[auburn]

love his markings!! the neck stripes and his feet. looks like he's on stilts haha

 

[Apriliarider]

love his markings!! the neck stripes and his feet. looks like he's on stilts haha

Looks like he’s part Serval!!!

 

[ducatiman]

Adding a small winter project comes to mind....rebuilding front master cylinder on my 800SS. During the process of raising its' clip-ons, a conversion to a ZX7 master took place. I've actually got the kit, just need to remember to do it.

Edited to add: rebuild kit installed today! Now if i can just remember to reinstall the master it'll be done (save bleeding)

 

[ducatiman]

i will be awaiting as many updates as possible on maverick

he's acclimating to indoors wonderfully quick!

 

[bpe]

My first order of business will be the fork seal replacement.

 

[ducatiman]

ordered on ebay a ZXR-7 black, adjustable brake lever for the 800 today to match the corresponding clutch lever. And some flat neoprene replacement padding to redo a torn leg cover on one of my rear stands. For a couple of simple bs projects/upkeep come spring.And Mav is doing just fantastic fitting in. Note brake lever replaced today, accompanied by a full bleed and rear stand leg padding replaced as well.

 

[FlipFlop]

After the New Year Day ride, figured I need to flush coolant and at one point smelled anti-Freeze telling me there is a micro leak somewhere I need to trace down. I am guessing the O-rings and since I will be doing this I will replace the previously damaged water pump cover, check my valves.

 

[ducatiman]

check my valves.

Good on ya', Flip..........the off season/winter valve check allows full, uninterrupted riding season, beginning to end. Owning Ducati's......a critical must, when and if its due. In any event, precisely at mileage due.....never, ever blow off a valve check, regardless of time of year.
Suggest this critical function to all bike owners, actually.

 

[[email protected]]

Looks like I'll never need to worry about blowing off a valve check on that new Yamaha R3 I picked up last spring. The factory doesn't call for the first valve adjustment until 42,000 kms! Doing the math based on how many kms I put on it last summer, I'll be 94 before it comes due. Can't imagine I'll be riding it and probably won't even own it at that point in time.

How Yamaha managed that I have no idea.

By the way, FlipFlop, you're on the right track. My EX exhibited exactly the same symptoms and it turned out to be the coolant tube o-rings. Coolant runs down the little drain hole next to the spark plug and evaporates before it ever hits the ground, but making the telltale smell. You might be able to spot a bit of dampness or staining at the lower end of the hole between the fins just to confirm.

 

[ducatiman]

How Yamaha managed that I have no idea.

longer service intervals (specifically valve checks) are common on newer models...amongst others, even late model Ducatis 1200 MultiStrada are 15,000 miles, my '19 Honda 650/4 (thankfully) calls for 18,000 miles between checks. I'd chalk it up to the use of the latest, modern raw materials within their component makeup. No matter the bike.... it is what it is, so always adhere to your particular models' printed maintenance schedule.

 

[[email protected]]

My theory is they figured out how to match the wear rate of parts that would reduce clearance (valves and seats) with the wear rate of things that would increase clearance (cam lobes, buckets, shims, and valve stems) so the net change winds up near zero. Either that or there's virtually no wear on anything. Probably both.

Modern (i.e. expensive) oil is undoubtedly an important factor in all this, too. Skimp on the oil changes at your peril. The R3 only holds 2 liters so there's absolutely no excuse.

 

[bpe]

I had a '74 Ford Courier that required a valve adjustment every 10,000 miles. A four cylinder with eight valves. I know it's kind of an apples to oranges comparison. But now we're talking going back to 1974, of course one of the biggest differences is the much lower high-end RPM's of the Courier. The rate at which the valves fell out of spec on the Courier was similar to the EX. Which for the most part meant they never actually fell out of spec when adjusted at the correct interval. Most of the time just moving from the center of spec to the edge of spec.

 

[ducatiman]

Thinking out loud here:
To this point, I've been using the rear exhaust pipe location to sample exhaust gases (using my Gunson CO/gastester) when setting the air bleed screws while balancing the throttle bodies on my (injected) Ducati SS800. There exists a Ducati OEM special tool part # 887131010 "connector for exhaust gas take-up point" which threads into a removable plug in each header pipe and supposedly reads much more precisely, however costs over $40 with shipping. I'm considering fabricating the simple threaded vacuum fitting/tubing combination from cheaper, readily available, possibly local components.

1st step.....remove plug, ID thread size and ascertain overall dimensions and components required to build the darn thing, sizes within use of the Gunson pick up hoses. Pic attached. A great winter project added to the list.

 

[jorge moros]

That thread looks like NPTF, but Ducati being an Italian brand, it's probably metric.

 

[ducatiman]

a post within Ducati.ms forum states its 1/8" BSP, but we'll see. I'll have the plug (from the bike) in my hand later today.

 

[yorkie]

a post within Ducati.ms forum states its 1/8" BSP, but we'll see. I'll have the plug (from the bike) in my hand later today.

BSP (british standard pipe) thread is tapered sometimes called gas thread as it tightens down progressively.

 

[ducatiman]

correct, known as BSPT, and i believe 1/8 version is what i've got here. Hitting a local hardware store very soon.

 

[ducatiman]

for just $3.90 found what i was looking for at a local hardware store. This should radically aid current air bleed settings to even more precise ones ....once spring/warm weather returns. I don't feel bad wasting time/researching/physically searching out parts and pieces during winter......actually time well spent!

 

[ducatiman]

When warm weather finally returns...I'll hopefully find the perfect balance between setting the TPS (throttle position sensor), setting TB (throttle body) sync, 2 air bleeds, idle trim and CO. Using 3 tuning devices at the same time....IAW Diag (programs the ECU using laptop), mercury vacuum guages AND the Gunson CO meter, a certain amount of back and forth tweaking and compromises to be expected, as certain adjustments can radically effect others.
After tackling the more complicated injected 800, I'll do the carbed 900SS and simply set its CO (to around 3%) via the pilot screws .....to assure I'm not destroying the atmosphere, pissing Greta off. Can't have that, nope.

 

[K-woppa]

When warm weather finally returns...I'll hopefully find the perfect balance between setting the TPS (throttle position sensor), setting TB (throttle body) sync, 2 air bleeds, idle trim and CO. Using 3 tuning devices at the same time....IAW Diag (programs the ECU using laptop), mercury vacuum guages AND the Gunson CO meter, a certain amount of back and forth tweaking and compromises to be expected, as certain adjustments can radically effect others.
After tackling the more complicated injected 800, I'll do the carbed 900SS and simply set its CO (to around 3%) via the pilot screws .....to assure I'm not destroying the atmosphere, pissing Greta off. Can't have that, nope.

Looks like you're adapting well to this to this newfangled era, dadgummit!