[SCSE17]

Sport 1000 SE Project

Hi All,

Just my thread to capture a collection of experiences, photos, and general sharing of knowledge as I work on my Sport 1k in my home garage. I've had the bike since August 2018, a pristine, all original SE with 5k miles. My plan is to ensure maintenance is tip top and any mods are to be done subtle and functional.

DIY Plan:
- build a garage work table to make life easier
- address condition of paint, maintenance needs
- improve headlight visibility
- improve the front end feel, focus on getting the best setup possible without spending Ohlins prices
- cosmetics

 

[Coconut]

Welcome to the forum!

'How about some "before" pics to help those of us who are more visually oriented

 

[SCSE17]

'How about some "before" pics to help those of us who are more visually oriented

Thanks! Sure thing, this is how the SE has been kept since new. Quite a proper thing. The journey started with a Pacific Coast Highway trip from Northern Oregon down to the CA Bay. Here's one of the SE on a soggy morning during the trip. Can't say that the ergos were the best for the long haul. Having a tank bag to rest on made it bearable on the back and my wrist appreciated having an Atlas throttle lock.

 

[SCSE17]

Workbench Time

First order of business is not bike related at all. My garage is quite small, so having a big work table is not possible. Checked out some designs online for folding wall stud mounted bench tops. I'm building out a 3'W X 2'D x 3'H hard wood work table with folding legs. Top is maple butcher block, Non-load bearing back board will be 2 x 3/4" pine with 4" #12 screws to the wall, and 2 solid oak legs on folding hinges. Going to overbuild it with 3 x door hinges to make sure I can hammer on it. This will be helpful in doing suspension work and what ever miscellaneous disassembly / assembly / cleaning work needs to be done :wink2:.

 

[KTOGUN]

Dude, but why? Is this gonna basically be a private help desk for all your mods?

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[davesprinkle]

First order of business is not bike related at all. My garage is quite small, so having a big work table is not possible. Checked out some designs online for folding wall stud mounted bench tops. I'm building out a 3'W X 2'D x 3'H hard wood work table with folding legs. Top is maple butcher block, Non-load bearing back board will be 2 x 3/4" pine with 4" #12 screws to the wall, and 2 solid oak legs on folding hinges. Going to overbuild it with 3 x door hinges to make sure I can hammer on it. This will be helpful in doing suspension work and what ever miscellaneous disassembly / assembly / cleaning work needs to be done :wink2:.

Having a workbench is absolutely the right call. You need a place to work, to organize your tools, to arrange your parts. Critical for doing a good job.

I'd recommend installing some shelves above the bench. You've got a small work surface, so you'll need storage space to keep your bench tidy. Install a light on the bottom of the shelf to illuminate your work area. Typical garage will have a center light leaving your body to cast a shadow on your bench.

I'm not a fan of a folding bench. I understand you might need the space, but my preference is to have something bolted solid that will never move. Set the bench height 2" under your elbow. I like to add a shelf under the benchtop.

Get a vise. Ideally you'll bolt it to the center of the earth but if that's not possible go for the bench top. I use my vise more than almost any other tool. Don't get a Harbor Freight import. Get a Wilton if you can. Don't ever use the serrated steel jaws. Get some aluminum soft jaws. I had mine machined and bolted but the magnetic slip-on ones work OK. Don't ever use the steel jaws. Don't ever use the steel jaws. They ruin parts.

I like pegboard to hang my common tools. Get a little stereo to play some music. Wifi for your laptop? Get a good set of stands for your bike. I recommend buying quality stands. When I bought my pitbull stands I cut my Lockharts into little pieces and realized I'd wasted 10 years. Put hooks on the wall to hang the stands when you're not using them.

Lots of light. I like to install fixtures close to the walls to avoid shadows from direct overhead bulbs.

Mini fridge for your beer? A cool Agostini poster? Uh, sorry, Hailwood?

 

[SCSE17]

Dude, but why? Is this gonna basically be a private help desk for all your mods?

:nerd: first thing that came to mind...

Having a workbench is absolutely the right call. You need a place to work, to organize your tools, to arrange your parts. Critical for doing a good job.

Here we go, it's going to do the job. I like the idea of bins and storage in the work space. I put up a 4ft LED shop light directly above the bench that I picked up at Costco.

Found some S4R forks on ebay, so this will be the first project where the bench will come in handy. The plan is to take them apart and inspect / replace any worn internals, definitely oil and dust seals and some fresh 7.5wt. Never know what might be lurking inside. Going to have the legs ano'd while I have them apart.

 

[KTOGUN]

Exactly lol, good luck with the build. There are endless resources here for mods. I thought about doing custom paint on mine until I started tracking mine. First thing you wanna mod on your bike are the wheels and suspension. They're absolutely dogshit. Forget about the rest.

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[SCSE17]

The paint is in really nice shape, but I wanted to address some of the scratches on the clear coat from normal wear and tear. The clear coat on this bike is soft, so a light polish with the microfiber pad + DA and followed up with sealant did the trick. Had many fine scratches from boots kicking the tail section when throwing a leg over as well as where the knees lock into the sides of the tank. Here are some before and afters. Trick is not to over love the paint and needlessly polish away the clear coat. Detailing OCD is a hell of a thing and can cause more harm than good most of the time!

For the engine, wheels, and misc attached metal bits, I used mostly chain degreaser (motorex and motul, both good and safe if it touches paint), Spray polish cleaner in the black and pink can, and a small wheel scrub brush.

 

[StraDuc]

... First thing you wanna mod on your bike are the wheels and suspension.

Changing the wheels was by far the single largest improvement to my bike. It was astounding how much better the bike handled and how much quicker it turned. I did the mod so I could carry a tire plug and inflating kit since I was planning a trip to ride the Cherohala and it's 50 miles of middle of nowhere (no offense to NC and TN folks...) with no service, no gas, no cell phone and almost no traffic and I didn't want to get stranded with a flat. The first time you ride with ~20 less pounds of wheels attached and rotating you will nearly drop the bike it's so much more responsive. Love the look of the spokes but if you want to ride it instead of look at it, KTO is correct that it's the first place to drop your coin. If I could justify the cost (and not risk divorce...) I'd be buying carbon wheels to go even lighter.

 

[KTOGUN]

Changing the wheels was by far the single largest improvement to my bike. It was astounding how much better the bike handled and how much quicker it turned. I did the mod so I could carry a tire plug and inflating kit since I was planning a trip to ride the Cherohala and it's 50 miles of middle of nowhere (no offense to NC and TN folks...) with no service, no gas, no cell phone and almost no traffic and I didn't want to get stranded with a flat. The first time you ride with ~20 less pounds of wheels attached and rotating you will nearly drop the bike it's so much more responsive. Love the look of the spokes but if you want to ride it instead of look at it, KTO is correct that it's the first place to drop your coin. If I could justify the cost (and not risk divorce...) I'd be buying carbon wheels to go even lighter.

I didnt want carbon wheels since they can crack, if I had done it right. I would've done forged 999 or OZ wheels. I found a great deal on 999 cast wheels and the difference in track was insane. The forks and brakes help of course too lol

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[SCSE17]

Sorting Things Out

Found a couple of bits that needed attention. When I started doing a brake fluid change, the underside edges of the front reservoir top cap had some paint corrosion from brake fluid exposure. Oddly, Ducati spec these with painted (powder coated?) metal top caps. I ordered a replacement cap, 839.4.005.1A, which is now a black plastic part. Shouldn't have this issue again.

The auxiliary light in the headlight was also flickering on and off when I turned the bars at times. I traced the issue back to the wiring harness where it comes in just below the top triples and meets the frame. There is a yellow wire that carries low voltage to the aux light in the front and the tail light in the rear. Ducati uses a rather cheap metal connector to splice 2 yellow wires and then sealed it all up with a hard rubber/plastic material around the splice. As you turn the handle bars, the wires in the harness bend naturally, but the yellow wires can bend where the factory rubber insulator ends, creating a pinch point. I was able to repair the break in the aux wire and seal everything back up nicely.


With the aux light wire repaired, I bought a 7" corse dynamics headlight adapter ring and put in a halo led headlight with a clear glass bubble vs. the foggy factory spec glass. Disassembled the stock head light and reused the spring clips to mount everything back up. Updates the look of this thing to modern standards if you ask me.

S4R forks are in from ebay. I was told they are off a '05, look mint. I'll post what the insides look like on the next post, should be nice if the outside is any indicator.

 

[fastfinch]

did you buy a new headlight or just retrofitted the led halo?

 

[jackbauer]

I like the LED headlight. I was thinking of upgrading my stock headlight. This looks like a pretty easy solution and looks very good.
It looks like you need just the adapter ring from Corse Dynamics, and the headlight, to upgrade from the stock headlight?
If so, could you please post info on the specifics of these items (adapter ring and headlight), and where to purchase them?

Thanks for your help.

 

[ebsilon]

@SCSE17 .......could you please post info on the specifics of these items (adapter ring and headlight), and where to purchase them?



Thanks for your help.

.......I am so waiting for that info too!!!!!!!!

Ciaoooo

Moller

 

[mike_delphin]

Definitely interested too!


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[KTOGUN]

I like the LED headlight. I was thinking of upgrading my stock headlight. This looks like a pretty easy solution and looks very good.

It looks like you need just the adapter ring from Corse Dynamics, and the headlight, to upgrade from the stock headlight?

If so, could you please post info on the specifics of these items (adapter ring and headlight), and where to purchase them?



Thanks for your help.

Jack, the unit from Motodemic is what I have on mine. The halo ring is just aesthetic and does nothing for nighttime visibility. Its top notch and it's a seamless install. Www.motodemic.com

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[KTOGUN]

Few more

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[SCSE17]

I like the LED headlight. I was thinking of upgrading my stock headlight. This looks like a pretty easy solution and looks very good.
It looks like you need just the adapter ring from Corse Dynamics, and the headlight, to upgrade from the stock headlight?
If so, could you please post info on the specifics of these items (adapter ring and headlight), and where to purchase them?

Thanks for your help.

You guys have the right idea. The key is getting your hands on the corse dynamic adapter ring. With this specific ring, it basically opens up the world to you for any 7" round headlight from automotive. Our SC's have an H4 main beam connector, but can be adapted to many different types. There is also a small auxiliary bulb inside the stock headlight bucket. It is so weak that I didn't even know it was there behind the stock foggy glass, IIRC, its a 2 watt circuit. This auxiliary circuit is perfect for powering halos if that is the look you are going after. The factory headlight bucket has 2 spade connectors to make the connection for the aux. No factory wiring needs to be modified or cut, completely plug and play. With the light I chose, I did have to slightly modify the spring clips to hold it tight against the corse dynamic ring, pretty simply done. Beware of crappy headlights from ebay, seems like there is a knock off of the knock offs every where you look.

Here is what I am running for those who asked for specifics:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MIgrrbhbbp4AIVYxh9Ch3E3gQhEAQYASABEgITyfD_BwE

Brands that seem most legit in my research, United Pacific, JW Speaker, Motodemic, Truck-Lite. All the knock offs seems to be copies of what these brands originated. I believe in general, you will not get a quality light for under $50 a piece, so avoid the ebay lights that are 2 for $50 or $25 bucks each, you'll be replacing those in no time because of moisture sealing problems, etc.

Hit me up on PM if you need more info.

 

[KTOGUN]

Just buy the friggin motodemic or get one from JC and stop modding with garbage.

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