Ouch. My limp is wrist...

Or something like that.

I decided that this afternoon may be a good time to wake the Ducati
from hibernation as the roads had dried off by then and the sun was
out. It was time to switch the garage to summer mode anyway...

Out (finally) comes the Ducati. It had been suckling on the Optimate
for a couple of days to make sure there was enough juice for it to
crank. First, turning over the engine without any fuel didn't lead to
any untoward noises, so it was time to turn the taps to their 'On'
positions.

Now, this bike has a pair of 40 Dellorto pumpers but no choke. In true
ShiteOlBike tradition you have to flood the carbs before you crank the
engine and if it catches you sit there blipping the throttle until it
decides that it may, just *may* get the idea of what idleing is all
about.

This starting technique endears you to your neighbours if you tend to
go for a ride on early Sunday mornings, as the silencing qualities of
the Contis on these bikes are legendary. Putting it on megaphones would
probably make it quieter. Ann reckons she can hear me coming *at* least
from the roundabout at J10 on the M20, if not even further away.

Anyway, the rear carb did as it was supposed to but could I get the
front one to flood? Could I buggery. A quick peek into the tank
revealed the reason for this - it magically hadn't refilled itself over
the winter. A quick trip to the local Shell station sorted this
problem. The front carb is still reluctant to flood but at least it
gets enough fuel for the bike to start now.

So for the first time this year I drag out the leathers, hop on the
bike and away I go. The plan was to go for a quick blat up the A251,
across to Canterbury and down the A28.

First part of the plan was executed flawlessly but a quick check on the
map would have suggested that leaving the A2 at the first exit for
Canterbury may have been a good idea.

Oh well, nevermind, I'll just carry on on the A2 to the exit for
Barham. From there on runs one of my favourite backroads (via Elham,
Lyminge and Postling back to the A20) right back to my front door.

So the quick blat turned into a 1 1/2 hour, 50 mile+ ride. I'm still
grinning like a loon and my wrist is killing me.

The ride showed up a couple of little jobs that need doing - the
clipons, levers and switchgear need to be adjusted properly, I need to
check the front carb to make sure there are no blockages in the fuel
supply and the idiot lights have got AWOL. Oh, and maybe I should
finally sort out that bloody lhs indicator.

ShiteOldDucatis rock.

 

got the SOBoxer out last monday evening, as it was a lovely sunny evening...

bloody cold, though.

I think pretty soon I'm going to have to investigate the engine a bit. It'd
only pull to 80 on the flat, whereas previously it's show 95 on the clock if
you tried a bit - it's also making a bit of oil smoke. Recon heads would be
the best plan (if not the cheapest) as there are various anomalies in the
heads and rocker shafts, and mebbe new rings and/or a rebore. It did have
rings a bit back, but didn't get honed at the time, which was probably a
mistake.

time to get onto motorworks. Hmmm. wonder if they've got a set of 750
barrels and pistons?

 

What a lovely phrase.

 

On Sat, 8 Apr 2006, Timo Geusch typed this :
(snippery here and there)

Having the carb ice-up in a wide-open position, just after starting, at
6.30 on a winter Sunday morning in Suburbia, is also a good way of
introducing oneself to the neighbours.

 

<VVBG>

 

What is all this fannying about of which you speak?

The process I use for the 40 mms is simply: tickle, flood, start and set
sail. Don't piss about with the idling and warming; just ride it gently
and feather the throttle for a few hundred yards or so. Admittedly it
takes a bit of practice in sub zero temperatures but I don't think it'll
be a problem for you.

Mine also has contis which is why I need to clear the terraced street I
live in as soon as possible. It sets car alarms, off you know.

 

Well, it's still running straight 40 oil at the moment, mainly because
the 'experts'[1] have been insisting that this is the *only* oil you
should put into those bikes.

This oil, when cold, puts an enormous strain on the oil pump so you
really don't want to ride off straight away.

This should become a problem of the past when I change over to a decent
synthetic multigrade but at the moment I have to warm up the engine.

I'm not surprised, although I haven't managed that yet. However this is
still the only bike I can hear the exhaust - and pretty much *only* the
exhaust - at 75mph.

 

And the footnote fairy strikes again...

[1] "We've been running these delicate engines on 1880s oil technology
for decades without any ill effects apart from those to *your* wallet".
I mean, even Ducati recommended a synthetic multigrade when they were
new, ffs.

 

Similar power, capacity, air cooled, plain bearing, unit gearbox, twin?

I use Comma semi-synth with oil changes every 2000-3000 miles and filter
every 6000-9000 (the factory book says after 5 oil changes).

Modern oils are so much better and I've been using them with no
ill-effects for the last ten or so years. TBH the semi synth I've been
using isn't exactly bleeding edge.

 

Indeed, probably slightly more power but not that much more. About 70
Italian hp...

I quite like Comma oil - I'm using them in most of the cages and they
seem to do what it says on the tin. Got to check if the Darmah has a
wet clutch or not...

Indeed. There's currently a bunch of oil threads going on on the
Bevelheads mailing list which by now seem to be going a bit UKRM. I
think it's safe to say that they've yet got to reach an agreement :-O.

 

Fake racer, in my case then. After riding this bike around the bumpy
narrow lanes of Kent at speeds that I thought were pretty decent (no
doubt you'd have thought I was still warming up the engine) I'm left
wondering how people managed to race these things at the IoM...

 

You'll get those by riding one with the standard Marzzochis down a
bumpy track at speed...

From my experience I would think these bikes aren't on the original
shock absorbers and fork internals, though...

The engine on these is a peach IMHO but I doubt that I'd want to ride
that around a circuit like Chimay (someone was racing one there) or the
TT without a few subtle modifications to the frame and some rather
improved forks and shocks.

 

The problem is the clutch, which is notoriously heavy on these bikes,
plus the fact that I've had an arm injury in my left arm several years
back that hasn't fully recovered.

By rights I should stick to twist & go scooters but life's too short
for that kind of crap.

 

Well there's now a couple of proper sized automatics, that one from
honda wot was discussed on ukrm a month or two back, plus the FJR1300
auto. Not to mention the Suzuki concept Stratosphere thing.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

Yup that FJR Auto has TIMO written all over it. One can only imagine how
complex the transmission is and the possibilities therein.

 

Are the above sentence and the following one related?

[snip]

Just asking

 

You mean, the sales monkeys' manual has a picture of me in it with the
caption "Do not, under any circumstances, sell one of these bikes to
this man"?

 

That lunatic Dutch team had three, IIRC. A couple of years ago, when
Niall went on his CB500T, they said that if it blew up, they'd buy it
off him....

 

Same procedure for the Dnepr.

 

Ural anoraks will tell you that you should only use monograde 40 weight
because of the roller-bearing big ends. Dneprs have bolt-up, plain bearing
big ends, and are okay with being lubed by any old crap.