Monday, 24 September 2012
Shafts
End-float checked and adjusted on all shafts by changing the shims. Need to take another look at the crank I'm planning on using (a 68mm stroke item from a 900SS) because some eejit has mullered the end of it with a large persuader and it needs a trip to the crank grinder to see if it can still be used.
Bearings
New main bearings, gearbox bearings and timing shaft bearings fitted with the aid of a hot-air gun and the medium sized persuader.
History
Back in the mists of time (OK...it was 1996 really) a Ducati was a rare and precious thing. The factory had been financially struggling for years, although all the while they were producing fast, beautiful motorcycles. During the 1996 crisis the debts were mounting and suppliers were not being paid; unsurpisingly some of them stopped supplying, and Ducatis sat unfinished in the factory, waiting for the missing brakes and wheels which never arrived.
It was against this background that I bought my 916, shipped in from Spain (as this was one of the few places where some unsold bikes could be found). I had already owned an 851 and 888, but the latter had been written-off and the insurance company had settled the claim. I went down to Frontiers Motorcycles in Wimbledon with the money burning a hole in my account and, egged-on by "Gecko", agreed that what I really needed was a new 916. The genial and ever-obliging owner of Frontiers, Vigen Vartevanian, was only too happy to help, and in a couple of days "my" 916 was ready to collect.
I can still remember that first ride; the 916 was (as it is now) a phyically tiny bike for its capacity - incredibly narrow in the midriff, my knees felt like they were almost touching each other. The 'bars were set very low: the seat and 'pegs are high. Fortunately I had made the decision to stop growing once I reached 5'9" and it fitted me perfectly.
A few days later a group of us set off on one of the (in)famous Frontiers trips to Le Mans, and this is where my 916 had its running-in period. I say "infamous" because the trips had become more about the high-speed French roads and night-time partying than about actually watching any racing! More trips followed:- Der Nurburgring (several times), another Le Mans trip (nearly lost luggage), a trip over the Alps to Monza (actually lost luggage; fried regulator) and other French sorties.
In 1999 the Ducati and I moved North; first to Dundee and, six months later, to north Lancashire. A broken cambelt and hasty rebuild in 2002 were followed by a period of neglect as the 916 languished; first outside our house, then in a couple of friends' lock-ups. The second of these turned out to be damp and when I hauled the 916 out into the daylight in 2008 the moisture had taken its toll. I felt really bad about what I had allowed to happen, and dismantled the Ducati into its component parts and vowed a full rebuild would be on the cards.
To hone my rebuild skills I first carried out a full rebuild on an XT500 (http://xt500rebuild.blogspot.co.uk/) and more recently a Triumph 650 (http://triumph650-rebuild.blogspot.co.uk/) so I now feel ready to do justice to the 916; let's begin!
It was against this background that I bought my 916, shipped in from Spain (as this was one of the few places where some unsold bikes could be found). I had already owned an 851 and 888, but the latter had been written-off and the insurance company had settled the claim. I went down to Frontiers Motorcycles in Wimbledon with the money burning a hole in my account and, egged-on by "Gecko", agreed that what I really needed was a new 916. The genial and ever-obliging owner of Frontiers, Vigen Vartevanian, was only too happy to help, and in a couple of days "my" 916 was ready to collect.
I can still remember that first ride; the 916 was (as it is now) a phyically tiny bike for its capacity - incredibly narrow in the midriff, my knees felt like they were almost touching each other. The 'bars were set very low: the seat and 'pegs are high. Fortunately I had made the decision to stop growing once I reached 5'9" and it fitted me perfectly.
A few days later a group of us set off on one of the (in)famous Frontiers trips to Le Mans, and this is where my 916 had its running-in period. I say "infamous" because the trips had become more about the high-speed French roads and night-time partying than about actually watching any racing! More trips followed:- Der Nurburgring (several times), another Le Mans trip (nearly lost luggage), a trip over the Alps to Monza (actually lost luggage; fried regulator) and other French sorties.
In 1999 the Ducati and I moved North; first to Dundee and, six months later, to north Lancashire. A broken cambelt and hasty rebuild in 2002 were followed by a period of neglect as the 916 languished; first outside our house, then in a couple of friends' lock-ups. The second of these turned out to be damp and when I hauled the 916 out into the daylight in 2008 the moisture had taken its toll. I felt really bad about what I had allowed to happen, and dismantled the Ducati into its component parts and vowed a full rebuild would be on the cards.
To hone my rebuild skills I first carried out a full rebuild on an XT500 (http://xt500rebuild.blogspot.co.uk/) and more recently a Triumph 650 (http://triumph650-rebuild.blogspot.co.uk/) so I now feel ready to do justice to the 916; let's begin!
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