ding this I decided to work on the old cover and try to give it a decent finish. I sanded of the roughest surfaces and then used the same paint as on the crankcase halves. The result was OK I think.
2006-01-31
Painting aternator cover
Last week I got a new alternator cover that I bought from German Ebay. I was quite disappointed when I discovered that it didn’t fit the engine! The cover was from a -96 Superlight and apparently Ducati has made a change of the crankshaft and generator. The support bearing in the cover was about 15 mm further out from the engine centre, so I cannot use the newly bought cover. :-(
ding this I decided to work on the old cover and try to give it a decent finish. I sanded of the roughest surfaces and then used the same paint as on the crankcase halves. The result was OK I think.
ding this I decided to work on the old cover and try to give it a decent finish. I sanded of the roughest surfaces and then used the same paint as on the crankcase halves. The result was OK I think.
2006-01-27
Piston rings
Yesterday I spoke with Biscaya, in my opinion, the most experienced Ducati dealer/shop in Sweden. I got good advice on what parts to change and not. I got to know that my engine has the right type of cylinder stud bolts (black nickel) rather than the fawlty silver coloured bolts found on engines between approximately -94 and -96. The fact that the bolts are somewhat corroded didn't motivate a change according to Biscaya.
I also got the advice to measure the piston rings carefully. Spare rings are not available anymore for the Bucchi 94mm pistons, but Biscaya has found a Wiseco ring kit from which you can use the oil ring on the Bucchi pistons. When measuring the rings I found them to be well inside the tolerances so there's no need to change the rings.
I also got the advice to measure the piston rings carefully. Spare rings are not available anymore for the Bucchi 94mm pistons, but Biscaya has found a Wiseco ring kit from which you can use the oil ring on the Bucchi pistons. When measuring the rings I found them to be well inside the tolerances so there's no need to change the rings.
2006-01-24
Parts back from anodising
Today I got the parts back that I sent for anodising some week ago. It was the spacers for the Keihin FCRs and a pile of washers for the clutch springs.
The result was very good and I think that my home made parts looks kind of professional!
The result was very good and I think that my home made parts looks kind of professional!
2006-01-23
Racing alternator removal
A racing alternator was fitted on the bike when I bought it. It is lighter than the original, 865g compared to 1665g, but it only produces about half the power. This is not enough for a street bike where you want to run lights etc. so have decided to refit the original alternator.
Today I removed the racing alternator rotor and the flywheel. The rotor came off without problem by using a small universal puller. I expected the flywheel to slide off easily after the rotor had been removed, but it was stuck. I consulted both the Haynes and the Bucheli manuals but found no reason for the flywheel to be stuck. I used two pieces of wood to try to pry it loose and with some force it finally came off. When examining the splines in the hub I found some burrs that might explain the tight fit. The hub seemed to be hardened so I had to use a diamond file to deburr it.
With the flywheel off it was my intention to change the starter gear connecting to the free wheel for a lightened gear that came with the bike. José, the previous owner got the lightened gear from Kämna as a compensation for a faulty delivery. However when trying the lightened gear I found that the diameter of the boss on the gear that goes into the free wheel was smaller (Ø49.10mm) than on the original gear (Ø51.70mm)! To bad since it was a nice work done and 180g lighter. If anyone knows on what Ducati models the gear will fit please add a comment in the blog or send me an email.
Today I removed the racing alternator rotor and the flywheel. The rotor came off without problem by using a small universal puller. I expected the flywheel to slide off easily after the rotor had been removed, but it was stuck. I consulted both the Haynes and the Bucheli manuals but found no reason for the flywheel to be stuck. I used two pieces of wood to try to pry it loose and with some force it finally came off. When examining the splines in the hub I found some burrs that might explain the tight fit. The hub seemed to be hardened so I had to use a diamond file to deburr it.
With the flywheel off it was my intention to change the starter gear connecting to the free wheel for a lightened gear that came with the bike. José, the previous owner got the lightened gear from Kämna as a compensation for a faulty delivery. However when trying the lightened gear I found that the diameter of the boss on the gear that goes into the free wheel was smaller (Ø49.10mm) than on the original gear (Ø51.70mm)! To bad since it was a nice work done and 180g lighter. If anyone knows on what Ducati models the gear will fit please add a comment in the blog or send me an email.
2006-01-18
Alternator holder tool
Today a started making a tool to hold the alternator/flywheel when tightening the flywheel nut. The Ducati original part no for this tool is 887130710. It took me about three hours in the shop to lathe and mill the tool, and so far I’m, quite pleased with the result. We’ll see if I’m still as happy when I get a handle on it and can test it properly.
The engine case is finally painted and I tested the new inner clutch cover. Fits good, looks good!
The engine case is finally painted and I tested the new inner clutch cover. Fits good, looks good!
2006-01-17
Starter assembly
A friend of mine just ordered new brushes for the starter of his Ducati 916. He measured the new ones to be 12mm long. The brushes on the DB2 where 9 and 10 mm respectively, so I decided not to change them. Maybe I should have changed them, but I've got a feeling that the brushes wasn't the problem.
Following that decition I reassembled the starter. It’s now overhauled with new ball bearing, repainted housing and new zinc plating on the screws. I tested the starter and it runs fine drawing about 20A at no load. Contact resistance between + terminal and ground is not measurable with my DVM. Hopefully it will work better than before!
Following that decition I reassembled the starter. It’s now overhauled with new ball bearing, repainted housing and new zinc plating on the screws. I tested the starter and it runs fine drawing about 20A at no load. Contact resistance between + terminal and ground is not measurable with my DVM. Hopefully it will work better than before!
2006-01-14
Zinc plating
Some week ago I ordered a small kit for electroplating of zinc and nickel and today I gave it a first try. I started off with a clutch spring and was quite happy about the result.
In the last picture below you can see three springs at different stages:
1) Degreased and cleaned
2) Etched in citric acid to remove rust
3) Electro plated with zinc
I think the kit will be quite handy to restore the finish of small parts such as nuts, bolts washers etc.
In the last picture below you can see three springs at different stages:
1) Degreased and cleaned
2) Etched in citric acid to remove rust
3) Electro plated with zinc
I think the kit will be quite handy to restore the finish of small parts such as nuts, bolts washers etc.
2006-01-11
Painting continues
I apologise that the Blog hasn’t been update very frequently the last two weeks. I’ve been doing lots of other thinks than working on the Bimota, and the work I do have done is mainly preparing the engine case for painting. A boring and time consuming job!
The work flow:
The work flow:
- Clean off all dirt and grid using paraffin based oil as solvent.
- De grease using a detergent such as Shell Bike Cleaner.
- Mechanically remove loose oxides using stainless steel brush or plastic abrasive wheel. Do not use a non stainless steel brush on aluminium!
- Etch the aluminium surface a couple of minutes using sodium hydroxide applied with a brush.
- Rinse, rinse, rinse!!!
- Clean and gloss-etch the surface using phosphoric acid. (Phosphoric acid was hard to find so I used a product (Kalkosan) for removing calcium oxide (lime) from coffee makers etc. containing mainly phosphoric acid.
- Rinse, rinse, rinse!!!
- Dry with a heat gun
- Spray paint. I’m using a touch up spray paint for outboard engines.
My theory is that the aluminium doesn’t need to be glossy before painting. The important thing is to get a grease and oxide free surface that gives the paint good adhesion. For this purpose a dull surface is better.
I’ve been painting one part of the engine at a time. It would have been better do it all at once, but since the motor is quite heavy it’s hard to move it around to get access to all areas, so I settled with doing it bit by bit.
It’s hard to show the finish in pictures but I think it’s all right. Below you find pictures just before and just after spray painting.
So far I’ve done about half the engine. Hopefully I can finish painting this weekend and continue with something more inspiring!
2006-01-04
A closer look at the starter
Since I got the new bearing for the starter last week I had a closer look at the starter rotor. The contact surfaces for the brushes has a thick layer of dirt and oxides, and I tried to sand it off using a fine sand paper, but the surface was quite pitted so I decided to put the rotor in the lathe and finish off just some hundreds of a mm. As you can see in the pictures there’s quite a difference!
The brushes are not really worn down, but have a nasty covering of dirt and oxides. I think I’ll keep the brushes and just finish off the contact surface.
Unfortunately I didn’t think of measuring the resistance through the starter before pulling it apart. It would have been interesting to see how much contact resistance there actually where, since already 0.1 Ohms make a voltage drop of up to 4 V at the high current drawn when pressing the starter button!!!
I also mounted the new bearing and put some new paint on the housing for the starter.
The brushes are not really worn down, but have a nasty covering of dirt and oxides. I think I’ll keep the brushes and just finish off the contact surface.
Unfortunately I didn’t think of measuring the resistance through the starter before pulling it apart. It would have been interesting to see how much contact resistance there actually where, since already 0.1 Ohms make a voltage drop of up to 4 V at the high current drawn when pressing the starter button!!!
I also mounted the new bearing and put some new paint on the housing for the starter.
2006-01-03
Disc hub finished and paint job started
Today I drilled the last holes and finished the rear disc hub. A lot of holes, but I think it looks quite alright. My plan is to have it anodized in some neutral colour.
I also put the first paint on the engine. It’s a real boring pain-in-the-ass job to clean every little pit and hole with a small steel brush in the Dremel tool! The reward is when you spray on the paint and get a completly new engine!!!
I read a tip at the Classic Hond Club Sweden’s web forum that a touch up paint for outboard engines works really well for also for motorcycle engines so I got two cans and gave it a try. The colour is brighter and more silver than original, but it has a good finish and seems to cure to a quite hard surface so I think it’s a good budget choice. Compare the “before” and “after” pictures!
I also put the first paint on the engine. It’s a real boring pain-in-the-ass job to clean every little pit and hole with a small steel brush in the Dremel tool! The reward is when you spray on the paint and get a completly new engine!!!
I read a tip at the Classic Hond Club Sweden’s web forum that a touch up paint for outboard engines works really well for also for motorcycle engines so I got two cans and gave it a try. The colour is brighter and more silver than original, but it has a good finish and seems to cure to a quite hard surface so I think it’s a good budget choice. Compare the “before” and “after” pictures!
2006-01-02
Ebay parts and rear disc hub
Today I stayed a couple of hours after work and continued to work on the rear brake disc hub. I finished all except the bolt holes for the bolts that holds the hub to the rim as I wanted to double check the size before drilling the holes.
When I got home I picked up some parts that I bought of Ebay. It was a fully adjustable clip on handle bar by the German company Telefix. The original handle bar on the left side suffers from a crash and needs to be replaced. I think that the Telefix will be a good replacement.
I also got a good price on oil cooler hoses from a Ducati Monster. The idea is to relocate the oil cooler above the horizontal cylinder so it will be less exposed to dirt and grit.
When I got home I picked up some parts that I bought of Ebay. It was a fully adjustable clip on handle bar by the German company Telefix. The original handle bar on the left side suffers from a crash and needs to be replaced. I think that the Telefix will be a good replacement.
I also got a good price on oil cooler hoses from a Ducati Monster. The idea is to relocate the oil cooler above the horizontal cylinder so it will be less exposed to dirt and grit.
2005-12-31
New Years Eve
I’m celebrating New Years Eve at a friend’s summer house some hour drive south of Stockholm. On my way there I picked up a headlight and parking light from a Yamaha FZR that I found in an ad some weeks ago. The parking light was cracked when I got the bike, so I needed a new one. The headlight was OK so I really didn’t need that, but I got it anyway since it’s good to have one as a spare.
I wish all the readers of my Blog a happy new year! Hopefully we will do lot’s of quality miles on our bikes in 2006! See you next year!
I wish all the readers of my Blog a happy new year! Hopefully we will do lot’s of quality miles on our bikes in 2006! See you next year!
2005-12-30
Bearings and rear disc hub
The mystery with the cush drive is solved the other day. I spoke to Hans Sjögren who did some of the work on it, and he told me that the stud bolts came loose and damaged the cush drive so it had to be turned down to a smaller diameter. Then the steel ring was fitted to make the original sprocket fit. Also the M8 studs are replaced by M10 fitted in steel inserts. Hans has a DB2SR and has already helped me a lot! Thank you Hans!
Today I went over to the local SKF bearing dealer and bought a bag of mixed bearings. (Rear wheel, cush drive, starter and swig arm bearings)
They had all the bearings I needed in stock except the one in the clutch pressure plate that has special grease with wider temperature range. However they made an order for it.
I asked if they had a discount for DIY enthusiast, and I got 25% ! Nice job! I also got a tube of Loctite 510 for the clutch basket bolts. It was €28 ($31) so it better be good!
As you can see in the picture below the original rear brake disc isn’t feeling very well. I earlier told that I got a disc and calliper from a Cagiva Mito. I now need to make a hub for the Mito disc, so I stayed some hour after work and started to turn a hub. It will not have shape as sophisticated as the original, but it will do until I can get something better.
Today I went over to the local SKF bearing dealer and bought a bag of mixed bearings. (Rear wheel, cush drive, starter and swig arm bearings)
They had all the bearings I needed in stock except the one in the clutch pressure plate that has special grease with wider temperature range. However they made an order for it.
I asked if they had a discount for DIY enthusiast, and I got 25% ! Nice job! I also got a tube of Loctite 510 for the clutch basket bolts. It was €28 ($31) so it better be good!
As you can see in the picture below the original rear brake disc isn’t feeling very well. I earlier told that I got a disc and calliper from a Cagiva Mito. I now need to make a hub for the Mito disc, so I stayed some hour after work and started to turn a hub. It will not have shape as sophisticated as the original, but it will do until I can get something better.
2005-12-26
The last couple of days have been full of Christmas activities such as visiting family and friends, and eating ridiculously amounts of food! However since I have a bad habit of waking up really early even when I don’t need to go to work, I have had the time for some Bimota work as well.
Earlier I have noticed an unwanted clearance in the rear wheel bearings. They also didn’t sound quite well while turning the rear axle. Since I intend to buy some other bearings this week, I pulled the rear wheel axle assembly apart.
The two wheel bearings where 6004 2RS which are standard bearings with tow seals, but they where also rated C3 which means that hey have a larger clearance than standard. C3 bearings are normally used in high temperature applications such as crankshaft bearings, so I was a little surprised. If anyone knows about whether these bearings should be 3C rated or not, please add a comment in the Blog, or send me an email.
Also the rear sprocket hub looked a little strange. The rear sprocket is made from a sprocket blank, nothing strange about that, but there’s a steel spacer ring between the hub and the sprocket that can’t be found in the spare parts list. My guess is that the sprocket blanks came with an 80 mm inner diameter and the spacer ring was fitted to make it fit to the hub. If anyone knows any more please let me know!
Earlier I have noticed an unwanted clearance in the rear wheel bearings. They also didn’t sound quite well while turning the rear axle. Since I intend to buy some other bearings this week, I pulled the rear wheel axle assembly apart.
The two wheel bearings where 6004 2RS which are standard bearings with tow seals, but they where also rated C3 which means that hey have a larger clearance than standard. C3 bearings are normally used in high temperature applications such as crankshaft bearings, so I was a little surprised. If anyone knows about whether these bearings should be 3C rated or not, please add a comment in the Blog, or send me an email.
Also the rear sprocket hub looked a little strange. The rear sprocket is made from a sprocket blank, nothing strange about that, but there’s a steel spacer ring between the hub and the sprocket that can’t be found in the spare parts list. My guess is that the sprocket blanks came with an 80 mm inner diameter and the spacer ring was fitted to make it fit to the hub. If anyone knows any more please let me know!
2005-12-23
Clutch spring washers
The day before Christmas eve. Hardly anyone at work so after having a ridiculously long lunch I found myself just sitting at the office doing nothing! At half past one I punched out and went down in the workshop and loaded the turning machine with some aluminium bar. Two hours later I had a handful of clutch spring washers!
The plan is to have them anodized in some nice colour. I have a Ducati friend who can arrange that, if you give him a fair bribe. Usually it works if you make on set of parts for him to keep, so I had session of mass production, resulting in about 15 clutch spring washers.
Holidays are about to begin. I wish everyone a merry Chrismas!
The plan is to have them anodized in some nice colour. I have a Ducati friend who can arrange that, if you give him a fair bribe. Usually it works if you make on set of parts for him to keep, so I had session of mass production, resulting in about 15 clutch spring washers.
Holidays are about to begin. I wish everyone a merry Chrismas!
2005-12-22
Christmas closing in
Christmas is closing in, and there have been lots of things to do besides working on the bike. However I have done some work:
I pulled of the vertical cylinder trying to be careful not to let any dirt fall into the crankcase. That was of course impossible so I made an adaptor for my vacuum cleaner so I could connect a small plastic hose that I could use down in the crankcase. I also used q-tips to clean out dirt that the vacuum cleaner would not get.
Under the vertical cylinder was lots of dirt and grit. The crankcase halves are also very dirty and oxidized. It will be a tricky (and boring) job to clean them enough to put some new paint on.
To prevent more dirt to get into the crankcase I also made a cover fort the vertical cylinder, the same way as for the vertical.
A couple of months ago I visited a bike shop and found that they had a good deal on a couple of Halvarssons racing leather suits. I tried one and it fit really well! Halvarssons is a Swedish manufacturer of biking clothes and their racing suits have a reputation of very good quality for reasonable money.
Since then I’ve been hesitating all autumn whether to buy it or not, but finally I decided to get it as a Christmas present for myself. (You can never be sure that Santa really shows up, and he really doesn’t seem to be very interested in motorcycles judging from the presents he usually brings…)
When I got the suit from the hanger I noticed a price tag with an even lower price. It turned out that the store accidentally had but on the price tag for the after Christmas sale, but they where really cooperative and I got it for the lower price!
I also needed a new pare of gloves, and got a good off season price for them as well:
Merry Christmas Lars!
I pulled of the vertical cylinder trying to be careful not to let any dirt fall into the crankcase. That was of course impossible so I made an adaptor for my vacuum cleaner so I could connect a small plastic hose that I could use down in the crankcase. I also used q-tips to clean out dirt that the vacuum cleaner would not get.
Under the vertical cylinder was lots of dirt and grit. The crankcase halves are also very dirty and oxidized. It will be a tricky (and boring) job to clean them enough to put some new paint on.
To prevent more dirt to get into the crankcase I also made a cover fort the vertical cylinder, the same way as for the vertical.
A couple of months ago I visited a bike shop and found that they had a good deal on a couple of Halvarssons racing leather suits. I tried one and it fit really well! Halvarssons is a Swedish manufacturer of biking clothes and their racing suits have a reputation of very good quality for reasonable money.
Since then I’ve been hesitating all autumn whether to buy it or not, but finally I decided to get it as a Christmas present for myself. (You can never be sure that Santa really shows up, and he really doesn’t seem to be very interested in motorcycles judging from the presents he usually brings…)
When I got the suit from the hanger I noticed a price tag with an even lower price. It turned out that the store accidentally had but on the price tag for the after Christmas sale, but they where really cooperative and I got it for the lower price!
I also needed a new pare of gloves, and got a good off season price for them as well:
Merry Christmas Lars!
2005-12-17
Ebay parts
I’ve bought some parts on German Ebay, and today the first parcel arrived. The clutch engine cover fitted on the bike is milled to be lighter and provide more cooling to the clutch. A really nice work, but since I intend to use the bike for track days, I would rather like to have the original cover. If I run of the track in a corner I don’t want the clutch full of grit. A fall would be expensive enough without damaging the clutch.
Sweden is a too small country to have a good market for used Ducati parts. I like to buy thinks on German Ebay. Lots of parts available and if you’re lucky you can get really got prices. Within the European Union you don’t need to pay custom fees, and paying by wire transfer is really easy using the Internet service of my bank. Also, sending parcels from Germany to Sweden is in fact cheaper than shipping within Sweden!
I paid about €40 for the cover including shipping, which I thought was OK, as it came with the oil pressure switch. The colour isn’t the same as the rest of the engine, but it doesn’t matter since I intend to paint it anyway.
Sweden is a too small country to have a good market for used Ducati parts. I like to buy thinks on German Ebay. Lots of parts available and if you’re lucky you can get really got prices. Within the European Union you don’t need to pay custom fees, and paying by wire transfer is really easy using the Internet service of my bank. Also, sending parcels from Germany to Sweden is in fact cheaper than shipping within Sweden!
I paid about €40 for the cover including shipping, which I thought was OK, as it came with the oil pressure switch. The colour isn’t the same as the rest of the engine, but it doesn’t matter since I intend to paint it anyway.
2005-12-15
Nuts about nuts!
I need to remove the nuts for both the clutch basket and the alternator rotor, but since I don’t have the special holding tools I needed to figure out something else. A friend at work recently bought an electric impact nut runner (is that the correct English expression?) for changing tyres on his car, so I borrowed the machine and tried it on the Ducati engine. It was a complete success! It was enough to hold the flywheel and clutch center still by hand. Since I don’t had the correct heavy duty hex sockets, I was very careful using gloves and protective glasses in case a socket would break, but they where OK.
The nut runner was all right for loosening the nuts, but I need to get the proper holding tools for the assembly as I need to use torque wrench to get the right tightening torque.
The nut runner was all right for loosening the nuts, but I need to get the proper holding tools for the assembly as I need to use torque wrench to get the right tightening torque.
2005-12-13
Disassembly continues
Back in the basement again! The horizontal cylinder is now off and being cleaned. The piston is also removed and cleaned from carbon deposits. Below you can see a picture of the connecting rod. The previous owner told me that there should be Carillo rods in this engine. I don’t know how either the original or the Carillos look, so if anyone knows please drop me an email!
To continue the work without the risk of getting dirt into the crankcase I made a protective cover from a piece of plastic and an old soda bottle. I put the old cylinder gasket in the photo copier and glued the paper on a piece of plastics. Then it was easy to drill the hole on the right place and cut out the contour.
When I had the engine running I noticed a small oil leakage at the screw right next to the spark plug. I did some search on the Internet, and found someone who had the same problem earlier: http://www.ducatitech.com/2v/maint/rebuild/ (Look at date 1/17/99). I examined the screw and found it to be made from aluminium, so I’d better be careful not to ruin it as I tried to remove it. Using a small dentist’s pick I cleaned the screwdriver slot as much as I could. Then I heated the head with a hot air gun at maximum temperature. Using a cordless screwdriver I tried to remove the screw starting with a low torque setting and increasing it stepwise. Finally the screw decided to cooperate and let itself be removed
I checked the spare parts list for a 900SSie -00, and it seems like the screw has been replaced by a hex socket screw with a crush washer, so I think I will go for that when I start to assemble things. I do need to machine the surface for the washer flat, but I think that will be no problem.
To continue the work without the risk of getting dirt into the crankcase I made a protective cover from a piece of plastic and an old soda bottle. I put the old cylinder gasket in the photo copier and glued the paper on a piece of plastics. Then it was easy to drill the hole on the right place and cut out the contour.
When I had the engine running I noticed a small oil leakage at the screw right next to the spark plug. I did some search on the Internet, and found someone who had the same problem earlier: http://www.ducatitech.com/2v/maint/rebuild/ (Look at date 1/17/99). I examined the screw and found it to be made from aluminium, so I’d better be careful not to ruin it as I tried to remove it. Using a small dentist’s pick I cleaned the screwdriver slot as much as I could. Then I heated the head with a hot air gun at maximum temperature. Using a cordless screwdriver I tried to remove the screw starting with a low torque setting and increasing it stepwise. Finally the screw decided to cooperate and let itself be removed
I checked the spare parts list for a 900SSie -00, and it seems like the screw has been replaced by a hex socket screw with a crush washer, so I think I will go for that when I start to assemble things. I do need to machine the surface for the washer flat, but I think that will be no problem.
Something completely different
There's been no update in a couple of days, since I've been away over the weekend doing something completely different...
Stay tuned for more Bimota stuff!
Stay tuned for more Bimota stuff!
