[SSNewb]

Hi all, hope everyone’s doing as well as can be. After a long time of lusting over the 90s Supersport and with the help of lurking here for a few weeks I think I chose the right bike for me. It’s a 92 900SS, 23k km (14k mikes), and it seems lovingly maintained, which by the opinion of forum members here was the way to go. I had the option of and looks at a 96 ss/sp for about 2,000 less but it had no maintenance history, he had it for a year, he had no idea how long ago the belts were done, it had worn tires, needed new front pads, it showed corrosion in a lot of places, it was leaking oil out one fork, and when he started it up it was only firing on one cylinder at time’s, and then wouldn’t stop with the kill switch!

The 92 I purchased has fresh fluids tires brakes and the belts were just done. He was also kind enough to provide me with the following list of parts on the bike :

Barnett Clutch Plate Kit Item # 279650
Barnett Clutch Spring Kit Item # 279659
NGK Racing Cable 8515 90deg. Cover - 100cm - CR5
Dynatek Coil - 12v HD Single Output - 3 OHM - DC3-1 Item # : 212817
Ducati 900 SS SL 1993 Front Or Rear Red Round Billet Race Foot Pegs
Flennor timing belt 70x18 set
JE Piston Kit 11.5:1 Standard 92mm Bore 157597
Niche Cycle Carb Rebuilt Kit
Ducati cylinder head / top end gasket kit. Ducati part-no. 79120031A; replaces 02079
Corbin seat

He included the original exhaust in the sale, which is pristine, the original foot pegs, original levers, and the original seat with pillion rest cover. He believes it’s the original paint and parts - although it has an alum swing arm, adjustable showa forks, a cr fairing, which my understanding from lurking all came later than 92 so I’m a bit confused

There are a couple of reported “issues” one is that the bike is “cold blooded” as the PO put it. He said it takes about 10 minutes to warm up to a safe idle and that you’re best off just getting on and riding it. I have not had a chance to ride it and won’t until my young son is at his moms next weekend. Anyway - Upon start up with a fully engaged choke, the bike needed some additional coaxing with the throttle and slowly settled into about 3000rpm. My experience with bikes is that once that happens you can pull the choke back so I set it back a notch and it cut out. I tried a few times fir about five minutes but never got it to idle without it cutting out on its own.

The other issue is that the carbs need adjusting.
It has Supertrapp cans original headers and the po said it was running rich on 150 main jets so he said he went back to stock (which i think is 135) and said that the “carbs need to be balanced now” .

My questions to anyone kind enough to help out - is it normal to have these cold start idle issues, is there some connection with the change in jet size, and should I take it to an experienced technician for the carb balance and to look into the starting/idling before riding it - or is that something that a somewhat experienced bike owner can play with? I’ve lurked and it looks like the whole fairing has to come off to do anything with the carbs, for starters! Also curious about the “original” parts. Anyone’s help is greatly appreciated!!

 

[stoshmonster]

Congratulations and Welcome SSNewb. Sweet bike. More pics please.

My '95 is a cold blooded beast same as your '92. It's been that way right from day one. Anytime I'd start the bike after it had sat for an extended period of time I'd have to let it warm up for about a good 4-5 minutes or so before I could open the choke without the motor dying. Then I'd have to let it idle for another coupla minutes to let the idle smooth out.

These old carby 900's can be a little cantankerous when they're cold so get used to it,it's just part of the fun of Ducati ownership. Once warmed up to operating temperature though they run like clockwork. Enjoy that sweet Italian engine music my friend!

On my bike I found that if I bumped the idle up to 1200 rpm the bike idled smoother,was less prone to stalling,and was easier to launch from a standing start.

 

[spacey]

My '92 came with adjustable Showa forks and aluminum swingarm when I bought it new. I don't remember if the 1/2 fairing was available then, but I think it was. The CR designation with non-adjustable forks and steel swingarm came later.

 

[stoshmonster]

Yep looks like the '92's were available in either full or half fairing.

 

[SSNewb]

Yep looks like the '92's were available in either full or half fairing.

View attachment 983369

Awesome thanks!

 

[SSNewb]

Congratulations and Welcome SSNewb. Sweet bike. More pics please.

My '95 is a cold blooded beast same as your '92. It's been that way right from day one. Anytime I'd start the bike after it had sat for an extended period of time I'd have to let it warm up for about a good 4-5 minutes or so before I could open the choke without the motor dying. Then I'd have to let it idle for another coupla minutes to let the idle smooth out.

These old carby 900's can be a little cantankerous when they're cold so get used to it,it's just part of the fun of Ducati ownership. Once warmed up to operating temperature though they run like clockwork. Enjoy that sweet Italian engine music my friend!

On my bike I found that if I bumped the idle up to 1200 rpm the bike idled smoother,was less prone to stalling,and was easier to launch from a standing start.

Thanks for taking the time to reply on this it’s great help, hopefully I’ll be spending some time to get to know the bike soon and in the meantime I’ll start lurking carb related posts to see what I can figure out with the “balancing” issue the po mentioned. I’ll post more pics too here’s one after

I pulled that Corbin seat off and put it back to stock

 

[rennsportmotorrad]

balancing the carbs is easy, you need a carb balancing tool & a screw driver with a flat blade with a long shaft. there are many balancing tools out there I just happen to use a Twin Max they work great

 

[Paulis]

Half fairing, white frame with black wheels, the most beautiful 900ss there is!

 

[BelgianDuc900SS]

Balancing the carbs is not that difficult.
There's a rather simple method with DIY-tools explained here.

Just make sure you have the correct screw in sight. It's located between the carbs (not easy to see) and the idle screw in the same location.
I think the screw for balancing the carbs is the one in the back.

Taking the fairing off is even more simple. On a full fairing bike it's six screws and two wires (indicator). On a half fairing bike I believe it's only 4 screws (2 next to the headlight, 2 on the side of the fairing.

About choke/idle:
When I start my bike cold I open the choke completely (no throttle). It starts rather easy and goes to 3000rpm.
After about 5 seconds I pull the choke back halfway (still no throttle) and the rpm's go down to +/- 2000rpm.
That's the moment I get on the bike and start riding. I was told that letting a cold bike idle isn't a good idea because of the oil circulation (which is not ideal in an idling bike).
After +/- 1km I completely close the choke and carry on. The first +/-5km I have to play with the throttle a bit to keep it idling when stopped.
After that, everything is fine.
And yes, the bike only start riding completely smooth after 8 to 10km.

About the jet sizes:
there's lots of different sizes. First of all, you can't compare stock jets with Dynojet ones (which are often used in SS's).
Second: American bike use different size jets then European bikes.
My advice: start with stock (or Dyno stage 1) and work from there.

 

[BelgianDuc900SS]

Nice bike btw...

 

[racerboy]

Nice bike!


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[Iwannaduc]

The other issue is that the carbs need adjusting.
It has Supertrapp cans original headers and the po said it was running rich on 150 main jets so he said he went back to stock (which i think is 135) and said that the “carbs need to be balanced now” .

I don't know if there was any real carb work done on your bike, (you didn't specify) so i'm just throwing this out there. If you go to the Factory Pro website and do a little digging, you'll find they recommend dropping the jet size from OEM rather than increasing it.

The other thing is on a bike this old, you'll need to have the carbs split and replace the o-rings on the tubes between the two carbs. Those are likely dried out and compressed by now.

When I needed mine done, I didn't really feel like pfaffing about with them. Not that I can't but I didn't feel like it. I outsourced the rebuild on mine to Custom Carb Services.

https://customcarbservices.com/

Gordon has all the equipment to clean, rebuild and bench test them and at easily affordable prices too. I went with him as I knew him from another forum, and folks there posted pics of his work as well as testimonials to how well their stuff worked when they got it back. I'm not talking about one or two but many over the course of quite a long time, at least a decade worth.

I shipped mine off to him (I'm in Ca he's in NY), he evaluated them, let me know up front what it was going to take to make them right and when I got them back, my wife was pissed off at me at first. She thought I'd bought new carbs. Even she was amazed when I told they were the same ones I sent to Gordon a few weeks back.

Like I already wrote, I could have done the job myself. I spend the better part of 3 decades working in heavy equipment repair. I've rebuilt plenty of carbs. I just didn't feel like screwing around with them in my garage with the limited time I have for the project they are going on. I sent them to an expert, got them done in a short time, and now they're still sitting here waiting to go back on when I reinstall the fuel system.

The point is, you could probably do them yourself too. But if like me, you don't have a great deal of time and/or the right stuff to do a complete job, give Gordon a shout at the link I posted. I promise, you won't be disappointed in the results.........sean

 

[motolust]

Welcome- and congrats on the bike- 92' 1/2 Fairing- one of my favs, The did indeed come with aluminum swingarm and adjustable forks- they are cold blodded- with carbs perfectly tuned it is less of an ordeal but in my experience having owned 4 different SS's - they all want some time to get ready to go out. It's what they do and part of their charm. You have a special bike-They didn't make many of those in 92' Especially with the 1/2 fairing. I'd get rid of those red foot pegs- put some sticky rubber on it and go have some fun- these love to be ridden- let em sit and they protest.

 

[rennsportmotorrad]

-I did install a Factory Pro jet kit in my carbs last year, Now first my bike was NOT a North American import bike it was sold and owned in Italy so even thou the carbs are very close to the N.A. bikes they are a little different -the jetting was different. I am in Central Florida so basically dead sea level, My jetting wound up being a 42.5 idle jet (this is the stock size for my Euro bike) NA bikes were smaller --My Main jet is a 135-this is smaller then both Euro & NA. but these were what worked for me with a K&N air filter airbox stock not cut, With Carbon Tech slip-on's other then that the bike is stock as far as I know--whats inside my engine I dont know. I also replaced the needle's & needle just with the factory pro parts -the needle jets are either chrome or nickle plated I cant remember, and these do wear so if your going to the trouble to rebuild the carbs dont forget the needle jets

 

[duc96cr]

The needles are titanium and the needle jets ( emulsion tubes) are nickel plated for better wear in the Factory Pro kit.

 

[ducvet]

Factory pro needles are more abrasive than dynojet or oem so the replacement plated needle jets are recommended to hold up to the factory needle as well as the factory jet kit is developed with the different jets in mind.

I do not think I have ever had to split a set of mikuni carbs to replace the o-rings so though it may happen I do not think it is a given you will need to. I would start with the basics of service and then run it to see what needs attention due to age or use.

Beautiful bike it is great to see another one popping up, be sure to take care of it and the next owner will thank you for sure.

 

[Nickjwill]

Nice bike! fits right in with the other 2 classic bikes in the photo. I bought a ‘92 full fairing a couple months ago. A joy to ride..and easy to to work on when you need to. You’re going to love it.

 

[SSNewb]

balancing the carbs is easy, you need a carb balancing tool & a screw driver with a flat blade with a long shaft. there are many balancing tools out there I just happen to use a Twin Max they work great

Thanks rennsportmotorrad. Sorry I ghosted my own thread - life has been a little challenging lately. I will check that product out thank you

 

[SSNewb]

Welcome- and congrats on the bike- 92' 1/2 Fairing- one of my favs, The did indeed come with aluminum swingarm and adjustable forks- they are cold blodded- with carbs perfectly tuned it is less of an ordeal but in my experience having owned 4 different SS's - they all want some time to get ready to go out. It's what they do and part of their charm. You have a special bike-They didn't make many of those in 92' Especially with the 1/2 fairing. I'd get rid of those red foot pegs- put some sticky rubber on it and go have some fun- these love to be ridden- let em sit and they protest.

Thanks motolust. I have put the stock pegs back on it was one of the first on my list. Man - getting that circlip back in there on Right/brake side rider peg is a pain with the spring in the way. Looks way better though. Also the passenger pegs are super loose I need to find a washer and some rubber to snug things up, must be missing a spring or insert or something?!?

Next on the list those “matching” “red” “Ducati” levers and the very “24 carrot gold” coloured fairing hardware mismatched with the original hardware.

 

[SSNewb]

Nice bike! fits right in with the other 2 classic bikes in the photo. I bought a ‘92 full fairing a couple months ago. A joy to ride..and easy to to work on when you need to. You’re going to love it.

Thanks Nickjwill!