[Apriliarider]

Wish I got paid to do the resto....but that's not why I'm doing it. I have a vision in my head of what it will look like when I'm done and that's what keeps me going with it...most of the time anyway.



Too much crap going on in my life right at the moment though....difficult to focus on a project when I'm constantly having to pull away to take care of other **** that I didn't even start.



That and work has been stressing me out the last couple of weeks so my general energy for doing anything once I get home is pretty much nil. Kinda like now....just want a beer and bed......sean

 

[Apriliarider]

Milestone reached

Not a great deal was accomplished but what was, is significant.



Messed around with the replacement engine this weekend. Poured in a couple of quarts of oil. The engine sat for an extended time without oil in it. Anyone's guess as to how long.



I figured I'd pour in some and turn the engine over by hand to circulate the oil some and clean out any dust or condensation that might have collected inside over the time that it sat.



As there was no fill plug, oil pressure sensor or breather installed, there was plenty of means for crap to get down into the crankcase.



So, after a few revolutions of the crank shaft with a couple of quarts of fresh oil, I pulled the filter. It had some of the new oil in it, as well as some water. Not a great deal but still, some water.



The drain plug wasn't even tight. It was starting to drip oil before I even removed it. Once I did, I noted some more water in the oil, some slight traces of old oil but not much. All together, between the filter and crankcase, I'd guess around a 1/4 cup of water, maybe a bit less.



In went some fresh oil and a new K&N oil filter. Then, the frame and engine were married up for the first time since last year when I tore down the whole thing. Milestone.



I feel like this project is now pointed down the road to completion. There is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, and it isn't a train about to run me over. At least, I hope not. More later.........sean

 

[Apriliarider]

Another minor update

Gotten very little done since the oil change. I did however do some cleaning up and a tiny shot at customizing some non-critical parts.

Those are the crankcase ventilation "pods". One connects directly to the crankcase vent, the other to the air box. They're connected internally so crankcase gasses are drawn by airbox vacuum back into the combustion cycle.



As can be seen, these were filthy. That is not dry rot you see, rather some sort of over spray combined with dust from previous body work and paint. I took the time to scrub them up and clean them before applying some "Pig Spit" which is a Harley Davidson detailing product.

That took hours. Literally, it took me several hours of scrubbing to cut through all the garbage that was built up. Tonight, I received an order from Amazon. I ordered some gold colored faux carbon wrap made by company called Vivid. I thought I'd try using it on my belt covers.

This is my first go around bit it didn't come out too badly...debating about doing it over again.It isn't right out in the open to see, but can be glimpsed behind the fairing. There's two more pieces to do, so I'll see how they come out before I decide whether to do this particular part over again..........more later....sean

 

[Apriliarider]

Wish I had great progress to report but of late, I haven't gotten much done. In actual work on the bike, absolutely nothing.


In getting parts, that's a different story.Ordered up a few things recently. Most arrived just yesterday, though a piece did arrive last week.



I got a new carbon front fender from RSR Moto in the UK. They do some really tasty carbon bits that are well finished.



I am going with a matte carbon on all my carbon parts on this build. RSR sells a really nice, simple weave with a matte finish.



I think the look is befitting the simple elegance of the 900 Supersport:

That's the only major piece that I got. Also got some silicon jacketed copper 10 gauge primary wire to wire up the start circuit. Also, previously got some large crimpers with dies for just such a job. Some tinned copper eyelets too. Just gotta find the time to get out in the garage and get that done.



I charged up the AGM battery that it came with so I can at least get the starter motor to turn the bike over and run some oil though the thing before I install the beautifully restored carbs from ducatiman.



I had hoped to have a rolling chassis done by now. Didn't happen. I'm in need of 2 things to make that happen. 1) I gotta get the rear shock serviced or rebuilt or both and 2) I gotta get in touch with a machinist to machine a tube I got so I have a front axle spacer.



Problem #1, the stock OEM bearings in the SSie wheel I got early on in this project use a 25mm axle. I have a front end from 1996 Supersport SP set up for a 20mm axle.



I initially planned on just swapping out the wheel bearings and calling it good but Ducati threw me a curve ball in that, the newer SSie wheel uses a 12mm wide bearing. The OEM bearing for the 20mm axle are 14mm wide. No bueno.



My solution was to have a spacer made to take up the difference and just use the OEM 25mm bearings and shim them down to use the 20mm axle. To that end, I ordered a 25mm OD tube from Amazon. That's the part that arrived last week.



It fits perfectly through the internal wheel spacer which is the same ID as the bearings. I just need 1mm taken out of the ID of the tube for the whole thing to work. That, and cut it to correct length.


The rear shock is a different matter. I have a rear shock from an SSie which is around 12mm longer than the pre-electronic injection bikes. This is a good thing, as there are precious few ways to alter the rear ride height on the cantilever rear suspension on a old Supersport.



The bad thing is, the shock is a Sachs and there are even fewer options on servicing that. I've contemplated buying a better aftermarket shock but I've decided that is something I can do later on, right now I just need to get a shock under the rear end.



That is the extent of my progress, and why. Rear shock is preventing assembly of the rear end. Axle spacer is preventing assembly of the front end. The result is, no rolling chassis.



More later, when I have something more significant to update......sean

 

[K-woppa]

I predict you'll be doing a lot of looking at that fender tonight.

 

[Apriliarider]

I predict you'll be doing a lot of looking at that fender tonight.

It is kinda like artwork innit? :grin2:

 

[K-woppa]

It's gorgeous.

 

[Apriliarider]

It actually looks better in person than in that pic too. I got the rear hugger in the same weave and finish so they'll compliment the bike I think.

The 900SS is elegant simplicity in a motorcycle. To my mind anyway. That's what makes them so.....indefinably attractive. They're pleasing to look at, but it's almost impossible to capture in words exactly why. That certain something. Je ne sais quoi.


The RSR Moto plain matte carbon weave is also simple rather than extravagant in appearance. That's why in my mind, it's the perfect compliment to the 900SS.



Once installed and the bike fully assembled it won't look out of place, like it is a modern addition. Rather, it will resemble the original carbon from the 1990s without actually being so. At least at first glance. ....sean

 

[Apriliarider]

No pictures to share...yet. Bike is going back together slowly. Not trying to rush or anything. I dry/test fit parts, make sure they fit correctly, and then install.



This is crucial with repaired or replacement parts. The last post I pictured the carbon rear hugger I got from RSR Moto. It looks every bit as good as the front fender I posted.



Today, I attempted a test fit as I'm in the midst of test fitting the swing arm. Turns out, it will need a little bit of "massaging" before it will fit.



Shock is installed too, but just temporarily. The bolts aren't tight or anything, just a test fit to see how much clearance there is and to aid in the test fit of the swing arm.



Swing arm is in place, also temporarily. I had to determine how many shims it would need before real installation.



Glad I checked.



When I first got the bike, and in the tear down process, I noted some damage to the swing arm. Some was quite evident that an idiot of some persuasion installed bolts that were far too long to hold up the exhausts.



Those bolts gouged out an arcing trail on the aluminum swing arm. As I was preparing to fix those, I discovered some catastrophic cracking to the pivot area of the swing arm. I detailed it elsewhere on the forum so I'll leave that part be.



I brought that up because when I tore down the bike, I took note of how many shims there were between the swing arm and engine, and considered that I would have to install the same number of them on reassembly.



That turned out to not be the case. One has to wonder why that is. I even measured the distance between the swing arm pivot boss on both the engines I have, and it's identical.



On test fitting the repaired swing arm, I needed only 4 shims. The factory manual calls for a single 2mm shim on each side, and 1mm shims to align the counter shaft sprocket and rear wheel sprocket.



Right now, I have a 2mm shim on each side and 2 1mm shims on the right side of the swing arm. I have zero play and less than 1mm gap between the shims and swing arm boss. Exactly as described in the factory manual.



When I removed the swing arm from the original engine, it had at least a dozen shims installed if not more. Again, the question is why?



Did the cracked swing arm flex so much that shims were added in an attempt to correct that? Or, more likely, so many shims were added that the swing arm cracked?


I can prove neither, and both scenarios are logically viable. The cracks at the pivot end, were both on the left side. Thus, hidden by the fact that it cracked on the back side, as well as the top and bottom which are hidden under the chain slider.



I'd likely never have found the cracks save for my OCD about working with clean parts had me place the swing arm in a steam clean cabinet. When it came out, the cracks were extremely evident.


On the bike, no one would have known they were there. Even with the swing arm off, the caked on chain lube and grim hid everything until I got the are clean and even then, only after the trip though the steam cleaner.



So, the question remains, did the cracks cause a PO to over shim the swing arm, or were they the result of an over shimmed swing arm? Guess we'll never know unless a PO were to chime in.


Still have to find a machinist to turn me a spacer for the front wheel. Aside from that, the rear should go together rather quickly once I "massage" the hugger and lube the swing arm bearings so I can put it all back together properly........sean

 

[Apriliarider]

Progress at last

As previously posted, I just went ahead and reinstalled the rear shock after some clean up and half arsed attempts to disassemble. You know, like Jonny 5? :grin2:


At any rate, I went to a local machinist today, given that I had the day off. I figured I should either work on my car or make some significant progress on the project.



To that end, I took the front axle and "nut insert" along with the inner wheel spacer and the bearings down to a shop called T.O.E. Performance in Suisun City, CA.



Despite having a different name, Suisun is just across town. Travis Air Force Base where I've worked off and on for 25 years was known at one time as Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield.



Enough of the history lesson though. I took all those parts and the alloy tube I got from Amazon down to the shop and inquired about the job of turning the tube into an axle spacer.



Tony, the proprietor understood what was needed, and said he'd do the job. He then told me it would be done today! WoooHooo!! He kept to his word too and around 3:30 this afternoon he called to say it was done.



He even made the thing with stepped ends so it feeds into the bearings and maintains the proper clearance to the existing internal spacer. Seems that 25mm is a subjective measurement.



I say that because the bearing/spacer combination is supposed to accept Ducati's 25mm axle. Yet, the inside diameter is different between the two. Hence the need for the stepped spacer to allow for the use of the stock 1996 20mm axle.



So, this evening, I managed to install the bearings and spacers in the front wheel and dry fit the new to me alloy carrier/iron band front rotors with the brand spanking new titanium rotor bolts.



I state dry fit, because as with the swing arm, I'll need to apply some sort of lubricant to the threads. As the swing arm bearings will need grease, and the pinch bolts a nickel based anti-sieze; the titanium bolts will need a copper anti-sieze which I still need to buy.



I also test fit the rear wheel into the swingarm and it is a perfect fit, width wise. Still need to disassemble all of that and apply the fore mentioned lubricants.



However, I also need to get titanium rotor bolts for rear rotor as well as titanium axle nuts and chain adjuster bolts. That and a chain will finish off the rear end but for now, I can assemble a rolling chassis.



The front is ready to go on, all I need to complete the front is a 20mm ID speedometer drive and the front will also be done.



I got out my dremmel tool this weekend too and "massaged" the minor detail needed to mount the carbon rear hugger to the swing arm. It looks awesome and honestly, it is so rigid that I can shake the entire bike just by tugging on the hugger.



I also got some pan head, socket head, stainless steel screws to mount the hugger. The pan heads were a tad too narrow so while I was out dropping off the parts at the machine shop, I picked up some stainless steel washers at my local ACE.



When I disassemble the swing arm, I'll apply the nickel based anti-sieze to all the stainless steel screws I used on it.



I'll be back through out the week to edit this post with pictures of all the work done. More later......sean

 

[Apriliarider]

My apologies. I intended to take some pics of the progress but caught a head cold Tuesday. Been under the weather ever since. Didn't even venture out to the garage all week.



Took a peek at things last night to kinda remind me of where I am in the process of what.



Fortuitous then to realize that I had not yet placed my order for the Titanium chain adjusters nor the Titanium axle nuts. I've had my eye on the ones below from Strada Fab.



I took that opportunity to not only order them but also bit the bullet and ordered new old stock axle carrier blocks.

I really, really wanted new billet alloy parts to replace the OEM silver "cheese" like blocks. With the refinished swing arm and Ti hardware....the old garbage OEM parts just looked like they'd not fit in well.



Rather than ditch them completely, I may try to refinish them and/or see if I can get a local machinist to make some out of billet, using them as pattern parts.



Once they arrive that should cosmetically finish up the rear end. Just need a chain for the rear end to be mechanically complete.



Sadly, zero progress on the front end. Logically it should be back together but I still need a 20mm ID speedometer drive before the wheel is installed.



All for now. I'll update once I make further actual progress....sean

 

[Apriliarider]

Still no real progress to report. Ti chain adjusters are still MIA in shipping. My new chain arrived from Amazon today though. Ordered a 20mm ID speedometer drive so still waiting to receive that as well.



Went to my local Cycle Gear to buy a front Michelin 2CT for the PSS. Nada. They had PR5s and some Power RS's in stock, but not a 2CT. There were plenty of 2CT rears though. As much as I hate to do it, I'm gonna have to order a new front from somewhere. Maybe CG, since the company HQ and warehouse is local also. I'd rather not have to order from halfway across the country.



Started out with a plan to deglaze my rear disc. I'd intended to just buy a new one but upon close inspection, the rear disc that came on the bike is functional. It just needs a good clean and a deglazing. There is a slight ridge worn in it but nothing significant. Certainly nothing to get it below MINTH of 4.0mm. It's a good 4.5mm right now, and the ridge is really slight. I'd guess less than .075-.05mm


I managed to get out to the garage on Wednesday but around 30 minutes into enacting my plan, it started raining on me. I was just gonna move inside the garage but decided I'd rather not do the job and blow abrasives all over my other bikes. Supposed to rain for the rest of this weekend, as well as all this week. Not looking good for getting the disc finished up and mounted.



Not a complete loss I guess, as I'm still waiting on several other things to finish up both the rear end and front too, plus the tire. More later.....sean

 

[Apriliarider]

Ordered a new Michelin Pilot Power 2CT from Cycle Gear this evening. My new to me 20mm ID speedo drive arrived today also. That means I can put the front end together now. Well....once I clean and lube the drive assembly. It arrived looking like it just crawled out from under a bike as leaky as mine was when I got it. It's filthy. Also, the old nasty lithium grease it was lubed with is now more like glue than grease. It's gonna take some serious cleaning to get it where I'm ready to regrease, assemble and install.



Waiting on my Titanium chain adjusters still, and now the Ti bolts for the rear rotor too. Gotta clean up the back side of the rotor so I can finish deglazing it. Once that's done and the still absent Ti fasteners are here, I can complete the rear end and have a rolling chassis. Finally.



Once I reach that point, I can start installing the exhaust and the brakes and electrical too. It's just been too slow of a process for my liking. I want to see it done and ready to ride. I won't rush it, or compromise the vision I have for this bike. The few riding buddies I have who've seen it are of the same mind and can't wait to see it finished. Personally, not only am I Jonesing to ride it, but I can't wait to show it here. It's already been over a year. I don't want it to be 2 years. Besides, I want to ride this thing to the Ducati West Coast Meet this year on Father's Day weekend................sean

 

[Apriliarider]

Got quite a bit done this weekend with the project bike. To start with, I had to run a die over the threads for my rear axle. The new Ti nuts would not thread on smoothly. I went to my old shop and checked out a 16mmX1.5 thread die and cleaned up the threads on Saturday. That worked a treat. I was able to run the Ti nuts down without any kind of issues.



Then I cleaned up the new to me 20mm speedo drive. The nice clean mineral spirits I started with turned completely black just cleaning up the outside. I attempted to clean up the drive gear and worm gear but the drive gear would not come out of the housing. It took quite a bit of clean up with fresh mineral spirits to free up the internals. There were chunks of hardened lithium grease coming out for quite a while before I sprayed some brake clean into the housing.



That and some vigorous tapping of the drive against the work bench continued to reveal hardened chunks of old grease but the drive gear finally released and slid out of the housing enough that I could grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers. It took a good deal more scrubbing with a tooth brush and more mineral spirits to get it clean enough to finally be able to get fresh grease into it.



That's done now, so just waiting on the new tire to get here so the front end assembly can proceed.



Still waiting on more Ti parts to finish the rear end assembly up. De-greased the new chain of its packing grease today too. Even at 106 links, it is too long. I put it over the sprockets and there are 4 links left over with the wheel all the way at the maximum end of adjustment. I thought I'd need a longer chain for the larger tooth count sprocket but that isn't the case.



It actually looks like I'll need to remove 6 links to get the axle into the middle of the adjustment range. I think I'm going to wait until the weight is on the wheels so I can see how the suspension compression changes things. I don't know if it will or not but I think it best to wait.


One other thing that I'd been waiting for a reasonably dry day to accomplish is resurfacing the rear rotor. It's more or less just an aggressive de-glazing process that I used a long while back on my Aprilia front rotors. It involves using a device to spin the rotor while applying light pressure with an angle grinder equipped with a flexible sanding disc. It came out reasonably good. Not as good as my Aprilia rotors but as its the rear, I'm not concerned.



While I was at it, I used the same stuff, though using a full on grinding wheel to modify a 15mm deep socket to fit into the frame lugs for the engine mounts. I replaced them both with stainless steel bolts from Speedy Moto. That required the modified socket to torque the bolts. All for now, more later......sean

 

[Apriliarider]

Update, 15 December 2019

Finally got a few mostly dry days strung together. It actually got warm enough to be outside without either a rain jacket or winter jacket on. Sweatshirt weather, yay.



I got out to the garage both days this weekend. Saturday I took care of the front tire, it took a week to get here from Cycle Gear.....and their corporate office/warehouse is less than 20 miles away. Kinda peeved that it took that long. The folks at the store said it had to come all the way from Vegas....but a week?



Anyway, once that was mounted up, the last of my Ti parts arrived for the rear wheel...save for the rotor bolts. No matter, I got that all put together too. Looks pretty good if I say so myself:

Got that squared away, aside from installing the ti rotor bolts, which aren't here yet. The sharp eyed among viewers will notice the chain just tied up with a zip tie. The reason for that is, I wanted the suspension to load a bit before I cut the chain to length. That way, I can see if it will be the proper length to start out as far forward in the adjustment as possible. Don't wanna cut it for that, and then find the suspension can't compress because the chain is too short.



Also, the second pic shows the deglazed rear rotor. Came out okay I think. Certainly good enough for a rotor that will get used less than my shot glasses.



Also, as previously stated, I got the front wheel together as well as the speedo drive. I installed the front wheel today, which was spectacularly more difficult that it sounds.

The reason for that is, I had the bike on an engine stand ever since I started reassembly. In order to get the front end up where it needed to be, I had to use a scissor jack and lift the entire thing up by the engine in order to get the front high enough to install the wheel.



That involved stacking lumber under it until I got it high enough. Installed the wheel and the speedo drive as well as the new carbon fender. Then I lowered it all down into my front chock to keep it stable on my bench. I could not use my normal work stands because my bench is just long enough and just wide enough for a bike.

After I got it on its wheels, I removed the engine stand for the first time since I don't know when. It was attached to the engine stand when I got the new engine.

It's finally a roller!!!

Finally, a gratuitous shot of the clutch:

All for now, more once I make further progress.....sean

 

[ducatiman]

finally looking like a motorcycle, now coming together. Each component shot looks immaculate

Paint planned via DIY or pro?

 

[Apriliarider]

finally looking like a motorcycle, now coming together. Each component shot looks immaculate

Paint planned via DIY or pro?

Well......I have the paint already. House of Kolor too. I have a paint gun or two. I don't have a place to shoot it though. I could build one, buy a temp one, or buy a cheapo green house to use as a booth.



I've shot bikes in my garage before.....but that was before there was a Ducati and an Aprilia parked in there. Now I'm thinking some 2X4s and some heavy duty clear plastic to wrap a frame in as a temp booth.



There was a green house for sale at Harbor Freight, a 6X6 one for around a hundred and a half that I was gonna buy.....they don't have it anymore so that's out. If I find one similar, maybe I'll just buy it to do the paint and then sell it.....or keep it for the next project!............sean

 

[Saabnut]

I noticed the front and rear wheels have a slightly different finish, with the lip of the front being polished and the rear painted silver. Going to stay that way or will you match them later?

 

[Apriliarider]

I noticed the front and rear wheels have a slightly different finish, with the lip of the front being polished and the rear painted silver. Going to stay that way or will you match them later?

Meh.....I dunno. It isn't so important to me that I'd bother with doing that...at least right now it isn't.


I painted it because the front was such a royal PITA to strip and polish. The paint...well, truth be told, I think is some sort of epoxy finish or powder coat is extremely thick. So thick, a chemical stripping product barely made a dent in it.



I literally had to take an angle grinder to it, and grind until I could visually see the paint was thin enough to start on it with a bristle disc. Even then, it took ages to get it down to where I could start polishing.



I took one look at the rear wheel and thought, "Efff that, I'll just paint it" and went the painted route.



If it bothers me enough in the future, and I get bored (not likely) then maybe I'll pull it back off and go the polished route. I'd have to be REALLY bored though. :grin2:

 

[Apriliarider]

Not enough transpired this weekend for me to call this an update. I cut the chain to proper length, installed the master link and that was mostly it.



My Ti rotor bolts came in but they're not right. The size and thread is correct but the bolt head is not compatible with the rotor. Good thing these were not pricey. Gonna have to order the correct ones from RSR Moto in the UK.



Brought a few plastic parts in that I might try to mess with this week. I want to try covering them with carbon wrap. They're insignificant enough but I want to replace them with more RSR carbon. This way, if it works well, I'll get the look I'm after for now and replace the parts later with the RSR carbon parts which are currently out of stock.



Gave them a good scrub for now. Once they're dry and I feel like fooling around with the wrap I'll give 'em shot and see how they come out. More later........sean