[wrx_xb9r]

Last weekend I picked up a new to me 99 750ss 1/2 fairing with 12500 on the clock. The last owner had the bike for 18 months and put on 500 miles. Only 1500 miles had been put on by the previous owner in 2 1/2 years. So a lot of sitting and not too much riding. New Michelin Power tires are on the rims. Bike is completely stock except the seat which is a Sargent cover and base.

I have changed the engine oil and filter, cleaned the oil screen, replaced the cam belts and tightened to a 5mm allen wrench passing through, new spark plugs. I have checked the valve clearances and they are in operational range. I have 5.1 fluid to replace in the front, rear, and clutch lines to be done this week. I have given a really good scrubbing to the bike and started on detail work like removing all the road tar and degreasing the engine.

What other if any service work should I perform to make this bike reliable as a daily rider? I was thinking perhaps shock/ fork oil change. If so what weight range. I am 160lbs.

I have a couple of issues.

The bike does not like to start every time. I have read about coils helping. Does this really work or is there some better cure?

The trip odometer does not work correctly. Sometimes it will count from 0 to 19 miles and then halfway go to 20 before snapping back to 19. Others it will not increase at all. Is there any fix for this? I would like to keep easier track of when I will need fuel. I will not be able to ride every day so not being sure how much fuel is in the tank can be an issue at times.

I want to get a set of slip on mufflers. The dealer can no longer get Termingini from the factory. I have heard a set of Forza silencers and they sounded good. What else is available that has a similar sound. I prefer carbon fiber for the appearance. Is the factory remapped computer good or is there a better option.

I have been a big fan of Ducati for many years. Dad owned a Monster many a year ago and really enjoyed the sound and the few times I got to ride it. I have been riding 25+ years now and have had various styles of bikes. Last ride was a Buell XB9R. Also have ridden/ raced sport tourers, standards, naked bikes, dual purpose, and dirt bikes. Mechanically I race go-karts and build them and the engines for them. I have no problem disassembling the engine to cut the valve seats or replace crankcase bearings.

Thank you all for the information I have already read on these forums. It allowed me to make proper adjustments on the cam belts. The old ones I took off were definitely too loose.

A nice short first post.

 

[wrx_xb9r]

XB9R thoughts

By the way, I've had my eye on an XB12R, or possibly a CG. I test rode them a couple of weeks ago and I really liked the bikes. I hear they've improved on their reliability too. Got any "world-worn" advice on these brutes?

The 12 would be a much better bike than the 9's. My main complaint was the 9 just lacked a little umph for the chassis. The gearboxes are very slow and deliberate as they are straight off the Sportster. The chassis was the best I have ever been on. It was also very comfortable for my 5'8" 140lbs. I did not have a single issue with the bike in 1 year 6,000+ miles of riding. The suspension was very tunable. Idle and even transitional rpm had quite a few heavy vibration areas.

I originally ordered and purchased the bike to be a hard core race replica. The chassis met that requirement the engine did not. I think I would have been happier with the Triumph TT600 that I was also looking at during that time.

Cliff notes:
Awesome chassis
Needs better engine

 

[wrx_xb9r]

Starting is one of two options for me so far.

One engine cranks for about 1-2 second 5-6 revolutions minimum and then fires up. This is stone cold in the morning or after a 30 minute ride and stopping for fuel. This is the normal way it starts so far. It just takes a lot longer than it should to fire.

The other has only occured when stone cold. It will take 20-30 seconds of cranking to get it to fire. This has happened three times so far (in 1 week). Same procedure is still used as normal it just wont fire. I have to resort to full enrichement, wide open throttle, and crank till it starts. This has worked on the second and third times it did this and fired up. It took me a couple of hours to figure it out on the first time. Had to put the battery on a starter booster as it had run down the first time trying to start so many times. On the first go around starting fluid in the airbox and straight into the cylinders was tested. Also with the plugs out of the cylinders and grounded there is no visible spark. This is why I am really interested in coils.

Battery is of unknow age. However it looks cleaner than the surounding parts so probably has been replaced. It had plenty of acid to the proper levels. It held 12.5V so was well charged at one point.

Does anyone know the proper output voltage at certian rpm's for testing the regulator/ rectifier?

JDuc- thanks for the update on valves. This is good to know that once broken in they last a long time.

gomura- is the stator/ rotor and coils that same on the carb v. ie. bikes? if so then coils will be a help on the ie. bikes also.

mxwinky- I will drop a bit of methanol in the tank to clean up any water that may have condensed, I will also put a bit of injector cleaner through the system. If there are any other problems I may just dissasemble and clean them.

I will also get out the bore scope and see if there are any problems with the bores and/ or piston crowns effecting compression. What should compression be for this engine?

Any ideas on who makes great sounding slip-ons?

 

[wrx_xb9r]

+1 on possibly changing the battery to get it to start better. Easy to test if that is the problem - jump it to your car battery (car off) and hit the starter.

As for cans, the 99 doesn't have cats, so coring the stock pipes is easy. Not sure if the aircone core kit is still available. If so, it is a nice, easy, cheap mod that gives same performance and similar weight to aftermarket slip ons.

How would you core the mufflers? Is it similar to what the H-D guys do? They just use a hole saw to cut out the center of their pipes.

It did not make any noticeable difference when I had it hooked up to a 100amp starting box. So I think the battery is ok. Maybe it needs the bigger cables to it like I have seen advertised.