at 8, and a few 12's on the disc brakes.

 

You can get 8 rated SS bolts but I still wouldn't use them for anything more than cosmetic as SS is much less elastic than a proper steel bolt. Plus, they don't look right on a Ducati. Replate and re-use the originals if they are serviceable.

These guys have a lot:

Metric Fasteners & Hardware｜BelMetric

Bel-Metric sells metric hardware & specialty automotive supplies worldwide. Visit our website to purchase metric fasteners, nuts, bolts, screws, washers & more.

belmetric.com

 

I agree with you, that SS just looks wrong. I've spent the last 15 years restoring 2 Alfa Romeos to as close to original as possible, and so staying as close to that is in my blood. I wager it will be much easier to do on a 30 year old Ducati than a 70 year old Alfa.

I use Belmetric for lots of things...thanks for the reminder.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

 

Also some care is needed when considering switching to stainless bolts - you are moving things around on the galvanic series and suddenly the material (often ally) you are bolting into will corrode in preference to the zinc coating on the oem fastener. This can somewhat be guarded against with specific washers / thread compounds etc...
For bikes mainly in non inclement / sunny & dry weather regions you can probably ignore it but certainly worth a thought for us that live in not so nice climes...

 

Excellent point. Below is a discussion as to why this takes place. Throw in a little moisture in the form of bad weather or condensate and you have an electrolytic transfer of molecules - like a battery.

 

I replaced all the non high strength fasteners on my '92SS with stainless steel as an "upgrade". It was a waste of time and money and if not for the time it would take, I would put all the galvanized fasteners back. I used anti-seize compound on all of the bolts I installed and haven't had any issues with galvanic corrosion to date.

 

By "galvanized" I assume you mean the originals? I thought they were yellow zinc coated. Am I wrong?

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

 

When i rebuilt my 900ss two years ago, I was going for the "blacked out" look. The black bolts I used all started to rust after a year, so learn from my pain. I will be changing them to zinc plated bolts eventually.

 

If you look at the chart in the Corrosion PDF, stainless into alum is definite "no no". I put anti-seize on just about everything to insulate a fastener from what it's going into - alum AS on most, copper for steel to steel and headers, nickel AS on steel to alum. Sometimes I use locking compound but rarely. You have to be careful w AS as it will affect the torque specs but I have never had anything fall off or loosen. So there.

 

Frame and swing arm cleaned and prepped for repair.

You can see where one of the sprocket nuts backed out and into the swingarm during the original owner's time. He had Carrozzeria wheels on it, which were beautiful, but not engineered very well. I'll have spindles for a swing arm stand welded on as well.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

 

Have you checked the swingarm for cracks?? That was also very common on these variants..

 

Ah! I have not. But I certainly will. Thank you for getting me hip.

-tj

 

Based on the length of those cracks it was run for a long time with cracks, hard to know its back history but it is a classic frame crack from the classic areas. I would have them welded and powdercoated and you should be fine.

On the swingarm groove , It usually was someone who put the cone spacer in backwards and then the swingarm compresses to the point the sprocket nuts rub. Again weld it up and you should be good.

 

The motorcycle only has 9600 miles on it. Embarrassingly, I've put less than 1500 on it but they were there when I bought it (part of the reason I put so few miles on it).

In the case of the swingarm groove, it was not the improper installation of the cone, rather than Carrozzeria wheels themselves.

Here's a photo of her the day I brought her home.

I miss one of those machines in the background.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

Based on the length of those cracks it was run for a long time with cracks, hard to know its back history but it is a classic frame crack from the classic areas. I would have them welded and powdercoated and you should be fine.

On the swingarm groove , It usually was someone who put the cone spacer in backwards and then the swingarm compresses to the point the sprocket nuts rub. Again weld it up and you should be good.

 

Cracks- another good reason to coat or paint your frame white. They sometimes do with with aircraft truss fuselages to make future inspections easier.

 

I have heard that powder coating makes it harder to see cracks.

 

My experience with powder coating in the past has been that it is more brittle than paint, and more likely to chip....so I have always thought that rather than "flexing" when a crack develops in a tube, that it would tend to crack as well, allowing the tubing crack to be visualized easily. I am no expert on this by any means- but perhaps powder coating shops are using more "pliable" materials these days? The powder coat jobs that I have paid for have ended up being thicker/heavier than paint. IDK...

 

Just like painters powdercoaters want a smooth and pretty finish.
I have had frames that have received a light finish where it was just about coverage and others that have gotten 2-3 coats for extra UV protection or another effect. There are many plusses and minuses to powdercoating, for my use I find it far more durable than even epoxy paints so having the odd rock or wrench hit it there is less likelihood of damage. Paint will be much easier to touch up and get a custom color but ime far more likely to need a touch up from rubbing , impacts, zipties etc.

 

While I have the motorcycle apart and am having some welding done on the swing arm, I'd like to weld spools on to it for more secure/stable storage on my Pit Bull swing arm stand. Sadly, finding non-anodized spools has thus far been impossible. Anyone have any sources/suggestions for plain aluminum spools that can be Tig welded on to my swing arm?

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

 

Normally you'll have some M8 bushings welded on and the bobbins / spools will bolt into them..

 

Thanks Neil,

Those look like the Pit Bull spools and adaptors. I was kinda hoping for something that looked like the OE spools on my 851, that are welded to the side of the swing arm, but these may have to suffice.

-tj

 

Anyone with a hobby lathe can make you what you want.
Be aware the swingarm has a clear coat that will be torched in the welding process.

 

Agreed, I was just hoping for something I didn't need to fabricate.

I'm pretty sure that clear coat is long gone, although it will be after the welding repairs.

-tj

Anyone with a hobby lathe can make you what you want.
Be aware the swingarm has a clear coat that will be torched in the welding process.

 

Frame back from blasting. No obvious crash damage.

-tj in the Cruz Mtns

 

By way of an update, the welder who is repairing my frame believes that the cracks in mine are not due to stress, but most likely due to the fact that the threaded bungs for the tank hold down were welded after the frame tube was welded to the steering head. He believes that they didn't anneal or "normalize" the area before welding on those threaded bungs.

-tj

 

While I wait for my frame to be repaired I'm taking the available time to do some maintenance on the engine. In addition to checking and adjusting the valves (they all needed it) and replacing the cam belts, I'll give it a thorough cleaning so it looks good in the newly painted frame.

Doing this work definitely makes me feel old, or at least realize how many years have passed since these machines were new, and so highly regarded.

When I got my first 900 SS back in 1993, they were hard to find. At the time, there were only a couple dealers in the Bay Area, and they rarely had more than one example on the showroom floor. The parking lot at Alice's was mostly Goof2s, Gixxers and Yamahas....with some BMWs sprinkled in. Arrive on a Ducati and you were special. If it was an 851 you were even cooler.

I still contend that the 900 SS is one of the best street bikes ever made, and that they will always be worth owning, especially those made from 92 until the restyle.

What is sad however, and it should not be a surprise, is that parts are getting hard to find, even as Ducati sells more motorcycles every year. The Italians have never been great about preserving OE parts supplies for their vehicles. Even sources for pedestrian parts such as gaskets and o-rings are drying up.

In any event, the Bay Area is home to at least one good independent shop, Advanced Cycle Service, and Jim is a long time friend and reliable source.

I bought an engine stand from Motowheels that I bolted to my lift, for ease of maintenance. When the time is right, I can bolt the swingarm to it, and then begin frame assembly.

-tj

PS-the framed photo on the wall is of me on my 95 SS SP at Thunderhill. It was this track day that set me on the path to selling the SS and buying and then racing my 916. I always regretted selling the SS, which is why I'm so glad that I have this one...or at least, the pieces of one.

 

PS-the framed photo on the wall is of me on my 95 SS SP at Thunderhill.

I first thought this photo was what you were referring to. I thought "damn, this guy is good, he's got his bike sideways going into the corner!!!"

And thank you for taking the time to take us along your restoration journey. I for one, really enjoy reading these and hearing about people's relationship with their old bikes. I need to get back up to Alice's soon! I do remember showing up there with my Honda NC-30 and I was considered pretty cool back in the day.

 

It could be a good time to change the studs if yours are chrome.

 

Cylinder head studs? I believe they're the uprated ones for the hi-compression pistons. I know that the head studs have been known to fail but I don't know how common it is.

I'm hesitant to fix it if it ain't broken. Many of the fasteners in the crankcase are super tight, and I fear trying to remove them for fear of breaking them off in the case.

I haven't even tried to see how tight the head studs are.

-tj

 

Just look at them if they are chrome be concerned but do NOT throw a wrench on them, they were brittle. If they are a bronze or black color you have upgraded studs already, only be concerned if the studs are chrome colored.

 

They're definitely chrome....I did not know how to ID the upgraded studs v OE.

-tj

 

I am currently in the process of changing out my cylinder studs. And a lot of other "while I'm in there' jobs. I had a broken stud so I had no choice. The bad studs are not magnetic so it's easy to check if that's what you have and if you do I'm with @ducvet ... change then while the engine is out and it's easier to do. I was also worried about breaking them off inside the case trying to remove them but I got lucky. A lot of penetrating lube for a couple of days then a lot of heat and a stud puller got it done with no further drama. You will regret not doing it now if one breaks after the engine is back in the frame.

 

OK-duly noted...where are you sourcing the replacement studs?

-tj

 

Thanks for reading and your support. Yeah man, NC-30? Made a SS seem common, which they were compared to the Honda.

Are you still in the Bay Area?

-tj

No longer in the Bay. Moved back home to socal years ago though my daughter goes to Cal so we are always up there visiting. I really do miss the motorcycle roads up there. Not much here in Socal.

OK-duly noted...where are you sourcing the replacement studs?

-tj

Ca Cycleworks sells them. That's what I used my Superlight.

 

Ah. I'm a Bay Area native. We were in Santa Monica for a few years in the early 2000s...I had my big GS down there with me but was terrified to ride it anywhere in LA. I did some dual sport rides with Jim at Rawhide Adventures on it....back home in Los Gatos now for good.

-tj

No longer in the Bay. Moved back home to socal years ago though my daughter goes to Cal so we are always up there visiting. I really do miss the motorcycle roads up there. Not much here in Socal.


Ca Cycleworks sells them. That's what I used my Superlight.