Cylinder head bolt troubles (noob)
 

I have been virtually given a 1995 900ss and on collecting the bike this evening, I noticed one of the cylinderhead bolts is rattling loose in the head/barrel :(

How repairable is this likely to be?

It looks like the fork seal is leaking too. Not had a chance to give the bike the full once over yet. Gift-horses-and-mouths, etc....



(Picture swiped from the WWW)

Thank for any help given ;-)

Sounds like the stud has snapped.Quite a common problem,I'm afraid.It is repairable,but will require the removal of the cyl head and barrel.

Thanks KeefyB. Are you in the UK? Do you know anyone in London you could suggest?

It was a known problem with early models, which I believe was repairable under warranty - you simply fit the beefed up cylinder studs that all later models use. Its not a big job, except for getting access to the rear cylinder requires what seems like most of the bike to be dismantled :)
These people are worth trying in London www.rossocorse.co.uk

Sorry btw - very impolite of me !
Welcome to the board SneakyMcC, I'll have an ice cold Guinness, thank you for asking, my throat feels like it needs a bit of medicine just now.

Thanks Phil. just spoken wi'em. They seem cool. I prolly have a crack at stripping it down myself. It'll double the price of the bike if I have them do it, thats assuming I dont just return the bike?;)

I just got back from meeting Ray (Rosso Coarse), he seems right on the money!

Hi SneakyMcC, Woody here.
Just managed to get online today after my house move.
My '94 900ss has just had the same prob, and just after I'd bought her and lastly, the very same bolt!!!!!!
I removed the engine, which presented no probs, just a little patience and time. Took it to Chris at Veloce Ducati in Norwich and I said take your time and got it back after 5 weeks and lots of Chris's sweat!!!!. All 7 Bolts presented no probs at all, Troublesome No 8 was a different storey.
A process called Spark Eroding was used in the end and today was my first ride out!. All went well till the end of my street and discovered I'd put the gear linkage on upside down (Schoolboy error I know:lol: ).
Just need to get the miles up now and iron out any teething probs. Best of look with yours.
Regards, Woody.

5 weeks! Did he charge you rent? No really, how much did he charge?

A m8 once rebuilt a 2stroke trail bike. Having tried a car battery on it and obviously blowing the engine electrics, he then ignored our pleas not to used the ignition CDI that he found at the breakers that looked identical but the parts numbers were different. The bike sounded so sweet when he first started her up. The smug grin soon got wiped off his face when having gently warmed her up and adjusted the clutch, as he pulled away the bike went backwards!!:lol: