848/1098 Ducati Performance Air filters (and other issues from an 848 with 24,000km)

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I had an 848 in for a 24,000km service a while ago that had a couple of issues that i thought would be worth commenting on.

The first was that it wouldn't start, which turned out to be because there was so much water in the fuel tank that when it was parked nose up a slight incline all the engine got was water being injected. One of those "I rode it and parked it and now it won't go" jobs. Turned out the drain tube from around the fuel cap was blocked, so when it rained the cap recess filled up with water and then when the cap was opened it got into the fuel tank. There was at least 1 litre of water in the 8 or so of fuel I drained out. So that was an easy fix.

Second the steering head bearings were so notchy it took a detirmined effort to turn the bars. Just pushing it into the shop and onto the bench bought this to my attention. Steering head bearings are one of those things that deteriorate over time and people just don't notice, so often telling someone their bike needs new steering head bearings is met with a suspiscious "feels ok to me" response. We replaced the original ball style with tapered rollers, although this requires spacing the seal off the bearings. I use the original washer from under the lower seal between the new lower seal and lower bearing and fit another of these washers on top of the top bearing under the seal. Works a treat.

Third was the amount of dirt in the airbox. Fitted with a Ducati Performance slip on muffler kit, the supplied air filter was too short for the space between the air ducts, and you could see the dust on both ends where air had been going around the filter. The state of the bottom of the airbox was quite disturbing for a supposedly dirt free environment though - see the photos. To fix it I fitted a piece of vacuum hose (3 or so mm ID, 7mm OD) around the edge groove of the air runner which loaded the filter a couple of mm when both air runners were fitted. Hopefully that will fix it. Certainly worth checking, as I had a feeling early on that there wasn't a great seal on these filters, but hadn't seen any high km evidence to back that up.

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Closed until January 11th

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I'll be closed until January 11. Before then you can email me and I'll get back to you.

Happy holiday of whatever kind you care to celebrate or not season to you all.
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A Great Video

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About two guys who get their dad's old bike restored. It might be a Norton, but it's a great story so we can forgive that.

http://vimeo.com/11285536
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900SS With FCR 39 and 41 Carbs

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Two 900SS, both fitted with slip on mufflers (Staintune, Gia.Co.Moto), std airbox lids without snorkles and std jetting. Before they were pretty similar:

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After, FCR41 in red, FCR39 in green. Both runs done with the same 152 main jets.

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With FCR39 before and after

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With FCR41 before and after

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Back to work and back into it

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Don't you love it when it hardly seems like you were away? On my first two days back I took a few weeks worth of bookings, and at this point am booked out until the second week of November.

Some people express surprise at this, but it works like this. On a very good week I charge out 30 hours, but on average it's 23 or so. The other 20 odd hours get lost in admin, organisation, parts sourcing, talking, etc. So I don't need a huge amount of work to keep busy. And I find many of my jobs expand from what they were booked in for to what I end up doing, requiring me to not overbook myself (which I am very good at) and allow time for the always expected unexpected.

Some people ask when I'm going to employ someone else, but I have never intended to do that. Before I opened for business I spoke to quite a few people doing the same thing as me, and many who had employed staff at times said they'd not do it again, for a variety of reasons. Employing staff brings much more to the table. Instead of 25 hours of bookings a week I'd need 40 for the employed person plus 15 to 20 for me, so I'd need to find more work. Also that person costs much more than just the wage they get paid - insurance, workcare, etc. And I'd no longer have total control for what was done or said.

As much as I didn't think I'd use the word, the main reason for me is control. It just occured to me that I'm going to be sounding like a control freak (didn't think I was). Frankly, I'm typing as I think and this post has taken on a bit of a life of its own since I started, but you get that. I was intending to have something about 848/1098/1198 Ducati Performance air filters. I'll do another post on that. Maybe I just need to do some writing other than the invoice stories. I enjoy being responsible for them too. It would sometimes amaze me at how a well intentioned service manager could misinterpret what was written on a job card and write something on an invoice that was totally incorrect simply because they had misunderstood (or couldn't read!) what was written. I'm really starting to ramble now, better get back on track.

Perhaps it's more correct to say that I'm enjoying not being responsible for other people. As a service manager in particular I found myself sometimes frustrated at the role I had to play between technician and customer. Now I'm responsible for all the work, all the talk (and the mistakes) and everything else that comes out of Brad The Bike Boy. That's the part that I like. It's not that I had serious issues with anything that happened at my previous employer, but most people know what it's like to have to sort out a mess of someone else's making while still meeting customer expectations and without upsetting any of the parties involved or making anyone look bad.

Of course I'm talking to myself more than before, but fortunately I don't find myself too bad a company.
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Email problems

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If you've been sending me emails and wondering why I'm not replying, I'm having some email issues. Hopefully I will be able to reply to them by Friday 10th.
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Closed for two weeks 30/08 - 10/09.

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As the title says, we'll be closed for the next two weeks. I will endeavour to respond to emails during this time.
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Michelin Power One 120/70ZR17 & 180/55ZR17 to clear.

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I have a pair of Michelin Power One I'd like to move. 120/70ZR17 front, 180/55ZR17 rear in the "road" compound. Normally $535 plus fitting, this pair can go for $525 fitted.
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Ignitech TCIP4 Ignition units in stock

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I now have some TCIP4 Ignition units in stock. Nominally to suit the carburettored Ducati SS and Monster range, these units allow full control of the ignition advance and at $225 are a cheap replacement for the original Kokusan units should one fail.

See http://www.bikeboy.org/ducati2vignition.html for more info.
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Wheel and Tyre Insurance from Swann

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I thought this was info worthy of spreading. Swann Insurance are offering wheel and tyre insurance. A customer in last week mentioned he'd taken out this policy in addition to his normal comprehensive insurance (seperate policy) after he mentioned he had a slow leak in his rear tyre which turned out to be a nail at a very shallow angle and not really repairable.

He now has a new tyre due to this policy, the cost of which (for 3 years) was a bit less than the cost of the replacement tyre. And it also includes rim damage.

So well worth looking into I thought.
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Full EXACTFIT Timing belt range now in stock

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All the EXACTFIT belts are now on the shelf. Range and price per pair as follows, trade enquiries welcome. Postage is $5.50 normal parcel post or $8.25 express post for one pair.

TB696; all 696 and 796; $110

TB800; 1998 onwards 600M, 750M and 750SSie, all 620, 695 and 800 models; $110

TB900; all 900 and 944 2V motors; $95

TB1100; All 1000DS, 1100 and ST3; $121

TB996; 748 (except late build “low head”), 851, 888, 916, 996; $135

TBST4; 748 low head, S4, ST4, S4R, ST4S; $135

TB999; 749, 998, 999, S4RS, S4RT; $154

TB1198; 848, 1098, 1198; $154
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More EXACTFIT timing belts on their way!

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The rest of the EXACTFIT timing belt range - 900 2V, 620 to 800 2V, 696, ST4S et all (desmo low head), 916 et all and 1098 are on their way and should be on the shelf next week. We'll add the belts to our products page with a clear model application chart to make it easy.
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A new photo from the benches

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I had this pair up on the benches a couple of weeks ago and thought they were worth a photo. The Lemans has 30,000 miles on it and looks like a 30,000 mile old Lemans - black paint rubbing through, cracked side cover mount tabs, the usual sort of thing. The MHR has 30,000 km on it and looks like it was new yesterday. I have no idea how he keeps it so clean.

Not sure which one I enjoyed riding the most though. Both typically old bikes - bad brakes, not so nice suspension, all that kind of stuff. But both still very cool in their own way. I think I like the Lemans more, but maybe that's just because it's more like a modern Guzzi. Which may be a back hander for your modern Guzzi now that I think about it. Plus it's lower and more manageable maybe. Or gives you the impression thereof, regardless of whether or not it's true. Certainly the low, long look of the Lemans has classic cafe racer written all over it. The MHR is missing it's belly fairing, but I quite like it how it is.

EXACTFIT timing belts to suit Testastretta 749, 998 and 999 now in stock.

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We now have the EXACTFIT TB999 belts to suit 749, 998 and 999 in stock. These belts retail for $66 each ($132 per pair), somewhat less than the Ducati price of $350 per pair! Trade enquiries are welcome too.

We should have belts to suit 1098 and 848, low exhaust cam Desmoquattro engines (late 748, S4, ST4, S4R, ST4S) and small engines with round tooth belts (1998 on 600 and 750, 620, 695, 800) in stock early June.

More info here - http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/exactfit/
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Some photos for the Monster list of dial indicator holders and tips

Nothing overly special, just valve lift measuring tools for checking cam timing for a discussion on the DMF.

New hope for Digiplex owners

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I got an email today from a fellow named Craig in Sydney who has a Moto Guzzi Sport 1100 (carburetor model) which is fitted with a Marelli Digiplex ignition unit. Craig tried an Ignitech TCIP4 unit without success, but is now running a unit from Cliff Jefferies. Cliff sells the "myecu" replacement 1.6M, P8 and 1.5M ecus and has branched out into this as well. More info on Cliff's stuff here - http://www.cajinnovations.com/MyECU/index.htm

Ian Gowanloch also had some new Ducati Digiplex units for sale, not sure if he has any more. Ian is selling some of his massive collection of bits on ebay under the name italsparesducati. He has lots of older Ducati stuff as well, from single to bevel, Pantah and late 80's 851 and 906. Well worth keeping an eye on if you're into that sort of thing.
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Staintune clearance sale

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Staintune are having a clearance sale - see here for details http://www.staintune.com.au/docs/staintune_sale.jpg
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California Cycleworks Exactfit timing belts in stock

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We now have 1000/1100DS and ST3 Exactfit timing belts (# TB1100) from California Cycleworks in stock. See http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/exactfit/ for more info. 749, 998 and 999 belts should be in stock early April.

TB1100 retail for $55 each ($110 per pair), less than half the price of genuine Ducati belts. Trade enquiries welcome.
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New and modified reports up.

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I've finally got some new stuff up.

996SPS with head work: http://www.bikeboy.org/996SPS.html

916SP with 955 kit dyno graphs added: http://www.bikeboy.org/916bigbore.html

Ducati engine bits swapping info updated: http://www.bikeboy.org/duccapacities.html

Ducati cam specs updated: http://www.bikeboy.org/duccamspec.html

MV SPR 750 graphs added to MV F4 report: http://www.bikeboy.org/mvf4base.html
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Closed Thursday 28th January

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Due to a sick little man, I'll be closed tomorrow (Thursday).

Brad

I was going through my photos...

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and found this one of a Tricolore Kit, posssibly my favourite 851 photo. Taken at the Italians at the Museum day 2004. I have another that was taken from a lower angle that is better, but I missed the leading edge of the front wheel and the symetry freak in me won't let me post it because of that.

A Very Cute MV

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One of my customers bought his little MV 350 in last week for some work in preparation for some display laps at last weekend's Island Classic at Phillip Island. It was such an attention grabber that I took some photos to share. Originally a 1977 350 twin, it has been modified by ex MV GP race team man Primo Felotti into a visual replica of an old multi GP bike. I'm told the process of convincing him to take on the project was almost as involved as the project itself. A classic "I know a bloke who know's a bloke" sort of thing.

Certainly some very nice work in fabricating custom bodywork, and with some engine mods too. The tacho is redlined at 9,000 rpm, but I wasn't keen on going that high myself on the road test. After the road test we pulled the rego plate mount and it went to the Island with the classic cafe racer tail piece as it should be.

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Brad