Well you asked for another Ducati build

[buzzer]

more or less finished the engine build, and also added some of the plated parts to the carbs, they have come up really well..

[buzzer]

Did a bit of painting and polishing today… painted and lacquered the clutch cover, and rear spring, and put a coat of lacquer on the cam belt covers which I had decided to carbon effect dip… not everyone’s cup of tea I know, but I like the look… The silencers came up really well! there were a few marks on them that would have niggled me so I decided to polish them.

as an aside, while the spray gun had some lacquer in, I finished off some cheese boards I have been making as Christmas presents for friends... its got me a few brownie points with the wife which I desperately needed the fruit and spices are encapsulated in clear casing resin.

[sirch345]

You're a very versatile man the cheese boards have come up a treat, as well as the silencers they look like new

Well done in getting some brownie points from your better half

Chris.

[buzzer]

Started the rebuild… first job was to put the frame on the engine, easy job, I held it, my wife popped the bolts in! I then fitted the headstock bearings, which I have replaced as there were small sighs of pitting, and they are cheap. I pulled them in rather than use a hammer, which also means you can give them a good tighten and bed them in nice and hard against the register. Its starting to come together… Was also playing around with the image of the engine…

[buzzer]

my wife will often say I am definitely on the spectrum today I fitted the side stand and noticed there was more play than I liked... so I made a new bush, and bronze thrust washer as I knew it would niggle me if I didn't!

[tony.mon]

Know what you mean. Play in the gearchange lever pivot or brake or clutch levers also irritates me.

[sirch345]

Know what you mean. Play in the gearchange lever pivot or brake or clutch levers also irritates me.

I couldn't agree with you more on that

Good work with the removal of play in the side stand

Chris.

[grumpyfrog]

Nice boards, have you experimented with colours yet.
Bloody expensive stuff.

[buzzer]

Nice boards, have you experimented with colours yet.
Bloody expensive stuff.

not yet... I have some more wood and deciding what to do with it... it is expensive though you are right...

Its funny how to me progress seems slow, but when you come to put it all together you realise that all the little jobs you have been doing over the months are now paying off as it becomes an assembly job! One thing I have done in the last few days is to check the loom over… its in great condition apart from one area… It looks like someone has fitted an alarm at some point…, and someone has subsequently removed it! they didn’t do a bad repair, but I hate the tape over bare wires, and I wanted to check the integrity of the joints, so I pulled the soldered wires apart and re-soldered them, and covered the join with shrink wrap. To finish it off nicely I took the terminals out of the blocks with my terminal removal tool. this is a fantastic little set of tools, and very cheap to buy.. I have lost count of the times I have used them over the years! that meant I could use some braided expandable sheathing which most cars seem to use these days. it means it can go over the terminals and then fit tight on the wires. this is finished off with some hear shrink, and if you use the glue lined stuff it makes a good repair.

probably my last update this side of the holiday... Merry Christmas!

[buzzer]

back after the break... I did relent and have a few hours in the workshop ! next the hydraulics … I stripped everything down and cleaned the callipers and master cylinder up. the callipers came up well, but the anodizing on the master cylinders were poor… so I bead blasted them and have decided to leave them silver… All the seals were perfect, so I have reused these. I cleaned the callipers up in petrol with some very fine scotchbrite, being very gentle, they came up a treat.

looked at the switchgear and although its in great condition, the plastic sleeving was tatty… so I used some of the braided stuff, and some glue lined shrink wrap to finish it off… the braided stuff expands a lot, so no need to remove the terminals off the wire which is a bonus.

[Pete.L]

back after the break... I did relent and have a few hours in the workshop

I hope you left enough time for the Christmas Pud to go down

[buzzer]

back after the break... I did relent and have a few hours in the workshop

I hope you left enough time for the Christmas Pud to go down

I had a Christmas day ban

starting to go back together, I am pleased with the way the exhaust and silencers polished up… Polishing always hurts my wrists these days… must be getting old

[sirch345]

This photo looks great

I see you're making very good headway again, well done



Chris.

[fabiostar]

thats some amount of work


i cant help but think would a storm engine go into one of those frames????

[buzzer]

thats some amount of work


i cant help but think would a storm engine go into one of those frames????

anything is possible with an angle grinder

Time to start up soon… I am always aware that a rebuilt engine needs oil at first start-up, and while I always fill the filter before I screw it on, the oil cooler and pipes are empty, as are the oil ways, and the oil pump. I have therefore always used this method of giving the engine the best start in life I can and inject some oil into the system via the oil pressure switch port.

I used to do it on many of the race engines I have built in the past and it was always satisfying to take the oil filler cap off and see oil seeping out the rocker shafts or cam bearings. Either way I always turn it over until the oil warning light goes out… which unless you prime the oilways can be a worrying amount of time!