Ducati ST2 project
Discussion
I've seen quite a few project bike threads recently so I thought I'd show what I've been working on since October.
I had a hankering for yet another project, and wanted something with a V-twin as it's been a while since I've had one. While on holiday I'd been idly looking at random project bikes and stumbled across an ST2 based café racer.
Then the next day I found a crashed ST2 with fairing damage, I decided it was fate and arranged to have a look at it (just a look). 150 miles from home, While driving a hired van.
Money changed hands and a lightly borked Ducati was mine!
It was no-where as nice as it looks in this photo...
Placed on the ramp where most of it would remain for about 6 months. This is the shiny side.
The less shiny side
I started to strip the bike down to see what it looked like under the fairings, as I took them off everything on the front was broken in some way. The lower fairing was obviously damaged on the drop side and cracked on the other side. Same for the upper fairings.
Buggered fairings aside the frame was in pretty good condition, as I intended to replace everything anyway it wasn't too much bad news although it would have been nice to be able to sell some parts!
After I stripped it down I took it outside for a proper degrease with the jet wash. It makes working on things much nocer and is great for finding loose paint.
I had a hankering for yet another project, and wanted something with a V-twin as it's been a while since I've had one. While on holiday I'd been idly looking at random project bikes and stumbled across an ST2 based café racer.
Then the next day I found a crashed ST2 with fairing damage, I decided it was fate and arranged to have a look at it (just a look). 150 miles from home, While driving a hired van.
Money changed hands and a lightly borked Ducati was mine!
It was no-where as nice as it looks in this photo...
Placed on the ramp where most of it would remain for about 6 months. This is the shiny side.
The less shiny side
I started to strip the bike down to see what it looked like under the fairings, as I took them off everything on the front was broken in some way. The lower fairing was obviously damaged on the drop side and cracked on the other side. Same for the upper fairings.
Buggered fairings aside the frame was in pretty good condition, as I intended to replace everything anyway it wasn't too much bad news although it would have been nice to be able to sell some parts!
After I stripped it down I took it outside for a proper degrease with the jet wash. It makes working on things much nocer and is great for finding loose paint.
Edited by Speed addicted on Thursday 4th July 23:00
After my jetwashing and cleaning session the bike was considerably fresher, there had been loads of oil oil and grease build up under the fairings.
There was also quite a bit less paint on the engine and radiator.
I noticed early on that the bike wouldn't run at all on the side stand, even in neutral. A bit of googling showed that this was just a ducati thing, and an annoying one at that.
I decided to remove the switch and blank the wires to get rid of the whole thing, side stand switches on older bikes are a common source of roadside embarrassment. I'll just have to remember and put the stand up before riding off! My BMW K100 has no switch, and my GPZ neutral light was intermittent for years so it shouldn't be an issue.
I made a list of things that would need parts to get it on the road to recovery.
Exhaust, new fairings, fairing supports, and a proper service so all service items (I don't have history), new brake lines etc etc.
Good points were that the wheels had already been powdercoated and the clutch slave had been uprated to a sigma one.
The front Brembo master cylinder was leaking, I expected to be able to buy a seal kit as I've done for the brembo unit on my BMW and the one on my GPZ.
Nope, they don't do spares for the Ducati. At all.
Some searching on Ebay dug up one from a breaker for a reasonably sane price as a new one was about £170.
Through too much time doing this sort of thing Inow tend to take a part off, recondition it then store it rather than stripping the bike completely and doing everything at once.
It's slower but it means I'm only working on a few bits at a time and it's nicer putting everything back together when it's all shiny.
The first bit to get looked at was the radiator, I've found that these can be held together with paint on my other bikes so wanted to get it tidied up and see if another ebay trawl was required.
Before
After
I generally use Upol paint, it's actually wheel paint so as long as you want silver or black it's good stuff.
Comes in 500ml high pressure cans with a decent spray pattern and you get etch primer etc, it's certainly the best stuff I've used for rattle cans.
These bikes have a potential grenade hidden in the engine, the main flywheel nut has the potential to loosen over time then escape and bugger up everything in the vicinity.
I pulled the left engine case to see what mine looked like and it was tight, but the doubt remained so when a double nut version that you can only buy in the USA came up on ebay Uk I decided to fit it for piece of mind.
The old was was still tight enough that it needed heat and a bit of bludgeoning to remove, but a load of old bikes and cars over the years means that my toolbox is stocked for that sort of eventuality.
The case was in pretty poor condition, while the other side was almost unmarked (maybe they turned right a lot?) so I decided to see if a local painter could match the colour. I took along the carbon mudguard to see if it was savable at the same time.
Answer was yes, so off they went.
There was also quite a bit less paint on the engine and radiator.
I noticed early on that the bike wouldn't run at all on the side stand, even in neutral. A bit of googling showed that this was just a ducati thing, and an annoying one at that.
I decided to remove the switch and blank the wires to get rid of the whole thing, side stand switches on older bikes are a common source of roadside embarrassment. I'll just have to remember and put the stand up before riding off! My BMW K100 has no switch, and my GPZ neutral light was intermittent for years so it shouldn't be an issue.
I made a list of things that would need parts to get it on the road to recovery.
Exhaust, new fairings, fairing supports, and a proper service so all service items (I don't have history), new brake lines etc etc.
Good points were that the wheels had already been powdercoated and the clutch slave had been uprated to a sigma one.
The front Brembo master cylinder was leaking, I expected to be able to buy a seal kit as I've done for the brembo unit on my BMW and the one on my GPZ.
Nope, they don't do spares for the Ducati. At all.
Some searching on Ebay dug up one from a breaker for a reasonably sane price as a new one was about £170.
Through too much time doing this sort of thing Inow tend to take a part off, recondition it then store it rather than stripping the bike completely and doing everything at once.
It's slower but it means I'm only working on a few bits at a time and it's nicer putting everything back together when it's all shiny.
The first bit to get looked at was the radiator, I've found that these can be held together with paint on my other bikes so wanted to get it tidied up and see if another ebay trawl was required.
Before
After
I generally use Upol paint, it's actually wheel paint so as long as you want silver or black it's good stuff.
Comes in 500ml high pressure cans with a decent spray pattern and you get etch primer etc, it's certainly the best stuff I've used for rattle cans.
These bikes have a potential grenade hidden in the engine, the main flywheel nut has the potential to loosen over time then escape and bugger up everything in the vicinity.
I pulled the left engine case to see what mine looked like and it was tight, but the doubt remained so when a double nut version that you can only buy in the USA came up on ebay Uk I decided to fit it for piece of mind.
The old was was still tight enough that it needed heat and a bit of bludgeoning to remove, but a load of old bikes and cars over the years means that my toolbox is stocked for that sort of eventuality.
The case was in pretty poor condition, while the other side was almost unmarked (maybe they turned right a lot?) so I decided to see if a local painter could match the colour. I took along the carbon mudguard to see if it was savable at the same time.
Answer was yes, so off they went.
Edited by Speed addicted on Friday 5th July 09:55
I was in the garage doing random stuff with the bike and thinking about what I needed to work on to get it where I wanted to go. As I was standing next to it on the ramp I was idly turning the rear wheel when I hear a click. I turned it a bit more and heard another click.
When I pulled out the rear wheel I found the source of the clicking.
This was as it came out, I hadn't removed anything else!
Set of bearings were ordered that day.
The next thing to get started on was the swingarm. Its carbon steel on these and mine was a bit rusty under the hugger
A bit of gentle mullering got the pivot out, then I drilled out the old thread inserts that hold on the hugger before replacing them with new stainless ones. The old ones had started to spin in the swingarm as I was undoing them
Then respayed in wheel silver. In hindsight I'd probably have powedercoated the swingarm as it's more resistant to stonechips but I felt like painting it at the time!
Once the swingarm was sorted and on the clean parts shelf I decided it was time to get serious.
As mentioned in another thread I tend to build up stuff under the engine and lift the bike off the top. This saves having to lower an engine while negotiating your way around the frame and risking getting mashed fingers.
My way also has a potential pitfall in that if you discover you've missed an earth lead connecting the engine and frame while holding the whole lot up and trying not to knock over the engine in the process it can get a bit tricky. One day I'll actually ask for help while doing this sort of thing.
The engine was pretty grotty, so I set about it with a drum sander on the dremel and a mixture of files to get all of the old loose paint off.
Then I used the POR15 system of precleaner, primer and paint on top coat.
I did the top of the engine first then coated the bits blocked by the supports once it was back in the bike.
I also took the opportunity to change the belts/roller bearings and check the valve clearances while the engine was out of the bike and I had loads of access. The valve clearances turned out to be spot on. I had put the swingarm back on and used the wheel in a high gear to turn the engine rather than using the special tool that Ducati suggest you buy.
It was actually pretty straight forward as it's a single cam engine, and the power of youtube helped greatly to see how the valve clearanced worked.
As the bike was running well prior to the strip down I left the rest of the internals well alone.
Engine back in the bike
One of the most fiddly and aggravating things was the airbox, it's easy to line up one of the throttle mouths but not both at once, and clearance is tight to say the least. I had to go and take a walk twice during fitting because I was getting to the booting it around the garage stage.
Next time it comes apart I'll be fitting pod filters!
Now that the engine was back in the frame I needed to look at modifying the wiring as the standard battery location is on the side of the bike under the fairing
It would be moving to a new home under the seat so I needed to extend the relevant cables to match.
I really don't like wiring.
Once that was all done I made a start on refitting the coolant hoses. This was one occasion that having decent before photos really helped as they're not an obvious shape for refitting.
I changed the coolant thermostat at the same time and fitted new stainless clamps. As the hoses were all in pretty good condition i just cleaned them up. This came back to bite me later on.
When I pulled out the rear wheel I found the source of the clicking.
This was as it came out, I hadn't removed anything else!
Set of bearings were ordered that day.
The next thing to get started on was the swingarm. Its carbon steel on these and mine was a bit rusty under the hugger
A bit of gentle mullering got the pivot out, then I drilled out the old thread inserts that hold on the hugger before replacing them with new stainless ones. The old ones had started to spin in the swingarm as I was undoing them
Then respayed in wheel silver. In hindsight I'd probably have powedercoated the swingarm as it's more resistant to stonechips but I felt like painting it at the time!
Once the swingarm was sorted and on the clean parts shelf I decided it was time to get serious.
As mentioned in another thread I tend to build up stuff under the engine and lift the bike off the top. This saves having to lower an engine while negotiating your way around the frame and risking getting mashed fingers.
My way also has a potential pitfall in that if you discover you've missed an earth lead connecting the engine and frame while holding the whole lot up and trying not to knock over the engine in the process it can get a bit tricky. One day I'll actually ask for help while doing this sort of thing.
The engine was pretty grotty, so I set about it with a drum sander on the dremel and a mixture of files to get all of the old loose paint off.
Then I used the POR15 system of precleaner, primer and paint on top coat.
I did the top of the engine first then coated the bits blocked by the supports once it was back in the bike.
I also took the opportunity to change the belts/roller bearings and check the valve clearances while the engine was out of the bike and I had loads of access. The valve clearances turned out to be spot on. I had put the swingarm back on and used the wheel in a high gear to turn the engine rather than using the special tool that Ducati suggest you buy.
It was actually pretty straight forward as it's a single cam engine, and the power of youtube helped greatly to see how the valve clearanced worked.
As the bike was running well prior to the strip down I left the rest of the internals well alone.
Engine back in the bike
One of the most fiddly and aggravating things was the airbox, it's easy to line up one of the throttle mouths but not both at once, and clearance is tight to say the least. I had to go and take a walk twice during fitting because I was getting to the booting it around the garage stage.
Next time it comes apart I'll be fitting pod filters!
Now that the engine was back in the frame I needed to look at modifying the wiring as the standard battery location is on the side of the bike under the fairing
It would be moving to a new home under the seat so I needed to extend the relevant cables to match.
I really don't like wiring.
Once that was all done I made a start on refitting the coolant hoses. This was one occasion that having decent before photos really helped as they're not an obvious shape for refitting.
I changed the coolant thermostat at the same time and fitted new stainless clamps. As the hoses were all in pretty good condition i just cleaned them up. This came back to bite me later on.
Edited by Speed addicted on Friday 5th July 13:46
I finally got the engine case and front mudguard back from the painters so got the engine was back together.
Exhaust was back on after an inordinate amount of cleaning and scotchbrite pads..
Changing the oil filter was a pain because it was quite corroded and the filter tool wouldn’t grip, I managed to solve this by wrapping it in tape then hammering the tool on, brute force wins against again!
I'd ordered a front fairing and support from a guy in Greece, obviously a country known for their excellent mechanical ability and it had finally arrived. Turned out to be pretty rough but it get's me a sport classic type fairing and mount.
I'd initially intended to cut the rear of the frame by about 6" to allow a sport classic type seat, but as time went on I decided I wanted a longer tail. It gives more room for the battery location and I thought the bike would look more balanced with the long tail. It also means you have some protection from spray, this is a bike I intend to use on the country roads around NE Scotland so some practicality is handy.
This meant working out what seat unit I wanted and making it fit. After far too much deliberation I went for a Ducati 998R copy as they don't have vents. I chose a race unit so it also didn't have the rear light cutouts.
This was the first mockup
The front fairing came in three pieces so I epoxied the joins then used fiberglass on the inside to secure it. Turned out after 25 years my fiberglassing skills had dulled somewhat. Ah well, that's what sanders are for!
I had to drill the fairing for the screen and supports, this took a fair bit of very careful measuring to make sure everyting came out level once it was all in place.
I was also wondering how I could secure the seat unit without having external bolts. Experience with my project BMW told me that having something I could take off easily would save a load of hassle in the long run.
Eventually I decided to use the existing seat base and build up fiberglass and ply piers to get the seat to the right height.
I went super high tech to get the fiberglass compressewd while it cured.
I cut out the area under the rear tail to allow a space for the battery.
I needed to use the existing seat catch but on the ST it's part of the grab rail, so I chain drilled and then used a vibrating multi tool to trim it off before tidying it up with the belt sander
I'd bought the big headlight for the front (it's an 8" monster) so fitted it and trimmed the fairing around it to suit.
Got the new bars once I'd decided how the fairing was going to fit, they're a tiny bit lower than the standard ones.
Exhaust was back on after an inordinate amount of cleaning and scotchbrite pads..
Changing the oil filter was a pain because it was quite corroded and the filter tool wouldn’t grip, I managed to solve this by wrapping it in tape then hammering the tool on, brute force wins against again!
I'd ordered a front fairing and support from a guy in Greece, obviously a country known for their excellent mechanical ability and it had finally arrived. Turned out to be pretty rough but it get's me a sport classic type fairing and mount.
I'd initially intended to cut the rear of the frame by about 6" to allow a sport classic type seat, but as time went on I decided I wanted a longer tail. It gives more room for the battery location and I thought the bike would look more balanced with the long tail. It also means you have some protection from spray, this is a bike I intend to use on the country roads around NE Scotland so some practicality is handy.
This meant working out what seat unit I wanted and making it fit. After far too much deliberation I went for a Ducati 998R copy as they don't have vents. I chose a race unit so it also didn't have the rear light cutouts.
This was the first mockup
The front fairing came in three pieces so I epoxied the joins then used fiberglass on the inside to secure it. Turned out after 25 years my fiberglassing skills had dulled somewhat. Ah well, that's what sanders are for!
I had to drill the fairing for the screen and supports, this took a fair bit of very careful measuring to make sure everyting came out level once it was all in place.
I was also wondering how I could secure the seat unit without having external bolts. Experience with my project BMW told me that having something I could take off easily would save a load of hassle in the long run.
Eventually I decided to use the existing seat base and build up fiberglass and ply piers to get the seat to the right height.
I went super high tech to get the fiberglass compressewd while it cured.
I cut out the area under the rear tail to allow a space for the battery.
I needed to use the existing seat catch but on the ST it's part of the grab rail, so I chain drilled and then used a vibrating multi tool to trim it off before tidying it up with the belt sander
I'd bought the big headlight for the front (it's an 8" monster) so fitted it and trimmed the fairing around it to suit.
Got the new bars once I'd decided how the fairing was going to fit, they're a tiny bit lower than the standard ones.
Once I got the radiator refitted I was ready to fire the bike back up. The only problem was that I had put all of the clocks and other electrical parts back onto the bike but was left with the connector coming from the ignition. The only connector that fitted it had 4 wires where the one from the ignition had 6.
After double and triple checking the other connectors I decided to go for it and the bike boomed into life with no requirement for the emergency water bucket.
A helpful hint now, unfinished fiberglass is surprisingly abrasive stuff, so if for instance you've just painted a radiator and are fitting then removing a fairing a lot to trim it to fit the radiator you can really bugger up the new paint!
This is it after I covered up the paint.
I used econoseal connectors for parts like the headlight and other connectors that needed to be removed occasionally. They're fiddly little buggers to put together and a proper cable crimper really helps.
Once I'd had the bike running for a bit I noticed water on the ramp. Turned out my careful inspection of the hoses had missed a split about 30mm from the clamp.
A full set of silicone hoses was bought as they're actually cheaper than standard ones, they're apparently higher spec but I'm not sure how much this is required given that standard ones lasted about 19 years!
After double and triple checking the other connectors I decided to go for it and the bike boomed into life with no requirement for the emergency water bucket.
A helpful hint now, unfinished fiberglass is surprisingly abrasive stuff, so if for instance you've just painted a radiator and are fitting then removing a fairing a lot to trim it to fit the radiator you can really bugger up the new paint!
This is it after I covered up the paint.
I used econoseal connectors for parts like the headlight and other connectors that needed to be removed occasionally. They're fiddly little buggers to put together and a proper cable crimper really helps.
Once I'd had the bike running for a bit I noticed water on the ramp. Turned out my careful inspection of the hoses had missed a split about 30mm from the clamp.
A full set of silicone hoses was bought as they're actually cheaper than standard ones, they're apparently higher spec but I'm not sure how much this is required given that standard ones lasted about 19 years!
Looks great, I love the front fairing idea. These are good donor bikes but as the other thread with the Mutistrada café racer showed, the tanks are very high, so the rear seat needs to be quite high. I see you have built up off the original seat base, I would think some expanding foam in there would held spread the weight about onto the seat base to stop it vibrating and cracking or going loose.
Get more progress pics up. Oh and the "tiny bit lower" bars, that's about 5 inches!! Your back will love you! lol
Oh, you know the weird plastic cover on the top front of tank, what is your plan for that? How about integrating a gauge of some sort into it? Even a period style analogue time clock may look cool with a new formed cover?
Get more progress pics up. Oh and the "tiny bit lower" bars, that's about 5 inches!! Your back will love you! lol
Oh, you know the weird plastic cover on the top front of tank, what is your plan for that? How about integrating a gauge of some sort into it? Even a period style analogue time clock may look cool with a new formed cover?
Edited by poo at Paul's on Saturday 6th July 08:30
I had a longer update done last night, then the dog wanted out and I managed to close the browser window!
The bars are about the same height as the seat, so it’ll be about as comfortable as being thrown down some nightclub stairs.
I’m 6’2” and have arms like a chimp, but it’ll never be a tourer!
However a sport classic is also known to be brutally uncomfortable and about 5x the money.
The funny plastic thing on the tank has annoyed me from day one, I really don’t like it as it covers about half of the top of the tank, but it also covers a pretty big hole.
It’s not going back on, that’s certain. I may just leave it off for just now, the gaps not offensive. Then work something out later on.
My mates brother is a skilled metal fabricator, I’ll be seeing him later on to replace the rear footrests, so I’ll look into ideas for that at the same time.
My main goal at the moment is the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in September, I took my BMW K100 last year (silver thing looking sad behind the Ducati) but it’s having some issues and will need major surgery to sort. It’s the next long term project. Again.
So with that in mind there will be a couple of areas that I’ll work on once I’ve ridden it for the remainder of the “summer”.
Regarding the seat I was thinking about using expanding foam around the edges between the two parts, I’ve left it until after it comes back from paint so they can still be separated if needed.
The bars are about the same height as the seat, so it’ll be about as comfortable as being thrown down some nightclub stairs.
I’m 6’2” and have arms like a chimp, but it’ll never be a tourer!
However a sport classic is also known to be brutally uncomfortable and about 5x the money.
The funny plastic thing on the tank has annoyed me from day one, I really don’t like it as it covers about half of the top of the tank, but it also covers a pretty big hole.
It’s not going back on, that’s certain. I may just leave it off for just now, the gaps not offensive. Then work something out later on.
My mates brother is a skilled metal fabricator, I’ll be seeing him later on to replace the rear footrests, so I’ll look into ideas for that at the same time.
My main goal at the moment is the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in September, I took my BMW K100 last year (silver thing looking sad behind the Ducati) but it’s having some issues and will need major surgery to sort. It’s the next long term project. Again.
So with that in mind there will be a couple of areas that I’ll work on once I’ve ridden it for the remainder of the “summer”.
Regarding the seat I was thinking about using expanding foam around the edges between the two parts, I’ve left it until after it comes back from paint so they can still be separated if needed.
Speed addicted said:
I had a longer update done last night, then the dog wanted out and I managed to close the browser window!
The bars are about the same height as the seat, so it’ll be about as comfortable as being thrown down some nightclub stairs.
I’m 6’2” and have arms like a chimp, but it’ll never be a tourer!
However a sport classic is also known to be brutally uncomfortable and about 5x the money.
The funny plastic thing on the tank has annoyed me from day one, I really don’t like it as it covers about half of the top of the tank, but it also covers a pretty big hole.
It’s not going back on, that’s certain. I may just leave it off for just now, the gaps not offensive. Then work something out later on.
My mates brother is a skilled metal fabricator, I’ll be seeing him later on to replace the rear footrests, so I’ll look into ideas for that at the same time.
My main goal at the moment is the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in September, I took my BMW K100 last year (silver thing looking sad behind the Ducati) but it’s having some issues and will need major surgery to sort. It’s the next long term project. Again.
So with that in mind there will be a couple of areas that I’ll work on once I’ve ridden it for the remainder of the “summer”.
Regarding the seat I was thinking about using expanding foam around the edges between the two parts, I’ve left it until after it comes back from paint so they can still be separated if needed.
Enjoying this thread. Also just sold a Sport Classic Paul Smart, so I can see the influences The bars are about the same height as the seat, so it’ll be about as comfortable as being thrown down some nightclub stairs.
I’m 6’2” and have arms like a chimp, but it’ll never be a tourer!
However a sport classic is also known to be brutally uncomfortable and about 5x the money.
The funny plastic thing on the tank has annoyed me from day one, I really don’t like it as it covers about half of the top of the tank, but it also covers a pretty big hole.
It’s not going back on, that’s certain. I may just leave it off for just now, the gaps not offensive. Then work something out later on.
My mates brother is a skilled metal fabricator, I’ll be seeing him later on to replace the rear footrests, so I’ll look into ideas for that at the same time.
My main goal at the moment is the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in September, I took my BMW K100 last year (silver thing looking sad behind the Ducati) but it’s having some issues and will need major surgery to sort. It’s the next long term project. Again.
So with that in mind there will be a couple of areas that I’ll work on once I’ve ridden it for the remainder of the “summer”.
Regarding the seat I was thinking about using expanding foam around the edges between the two parts, I’ve left it until after it comes back from paint so they can still be separated if needed.
They the are as comfy / uncomfy as you spec them. I had a GT1000 Sport Classic which was probably my favourite, touring Europe on it. Very upgright naked, but with classic looks and modern modern handling / braking. A rare biposto with higher bars was also great fun. The spoke wheels are really essential to get that look right, as well as the tank shape.
Have fun.
On the ST2 there is a big electrical plug with 24 wires going through it between the main loom and the front section that goes to the clocks.
This is a known weak point because it's partially waterproof, in that water gets in then stays there.
I'd been avoiding doing mine until the fairing was fitted so that I could see how much room I had to work with, and because I didn't want to do it!
However some electrical weirdness (horn not working etc) meant I had to get a move on and have a look.
As expected opening it up showed all sorts of nasty
I started by clipping each wire on one side in turn and numbering it with tape while working in order. I also numbered up the side of the plug to save confusion.
Some of the wires were different colours and sizes on each side of the plug so this was well worth doing!
I'm really not fond of (or any good at) soldering, so when I found solderseal connectors a few years ago I was really quite a happy person.
They're a small section of heat shrink with glue on the inside and a ring of solder in the middle, so you shove the wires in from each end where they mesh in the middle then use a heat gun to melt the lot. Bingo, one soldered and heatshrunk connector in 30 secs.
Now that the fairing location was set I could fix the bars in place and fit the new braided brake and clutch hoses.
I went through all the calipers and cleaned them out before fitting them to the bike, thankfully the used brake master cylinder I bought was working well. A vacuum brake bleeder makes a huge difference when you're fitting new lines.
Brake fluid should never be this colour!
This is more like it
The next issue was the clutch, when I bled everything through the lever went solid and didn't appear to be pushing the clutch in.
I took it all apart the inside piston of the clutch slave looked just fine but wasn't making contact with the clutch pushrod.
I called my friend that's got a 996 and he popped over with the spacer from his bike.
One cut down section of steel rod and a coupe of washers later it was working well. I must have lost the spacer while stripping everything down.
The next big thing was a means of supporting the battery. I'd initially intended to use part of the standard undertray but the shape of it wasn't going to work.
My mate (with the 996) has a brother that's got his own fab shop, and is properly good at metal fabrication.
He quickly knocked up a basic tray in 316 stainless to fit the battery and relays into, it's so nice that I felt bad cutting the hole for the wires to go through! My initial intention to paint it has also gone out the window.
I held everything in place with Velcro straps for the time being, I'm not sure the battery will be enough in the longer term so I'll see how it goes and make something more permanent later on.
This is a known weak point because it's partially waterproof, in that water gets in then stays there.
I'd been avoiding doing mine until the fairing was fitted so that I could see how much room I had to work with, and because I didn't want to do it!
However some electrical weirdness (horn not working etc) meant I had to get a move on and have a look.
As expected opening it up showed all sorts of nasty
I started by clipping each wire on one side in turn and numbering it with tape while working in order. I also numbered up the side of the plug to save confusion.
Some of the wires were different colours and sizes on each side of the plug so this was well worth doing!
I'm really not fond of (or any good at) soldering, so when I found solderseal connectors a few years ago I was really quite a happy person.
They're a small section of heat shrink with glue on the inside and a ring of solder in the middle, so you shove the wires in from each end where they mesh in the middle then use a heat gun to melt the lot. Bingo, one soldered and heatshrunk connector in 30 secs.
Now that the fairing location was set I could fix the bars in place and fit the new braided brake and clutch hoses.
I went through all the calipers and cleaned them out before fitting them to the bike, thankfully the used brake master cylinder I bought was working well. A vacuum brake bleeder makes a huge difference when you're fitting new lines.
Brake fluid should never be this colour!
This is more like it
The next issue was the clutch, when I bled everything through the lever went solid and didn't appear to be pushing the clutch in.
I took it all apart the inside piston of the clutch slave looked just fine but wasn't making contact with the clutch pushrod.
I called my friend that's got a 996 and he popped over with the spacer from his bike.
One cut down section of steel rod and a coupe of washers later it was working well. I must have lost the spacer while stripping everything down.
The next big thing was a means of supporting the battery. I'd initially intended to use part of the standard undertray but the shape of it wasn't going to work.
My mate (with the 996) has a brother that's got his own fab shop, and is properly good at metal fabrication.
He quickly knocked up a basic tray in 316 stainless to fit the battery and relays into, it's so nice that I felt bad cutting the hole for the wires to go through! My initial intention to paint it has also gone out the window.
I held everything in place with Velcro straps for the time being, I'm not sure the battery will be enough in the longer term so I'll see how it goes and make something more permanent later on.
I needed a coolant reservoir, the standard one on the ST2 was far too big for my needs, previous experience had shown that around 500ml was plenty provided you keep an eye on the levels.
I did think about putting it under the seat but as it's an unknown quantity initially I decided to go with a mount in the fairing that I could see easily.
High tech solutions involved a clear water bottle modified to take the overflow hose.
This may be updated with time once I've ridden the bike a bit.
For the rear light I wanted to go pretty minimalist, so after some trawling of the usual sources (ebay and amazon) I found an LED unit with built-in indicators, it's tinted so not that obvious when switched off. Secured by drilling though the rear of the frame and battery box.
Unfortunately the new MOT laws mean that the indicators need to be 240mm apart, so I've added a set for MOT purposes that attach to the frame.
I also painted the rear of the frame black to tidy it up, and modified the number plate mount to be at the right angle before re-spraying it.
Annoyingly I'd left the brake light connection uninsulated and it connected with the frame, blowing two fuses and buggering the unit. Another was bought to replace it.
I did think about putting it under the seat but as it's an unknown quantity initially I decided to go with a mount in the fairing that I could see easily.
High tech solutions involved a clear water bottle modified to take the overflow hose.
This may be updated with time once I've ridden the bike a bit.
For the rear light I wanted to go pretty minimalist, so after some trawling of the usual sources (ebay and amazon) I found an LED unit with built-in indicators, it's tinted so not that obvious when switched off. Secured by drilling though the rear of the frame and battery box.
Unfortunately the new MOT laws mean that the indicators need to be 240mm apart, so I've added a set for MOT purposes that attach to the frame.
I also painted the rear of the frame black to tidy it up, and modified the number plate mount to be at the right angle before re-spraying it.
Annoyingly I'd left the brake light connection uninsulated and it connected with the frame, blowing two fuses and buggering the unit. Another was bought to replace it.
Once I'd got the fairings and seat into the position I wanted I was faced by the issue of filling the gap at the front of the seat to match the tank.
The gap wasn't huge but was significant enough, in this pic the forward edge of the old seat is visible under the new unit, I chopped these later on.
First step was to cover the tank in plastic and tape to avoid making it all one piece. I also kept a decent amount of plastic underneath so I didn't fill the bike with excess resin
I put the seat unit in place to line up the parts I needed to fill, then drew a line on the tank so I could see roughly where to stop.
Once all that was in place I glued aluminium mesh to the underside of the tail unit to support the fiberglass then built up the area using short sections of fiberglass, once it was all in place I compressed it using more tape to get rid of any voids
Id intentionally over shot on the fiberglass so it would be the right thickness once trimmed
The gap wasn't huge but was significant enough, in this pic the forward edge of the old seat is visible under the new unit, I chopped these later on.
First step was to cover the tank in plastic and tape to avoid making it all one piece. I also kept a decent amount of plastic underneath so I didn't fill the bike with excess resin
I put the seat unit in place to line up the parts I needed to fill, then drew a line on the tank so I could see roughly where to stop.
Once all that was in place I glued aluminium mesh to the underside of the tail unit to support the fiberglass then built up the area using short sections of fiberglass, once it was all in place I compressed it using more tape to get rid of any voids
Id intentionally over shot on the fiberglass so it would be the right thickness once trimmed
Edited by Speed addicted on Saturday 6th July 21:26
Next was what's usually the biggest expense of project bikes, unless you've broken something like the engine along the way, paint.
As the bike started off red I was initially going for a typical red Ducati colour scheme (ie all red) and anyone I spoke to agreed that Ducati's should be red.
Then I saw a classic Desmo in black with gold frame and badges, and this moved me more into getting it done black. Then Grey. Then finally back to red!
I'm decisive like that. I think.
Then another hurdle presented it's self. As I was taking the tank off to take it to the painters I noticed a rustling sound from within.
It's always had fuel in it so I'd never properly looked underneath, there's also been a slight smell of petrol occasionally.
This is the bottom of the tank once I'd removed the fuel pump plate. Notice the big dollop of filler under the flange. This was damp with petrol and flaked when I dragged my thumbnail over it. It's at the back of the tank base. Once I got my hand inside I could feel that it was properly rusted out.
There was also a slight paint bubble on the tank seam that leaked fuel when burst
This is looking into the bottom of the tank at the top of the tank.
The worst bit is that anything I could see through the filler cap when buying was in good condition, it's just everything else that's like a colander.
Also the fuel filter is a classic from 2006, so they've done all the bodging and not changed the filter!
I did consider getting the tank welded, but my work in offshore inspection has made me expect the job to snowball badly, it's the sort of thing that just gets worse the more you look.
Plan B was quickly hatched, and another less rusty tank sourced. It's an unexpected expense for a project that's already stretched it's budget quite badly, but there you go.
I decided to treat the inside with POR15 tank liner as a precaution, but didn't have time before it went to paint. I get it done before fitting.
I'd contacted Quill to see if they still sold an exhaust to replace my mangled left side can, they still did them so I bought one with a support strap and a couple of baffles.
Turned out that they'd changed the spec at some point so it didn't fit.
More shopping required!
As I was tidying up the wiring for the rear light I noticed that if the lights were off pressing the brake lit up the clocks, and the sidelight bulb in the headlight. This obviously wasn't MOT friendly or a good idea to have lights that flash when you brake.
I was concerned that I'd messed something up while changing bits of the wiring loom, but after a more electrically minded mate gave me some pointers I found that the brake was backfeeding through the tail circuit so it's an issue with the LED rear light unit.
I thought about buying another tail light, or going to incandescent bulbs rather than LED, but in the end I bought a diode to stop the back feed.
I also decided to refit the centrestand, it's not painted as I didn't really want to have one at all. But I was finding using the rear paddock stand a PITA as it doesn't have swingarm bobbins and I wanted to adjust the suspension so having the rear wheel unloaded made it easier.
While waiting for paint I decided to check the suspension settings and set them up for someone of a larger stature.
No idea what the previous owner was trying to achieve, but the forks were 6-8 clicks different on comp/rebound each side. They’re also set with 2 lines of preload showing so are pretty hard.
The rear shock was maxed out on the adjusters with the preload set on maximum soft, and the height adjuster all the way down.
I’ve gone for basic settings a bit firmer than stock, I’ll adjust more once I ride it.
In the future I’ll probably go for another shock and a fork refresh, but I'll ride it for the summer then sort it out.
As the bike started off red I was initially going for a typical red Ducati colour scheme (ie all red) and anyone I spoke to agreed that Ducati's should be red.
Then I saw a classic Desmo in black with gold frame and badges, and this moved me more into getting it done black. Then Grey. Then finally back to red!
I'm decisive like that. I think.
Then another hurdle presented it's self. As I was taking the tank off to take it to the painters I noticed a rustling sound from within.
It's always had fuel in it so I'd never properly looked underneath, there's also been a slight smell of petrol occasionally.
This is the bottom of the tank once I'd removed the fuel pump plate. Notice the big dollop of filler under the flange. This was damp with petrol and flaked when I dragged my thumbnail over it. It's at the back of the tank base. Once I got my hand inside I could feel that it was properly rusted out.
There was also a slight paint bubble on the tank seam that leaked fuel when burst
This is looking into the bottom of the tank at the top of the tank.
The worst bit is that anything I could see through the filler cap when buying was in good condition, it's just everything else that's like a colander.
Also the fuel filter is a classic from 2006, so they've done all the bodging and not changed the filter!
I did consider getting the tank welded, but my work in offshore inspection has made me expect the job to snowball badly, it's the sort of thing that just gets worse the more you look.
Plan B was quickly hatched, and another less rusty tank sourced. It's an unexpected expense for a project that's already stretched it's budget quite badly, but there you go.
I decided to treat the inside with POR15 tank liner as a precaution, but didn't have time before it went to paint. I get it done before fitting.
I'd contacted Quill to see if they still sold an exhaust to replace my mangled left side can, they still did them so I bought one with a support strap and a couple of baffles.
Turned out that they'd changed the spec at some point so it didn't fit.
More shopping required!
As I was tidying up the wiring for the rear light I noticed that if the lights were off pressing the brake lit up the clocks, and the sidelight bulb in the headlight. This obviously wasn't MOT friendly or a good idea to have lights that flash when you brake.
I was concerned that I'd messed something up while changing bits of the wiring loom, but after a more electrically minded mate gave me some pointers I found that the brake was backfeeding through the tail circuit so it's an issue with the LED rear light unit.
I thought about buying another tail light, or going to incandescent bulbs rather than LED, but in the end I bought a diode to stop the back feed.
I also decided to refit the centrestand, it's not painted as I didn't really want to have one at all. But I was finding using the rear paddock stand a PITA as it doesn't have swingarm bobbins and I wanted to adjust the suspension so having the rear wheel unloaded made it easier.
While waiting for paint I decided to check the suspension settings and set them up for someone of a larger stature.
No idea what the previous owner was trying to achieve, but the forks were 6-8 clicks different on comp/rebound each side. They’re also set with 2 lines of preload showing so are pretty hard.
The rear shock was maxed out on the adjusters with the preload set on maximum soft, and the height adjuster all the way down.
I’ve gone for basic settings a bit firmer than stock, I’ll adjust more once I ride it.
In the future I’ll probably go for another shock and a fork refresh, but I'll ride it for the summer then sort it out.
Got the stuff back from paint, it’s looking good!
Seat came out nice, I built it back up last night
The inside of the fairing was looking a bit scruffy, so I went over it with satin black
Also made a start in the tank liner, I’m using Por15 so you use metal prep first to chemically etch the surface then once it’s dry use the liner paint stuff.
I’ve done the etch bit and I’m still waiting for the liner, so it should be properly dry by the time it gets here.
Ordered another set of exhausts, gone for round stainless as they look more classic, they should be here this week too
That's me up to date, 8 months worth of evenings and weekends!
Seat came out nice, I built it back up last night
The inside of the fairing was looking a bit scruffy, so I went over it with satin black
Also made a start in the tank liner, I’m using Por15 so you use metal prep first to chemically etch the surface then once it’s dry use the liner paint stuff.
I’ve done the etch bit and I’m still waiting for the liner, so it should be properly dry by the time it gets here.
Ordered another set of exhausts, gone for round stainless as they look more classic, they should be here this week too
That's me up to date, 8 months worth of evenings and weekends!
Edited by Speed addicted on Thursday 11th July 12:50
abw280 said:
Love that 60's style fairing. I've never liked the gold frame colour on Ducati's of that era (I've got one!), maybe something to get powder coated in the future?
Current thinking is to ride it for a bit then consider stripping it back down to de-lug the frame to tidy it up, it would be getting painted or powdercoated at that point. It's not a bad bike to get the frame out of as the engine and swingarm are one piece.I didn't get it painted in the first place as I wasn't sure which brackets I'd want to keep.
I'd also remove the airbox and fit pod filters at the same time because that's really bloody awkward to get back into the frame. It would give me a better place for the coils to fit under the tank too.
I quite like the gold frame now, I think it works well with the style of the bike although I probably wouldn't have chosen it in the first place. If I was getting it painted I might be tempted to go for more of a gunmetal or shadow chrome.
For just now I'll be happy to be booming down country roads on it provided I can get the electrics to work properly and stop flashing the sidelights when I brake it's really not far off.
My initial deadline of September for the DGR is looking pretty good even allowing for any (hopefully minor) issues that pop up during shakedown rides.
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