[misfitJason]

I just bought a 1999 Monster 750 from a buddy for 900 bucks. It’s a decent bike (that I’ve always wanted) but it’s a little neglected. My game plan is to give it some much needed love in the shape of new belts, check the valves, and fix the brakes and clutch. I am going to go through the carbs too while I am at it.





I am not new to bikes but I am new to Ducati’s. I have a 2006 Dyna with abuilt motor and a custom softail that I built too. Enjoy the pics



I am going to update this post as the project unfolds in an attempt to get guidance and also to keep it all together.

The bike came with a Haynes manual and I just ordered the Ducati maintenance guide from emsduc

 

[bykemike]

Hey Jason,

I am up the road from you in St Aug, I just finished redoing my 796 Monster ,Ducati # 5 for me, let me know if I can help you at all

Mike

 

[misfitJason]

Thanks Mike, I appreciate it

 

[misfitJason]

Got home from vacation and picked up the bike. I also got the shipment of the first order of parts and manual.

These brake and clutch controls came with the Ducati from my buddy, along with a billet aftermarket clutch slave. I don’t know anything about the quality of these products if anyone wants to chime in.

I can tell by the fluid leaking on the side of he bike that both of the clutch and front brakes have a physical leak somewhere in the system that I will have to fix. I degreased her a little bit but I won’t be able to clean and strip anything until my next days off. Enjoy the pics

 

[misfitJason]

I’ve been doing so digging on these parts.
The brake and clutch pumps look like cheap aftermarket knock offs. I don’t know if I’ll run those. The clutch slave looks pretty nice and I found a few reviews on it from this board. I first need to make sure it’s compatible.

 

[misfitJason]

I couldn’t wait. Had a couple of minutes and decided to delve into the front brake. The master seems like it had some suction/pressure, so I turned my attention to the Caliper.

Once I removed the Caliper to check the Pistons, he cause was staring right back at me. The line has a slice in it either from age probably. I am either going to get a line from galpher or build one from parts at j&p. The downside of me not knowing about these specific bikes are I have no idea what size fittings I will need or what mm crush washers as of yet.

Another discovery is the tires seem to be worn weird. So if I am going to really ride this bike I will have to get new ones even though the tread is still good. I didn’t pay attention to the date code.

Stay tuned

 

[bykemike]

Have you heard this bike run?

 

[misfitJason]

Yes. And I have ridden it. But that was months ago. The last time he rode it was two months ago and it’s been sitting. He has no mechanical ability and when the front brake stopped working he just let it sit. And no brake maintenance was ever done to it.

 

[amehl]

I have a lot of questions about those chinese (that may be made in taiwan?) MCs. I just bought one for my RC390. I sprung for the 'name' brand frando, as they were the original company to master cloning the RCS. I see your brand too. I am REALLY wondering if there is a quality difference between these and frando, or if they are in fact the same MC. I paid $130 for mine but i know yours go for much cheaper.

Also, the stock MCs are so crappy that I would love to test out these cheap ones as its probably quite the upgrade. Really looking forward to hearing about it.

 

[misfitJason]

I got some work done today.

I made a new brake line and installed the new clutch slave. I bled everything. I must say that these bleeders and short lines on this bike work so much better than my Harley’s. It went so quickly even doing it by myself.

 

[misfitJason]

I do have some questions though if any of you more seasoned Ducati guys could guide me here.

1. What the heck should these be plugged in to?



They come from this thing on the crankcase. And I don’t see anything in he manual that shows it.



2. I pulled the plugs and wires. To me it looks like the screw on caps are stuck in the boots. But the things in the boots don’t look to be threaded. I tried screwing the plug back into them but they don’t want to come out of the wires. The new plugs I purchased (ngk) don’t have removable caps. Is this how they are supposed to be?

 

[Andreaz]

The wires might be for the coils/ignition box. Regarding the spark plugs, there are two types of plugs, those that have a removable cap and those who don't. You need those with a removable cap. It might even have the same part number. There is nothing to remove from the spark plug cap. They are supposed to be like that.

I like your bike. Keep up the good work!

 

[misfitJason]

Tank and airbox are off. I also got the cam belt covers off and all of the timing marks aligned. The fuel tank was drained of old gas and I’d like to switch the cam belts next week and clean the carbs.

I didn’t realize the stupid carbs would be such a pain to get at the throttle and idle cables on these bikes. I am used to bikes having my a single carb on the side (easy) and it also made me realize I don’t own a 11mm wrench.

 

[misfitJason]

Today is cam belt and valve check day

Horizontal cylinder is within limits. Yeah! Nobody told me math would be involved haha

 

[markwemple]

Just remember that other than 2 wheels and 2 cylinders, the Harleys and Ducatis have nothing in common.

 

[misfitJason]

Just remember that other than 2 wheels and 2 cylinders, the Harleys and Ducatis have nothing in common.

I am learning that! Haha

 

[misfitJason]

All of the valves were in spec except for the vertical cylinder exhaust opener. It was too tight. Off it came and some 600 and 1500 sandpaper put me at the .004 spec. I feel I got very lucky time wise with the valves.

I also was able to change out the belts and gap the new plugs

 

[misfitJason]

Today I got the carbs off after meetings. The one good part about going into work on your day off for me is It’s by the local Ducati dealership. I managed to pick up a few little parts/gaskets. I am working on doing a thurough cleaning.

I am not super familiar with mikunis but I am pretty familiar with carbs.

 

[misfitJason]

Finished up messing with the carbs. I touched up the frame a little bit.

Sunday I’ll get the carbs back on and cables run. Then it’s back to reassembly.

 

[misfitJason]

I put everything back together this morning but she doesn’t want to start. Any suggestions. My guess is Fuel. Everything was dry (tank, carbs, and lines) from cleaning. I know these are vacuum operated systems but wouldn’t it still suck fuel through even though everything is dry?

https://youtu.be/CuH_kKEhgbk