ducati track bike project











so, i'm idly flicking through the ducati forum and i click on the classified ads, bollocks, there's a 750ss 'fueli' for sale, 16000 miles, no service history and eight previous owners, it's only thirty miles away and i try and justify owning another bike to mrs b, i go with the intention of poking it with a stick and convincing myself i really don't need another ducati, forty minutes later and after a look around i'm the proud owner of a rather tatty ducati, there's no account for taste and no offence to the previous owner, but, red and gold anodised screws, red braided brake hoses and more stickers than a sticker factory sticking things on every available surface isn't how we roll in holbrook. on a more positive note, the engine starts easily from cold, [i checked to see if it was warm] the motor sounds sweet and has 16000 miles backed up by a sheaf of old m.o.t's that confirm the mileage, it has ducati performance aluminium cans and aftermarket clip-on's that have a certain something, a brand new rear brembo caliper, decent bridgestone tyres and is taxed and motted, the rear shock is fucked, confirmed on my ride home, the front forks are harsh and need work, but, it steers straight, take your hands off the bars and it tracks a true as an arrow, the motor is nice, no searching or stuttering and pulls from low revs thanks to the fuel-injection, as soon as i get home dangerous starts to rip the decals off the bike while i make a brew, ten minutes later and we see why the p.o. had stuck them on, the decals underneath are on the piss, oh dear, racer off the bench and an hour spent going through the new purchase reveals a few horrors, the oil cooler is a 916 item, mounted upside down off the horn bracket instead of the correct bracket, various electrical components are hanging loose, no fixing screws, not even a tie-wrap to secure them, the engine cases have been wafted over with a tin of halfords wheel silver paint, directly over the flaking original case paint, grease, shit and a liberal dose of over-spray all over the chain, frame and exhaust, deep joy,  fairings certainly hide a multitude of sin's, ain't that the truth! i drain the oil, thick, black, tarry, smelly old shit that's only fit for mixing with creosote to paint the fence spews out, the best is the rear caliper, 'have you slackened the allen-bolts off dangerous?' 'no, why?' they are finger tight, the threads stripped through over-tightening, no problem, i can helicoil them, what really pissed me off is the fact that the p.o. 'forgot' to mention a potentially life threatening bodge in order to sell his bike, i will never, ever ride a bike home again, i never have done before, i've always collected them on a trailer or in a van, but, circumstances this time made me take a chance, i was lucky, i wasn't hanging about on the ride home, for what i paid for the bike i don't expect concourse condition, but, to bodge brakes? no offence to the previous owner but, yeah, i take offence that a bodge like this might have caused me serious injury or death! mate, you are a fucking wanker! anyway, the plan is to build a nice little track-day tool, move the beemer on and pay some bills off, i'm off to the classic tt / manx g.p. tomorrow with dangerous, chalky and sweary mick, the forecast for the sailing isn't good and i'm the worst sailor in the world, i'm feeling sick already......

Comments

  1. Have a good trip y'all (as we say round 'ere!).

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  2. All sins can be forgiven... Nice find and congrats! You'll have fun spannering on that thing this winter.

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  3. Another one, another one!!, why not. I guess the greater the deathtrap, the greater the satisfaction well it's finally done right. Have fun at the classic TT, I hate boats.

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  4. A waft of paint over something to tart it up a bit and make it look better to a potential buyer is forgivable, endangering someones life is another matter entirely. I would've been hard pressed to stop myself going back to tell him what I thought, only the wasted fuel would make me think twice about it.

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  5. Spud, you're right of course. I was only trying to put a positive spin on it.

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  6. Might be worth checking the small ads for a new brake caliper hanger, as Helicoils are fine when tightened/untightened only once, but are not intended for connections that are opened frequently... You may want to use an Ensat thread bung (or the like) instead and glue them in with some super strong loctite.

    Can't blame you for a Ducati as a track bike... bl**dy ace they are!

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  7. thank's everyone, i suppose the ducati is a bit like one of those dog's you see in the rescue centre, sitting there all sad and unloved, all it needs is a good dose of poking with a stick, some time and effort and it should all come good eventually, lets put it like this, i've started with much worse! spud, if i'd gone back it wouldn't have been to have a little chat, it would have been to give him a big dentists bill!, greg, in my experience a helicoil is fine for this application, i'm not intending to have to remove the rear caliper from the bracket too often, the ensat fittings are good but you have to be spot-on when screwing them in to make sure they go in square, probably end up making a new hanger anyway....

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