New to Ducatis - A few ?s

[jamieboy]

Hi Guys

Ive just taken the plunge and got myself a 2001 X 900 SS , 19K but it was a good price and had some history.

ive got a few questions, being used to Jap multis, you can imagine it a bit of a culture shock for me!!

the dry clutch makes a lot of noise when the clutch is disengaged (like the noise a clutch basket on a wet cluch would) , is this normal?

there is a fair bit of corrosion on the engine cases , any tips for touching this up and where to get the paint?

how often should the belts be changed? , this bike has done 19000 and the last service was at 13K .

Thanks
Jamie

[phil_h]

Welcome Jamie
Duc clutches are notorious for being noisy, even against other dry clutches.
You should ignore the noise from it, cos it only means you are stationary in neutral ;)
The only problem you should get (eventually) is that there will be wear in the clutch basket causing a lurchy feel as you let the lever out.
The up side of dry clutches is that they usually grip really well if you want to wheely :saint:

The engine lacquer is the same as all other bikes so if you want to touch it up to stop it spreading (it will cos its salt) just carefully clean off the salt with something like a small brass suede brush and brush on a couple of layers of engine lacquer from your favorite engine lacquer shop.
Lots of people forget when they clean their bikes that detergent has a shed load of salt in it, and any winter salt that gets through is then topped up when they wash and dont rinse </apron>

Belts - most people play safe and change them far more often than they need changing. If you rev the balls off it thats probably a good thing, but technically, they only need changing every 2 years, unless the bike stands in hot sunlight regularly, as heat also ages any rubber-based parts prematurely.
If you're not sure then do it, cos rubber is cheaper than metal, and it sounds as if you are due for a service anyway.
(Yes I know tey have kevlar in them, but its all held together with rubber)

Now go out and play with that midrange torque !
Phil

[ali]

If you're concerned about the belts do 'em yerself. In the long run it's a good way of saving a bit of cash:

http://www.ducatisuite.com/beltchange.html

Ali

[phillc]

With regards to the clutch noise, "they all do that sir." It is loud, it does sound like a bag of spanners, but it is supposed to. Mine makes a kind of "clack, clack" sound when the clutch is disengaged in neutral and then a loud "tinkling" when the lever is pulled in. (Great descriptions there.....)

I've just put a nice open clutch cover on my 900ss and now it is even louder. :-)

My '99 750ss has a lot of paint peeling off the engine case at about 17k miles. There's also a fair bit of corrosion from winter riding. I think this is a fairly common problem/issue/occurence.

Belts I'd say get them checked and changed. Better safe than sorry, especially if it doesn't have full service history.

Top purchase though and welcome! Where in the country are you located?


[Edited on 17-7-2005 by phillc]

[Derek]

The service schedule for the belts is every 12,000 miles or 2 years, which ever comes first. For peace of mind I changed mine every winter when the bikes was laid up and checked the shims at the same time. For me thats about every 6,000 miles.

[jamieboy]

Thanks for the help guys. im a bit less worried about the clutch now. it is very grabby though! . maybe ill strip her out and give it a clean.

where do you guys recon the best (value) place to buy belts is?

im overall pretty happy with the bike , although there are a few things that have already started to **** me off ! , the finish isnt as bad as i expected, heard some horror stories in the past about ducatis :-0

i live 20 miles south of glasgow , on the ayrshire coast , probably some of the best roads in the UK. and pretty close to the Highlands.