Ducati UpNorth and Scottish Ducati Club Forum http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/ Discussion, chat and technical forum for Ducati motorcycle owners in Scotland and the north of England/UK. Info and advice on SBK, 851, 888, 916, 996, 998, 999, 1098, 1198, 748, 749 848, Sport Classic, Hypermotard HM, Multistrada and Monster). Forum home of the Scottish Ducati Club Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:18:55 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/redgrey/misc/rss.jpg Ducati UpNorth and Scottish Ducati Club Forum http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/ Bike down and a broken engine in the same week http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13028&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:46:18 GMT Hi guys, thought I should share my troubles with you. I was lucky enough to get to the Manx GP... Hi guys, thought I should share my troubles with you.

I was lucky enough to get to the Manx GP last week - awesome time, but I went on my crash damaged 748 and came back in 1995 Discovery v8... read on to find out how and why.

Last Friday, a few hours before leaving Edinburgh for Liverpool I realise that my rear tyre wasn't going to last 1 lap of the mountain, let alone a whole week of fun so I popped to Saltire for a new rear. Great service, fitted me in with short notice and I rolled out in under 40 mins on a shiny new BT016. Now, last time I did this I had a little 'oversteer' as I left their yard. This time, with Mike the service manager's word's ringing in my ear "New tyre, covered in release compound, run it in gently for 100 miles" I safely left the yard and teetered up Dundee Terrace. At the t-junction, turning right onto Dundee Street I built the revs and slowly released the clutch. The bike gently rolled off the raised cobbly junction unto the tarmac and within a blink I was sat on my ass watching my beautiful bike slide down the street towards now on-coming traffic.

The engine was still running and in gear, flailing it's rear wheel like an up-turned beetle. Shame on me for trying to be safe and fitting a new tyre. You won't beleive how many people drove round me as I struggled to right the bike and wheel it to the roadside...I can't believe people are that selfish?!

The damage? Both parts of the right fairing. The right mirror didn't snap off, instead damaging the front fairing, smashing the screen into 5 parts and snapping the mirror bracket. Front right indicator. Right bar end and brack lever. Brake pedal. Footpeg. Pillion footpeg. And the clutch cover, which bent inwards fouling the springs so I couldn't engage neutral properly. As I was surveying the scene on the accident, looking for diesel (hopeful as always) I noticed my indicator lens lying in the road and realised I could glue it back on as a temporary fix. Just as I stepped into the road, a car kindly swerved just percectly to run it over creating an orange plastic puddle next to the two most expensive red stripes in Edinburgh.

So, the ride to Liverpool was uneventful, ferry was uneventful, and the first couple of days hooning back and forth over the mountain was magical. I was getting faster each time and starting the link the corners together, even sticking to the left becuase of two-way traffic) . Until I noticed a rhythmic clicking from the rear - the chain wasn't straightening properly. I cleaned it, lubed it, turned up the scott oiler but still there. I was also getting some scary understeer tipping deep into corners - the front BT016 had worn away so much on the shoulders that it had left a sharp angle onto the sidewall. OK at moderate lean angles, but that little extra tilt was putting the tyre onto a corner with a relatively tiny contact patch and making me run wide. Not what I wanted with on-coming traffic.

Wednesday morning I popped down to Paul Dedman in Ramsey - he fitted a new chain an a Supercorsa BSB to the front immediately. What a difference! 5mph more up the mountain mile, tons more grip and control in the corners. Tipped in with the same 748-ness as before but held the line so much better and responded nicely to rolling on/off the gas. Then after 50 miles I was coming back round Verandah and I suddenly lost power with a strange new engine sound.

The oil light came on briefly and it wouldn't pull in any gear. Revved freely in neutral and ckinda got to speed in 1st, but didn't have any go. It felt like a misfire, or pinking, and the engine had developed a new knocking sound. Valve? Conrod? It starts from cold perfectly, but just doesn't run properly. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them! I've heard everthing from throttle position sensor to big end in the last few days, and I fear that without a proper Ducati mechanic looking at I won't be able to diagnose it.

Anyway, back to the story, I freewheeled back to Ramsay, got a lift from a stranger with a van and a ramp (thank you!!) back to the cottage and worked out what to do next. Paul Dedman didn't want to touch it for fear of leaving me with a pile of bits (difficult to get home!) and the breakdown cover would only take me 10 miles before charging me £550 to get back to Edinburgh.

So, walking to the pub to have a good think (ahem, I mean drink) we spotted a Discovery v8 for sale in a car park. Sized up the boot space by eye, called the number, took it for a test drive and promptly bought the damn thing! So, now I'm the proud owner of a Manx registered Landy, which hasn't had an MOT for 5 years (not required over there) but does have electric sunroofs, yes 2 of them, and 2-zone air con! Back seats were promptly cut from their mounting, dog guard was extracted, ramp was borrowed, and the bike fitted perfectly in the back held down by rear seatbelts and prevented from rubbing on the inside with well-placed leathers.

I had to re-book my ferry - 8pm from Douglas to Heysham on Saturday which arrived at 12:30am. Then slowly drove home to conserve fuel. I tried to stick to 65 and it returned ~25mpg which isn't too bad for a 15 year old v8 lump?! The plan is to throw it through an MOT, register it in the UK and sell it to get my money back. Then cancel the insurance so that I don't have to enxplain to the boss why there's £750 sat on the company credit card...

So far, including the tyres, chain, car, insurance, fuel for bike and car, cottage, ferries etc etc I've spent £2749 on this holiday. And that doesn't include beer and chip money or damage to the bike from the spill (which wouldn't have happened if I'd not decided to get a new reat tyre for the holiday don't forget!)

I hope you enjoyed my story, and if there's a moral in there I'd love to know...

Take it easy, try to stay shiny side up, and enjoy the rest of the summer...cause until I've sold the Disco I can't aford to get the poor 748 back on the road :( ]]> Technical, Problems, Tips and tricks oozyadaddy http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13028 Spondon Frame 750 http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13027&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:28:25 GMT Has anyone come across a Spondon framed 750 Ducati? It is/was mainly grey with yellow and red... Has anyone come across a Spondon framed 750 Ducati?

It is/was mainly grey with yellow and red stripes. It was built by Steve Whin and was probably a G plate.

It was sold by Dave Petrie motorcycles in Ayr when it was 2/3 years old.

Any information would be appreciated. It's a nostalgia thing.:) ]]> Ducati Chat mbg http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13027 Test http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13026&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:52:20 GMT Just testing as others seem to have issue accessing DuN last night and this morning :confused: Just testing as others seem to have issue accessing DuN last night and this morning :confused: ]]> Forum and Site Feedback Scottch http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13026 Ducati clarify the reason for pulling factory support for SBK http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13025&goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:05:28 GMT Ducati have clearly been surprised at the reaction to their withdrawl of factory bikes 2 weeks ago... Ducati have clearly been surprised at the reaction to their withdrawl of factory bikes 2 weeks ago and a number of statements have been made to clarify the position.

It does seem that increasing costs of running in WSB is the main one because they now see it as more of a prototype class than production based (which it always was!) but they also goes on to say they will continue to support privateer teams in WSB it just wont get full factory bikes which is how the Japanese have doen it for years.

Gabria Del torchio makes the following comments on the costs and development on Ducat Corse website

Quote:
Recently the Superbike World Championship, according to the current regulations, has been interpreted as moving more towards competition between prototypes rather than for bikes derived from production machines. This has led to an increase in costs, both for the manufacturers and the teams participating in the championship. This picture does not correlate with the current worldwide economic situation, which has made the securing of sponsorship even more difficult. Ducati trusts that the work carried out by all parties will lead to improvement also in this area.
and during a statement on the re-signing of Nicky Hayden

Quote:
“Firstly, I’d like to say that Ducati is not leaving SBK. We will continue to race as a satellite team, just like the Japanese do. The world changes and we need to streamline our resources. Basically, the engineers that are currently in SBK will move to developing new production models and improving quality. There will be private teams on the track - that seems logical to me. We are definitely not abandoning the SBK because its in our company DNA.”
Given their use of factory specials via the homologation rules throughout the 90's and up until the 1200cc era it does seem rather strange to now complain about other teams doing it however !

Rossi has also gone on record claiming that Superbikes have now drifted too far from their original production based formula saying they have become too prototype!
Rossi came to be riding a factory Yamaha R1 as a result of his Mugello injury. Since testing his M1 was out of the question (due to MotoGP testing regulations) Valentino twice rode the R1 and seemed to enjoy it! As World Superbikes become more sophisticated the line between them and pure MotoGP machinery is beginning to blur. Perhaps that’s what prompted Valentino to make his remarks.

“For me, the problem is that the Superbikes are not the normal street bikes like in the rules, but are prototypes.”

it now looks like WSB will have to get back to being a more production based series if its to keep factory support. ]]> Ducati News Gizmo http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13025 For Sale Fat Duc O2 Manipulator http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13024&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:50:16 GMT FAT DUC O2 MANIPULATOR - £40 (Free P&P)
(rrp $80+$15 shipping)

Condition: New. (Purchased in error).

OEM Description:
O2 Manipulators are an economical solution to alter the closed loop air-fuel ratio on many Ducati Motorcyles. O2 Manipulators are “plug and play” requiring NO cutting or splicing of wires and installs inline at the factory oxygen sensor connection. O2 Manipulators work by altering the oxygen sensor output voltage. This slight reduction in voltage forces the ECU to add additional fuel. The O2 Manipulator circuits are fully variable allowing the user to fine tune the device to their particular setup. The altered air-fuel ratio output range is 14.2/1 - 13.0/1 calculated using a base target of 14.7/1.

Benefits:
Say goodbye to the common complaints of late model Ducati Motorcycles. The richer fuel mixture achieved from installing the O2 Manipulator gives you:

Increased Throttle Response
Reduced or Eliminated Surging
Reduced or Eliminated Popping on Deceleration (due to lean fueling conditions).

Compatibility:
O2 Manipulators are compatible with the following models using Ducati Oxygen/Lambda Sensor Part #552.1.111.1A:

MONSTER 695 (2007 - 2008)
MONSTER S2R1000 (2006 - 2008)
MONSTER S4R & S4RS (2007 - 2008)
GT1000 (2007 - 2010)
SPORT CLASSIC 1000 & 1000S (2006 - 2009)
PAUL SMART 1000LE (2006)
MULTISTRADA 1100 & 1100S (2007 - 2009)
SPORT TOURING ST3 & ST3S (2006 – 2007)
HYPERMOTARD 1100 & 1100S (2008 - 2009)
SUPERBIKE 1098 & 1098S(2007 - 2009)
SUPERBIKE 848 (2008 - 2010)
SUPERBIKE 1198** (2009 - 2010) **Requires (2) O2 Manipulators
STREETFIGHTER** (2010) **Requires (2) O2 Manipulators

The O2 Manipulators are also compatible with the EURO version (Not USA) 2007 Monster S2R800.
O2 Manipulators are NOT compatible with Ducati Performance ECUs (as supplied with Termignoni exhausts) or other controllers that bypass the factory oxygen sensor.

Official Website:
http://www.fatduc.com/home.html

Online Press & Reviews:
http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/fat-d...r-manipulator/

http://fatduc.com/attachments/pdf/MCN_Review.pdf

Item photo:



Interested? Email me at: admin(at)mt-owners-club(dot)org ]]> For Sale/Wanted Lazarus http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13024 Grampian Motorcycle Convention Alford http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13023&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:39:48 GMT Hi all, anyone heading to Alford today for the GMC, kicks off @11 till 4.30, sadly I cant take the... Hi all, anyone heading to Alford today for the GMC, kicks off @11 till 4.30, sadly I cant take the bike as the Wife and baby are coming along but hopefully meet some members down there, although I wont be hard to spot, wearing my Ducati jacket!!!LOL. Cheers ]]> Events, rideouts and meets richabz http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13023 Hi from Aberdeen http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13022&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:30:57 GMT Hi all, new member up in sunny Aberdeen and have once again joined the Ducati family. I have just... Hi all, new member up in sunny Aberdeen and have once again joined the Ducati family. I have just bought a 2007 1098S Tricolore and I had a 2000 996 SPS last year but sold it due to the arrival of my baby daughter. I have lasted nearly a year without a bike but cant take it anymore!! Im looking forward to hopefully meeting a few of you at a local meet and contributing to the forum best I can. Thanks.
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]]> New Members Virtual Bar richabz http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13022