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:

Good luck - two excellent websites to help you out:

http://www.buschandbusch.com/ducatisuite/home.html

and a guide to the Showa forks:

http://www.mcmototech.com/virtual/SHOWA.HTM

what the hell - a few others too:

http://uk.search.yahoo.com/myweb/use...inance+Related

Cheers - Frank

Hi again. Yeh the cost was £315 but that included a new L/H switch gear jobby for £45, so around £270, Im not complaining. I would love to have done it myself but untill My wife and I own our own house, we just havn't got the facilities to do it.

Ray @ Rosso Corse has quoted £500-£600 for the job, inc labour and new belts and studs re-shim etc. The labour is 8hrs @ £35 per/hr. I ride it in and I ride it back out. That seems fair, but I aint got the £280 labour.:rolleyes:

Compare that to the £115 per/hr the garage want for the car!!!:o

You should give Neil at Cornerspeed a ring (Nelly on this site). While he is up near Nottingham he will give you a very straight answer to all your question. Lots and lots of people in this club use him. Top man he is.

Fanx!

I've got a couple of new cylinder studs you can have for the cost of postage. Not sure if they are the older ones though, so you may want to buy them from a shop just to be sure.

Cheers,

IC

Thats very nice of you dukess1999! Is there a means of identifying them? Someone said that the replacements are black and someone else said they'er thicker? But like you said, to be on the safe side?:confused:

;)

Well Rosso Corse have been spectacular. I called in there unexpectedly Tuesday evening as I guessed that they'd not have started my engine strip down. They've had it a week and done phuck-all. I might take it back if they dont get it sorted soon.

The last thing I need is to have to collect it from there in a poxy wheel barrow cause they stripped it and then ponced about and its still in bits!! :mad: They cite holidays as the reason

Hooray! Rosso Corse have got it stripped at last. :cool: Lets hope they get it back together quicker than it came apart! :rolleyes:

Boy, did I not see that one coming. Rosso Corse reckons the parts never arrived! :mad: Looking like the parts supply are as unreliable as the bikes!:rolleyes:

Sorry, didn't see your reply way back. Just checked and the studs are marked 037749270 Prigioniero 620-750-900M-SS/03 so I guess they are later/better version. Offer still stands if you need them.

Surprise, surprise. My man has failed to complete the Duke again today. All the parts hadnt arrived till today. :rolleyes:

It has always been Ray that was gonna do my bike. Suddenly, its the other guy that was meant to work on it today, and he's been taken ill!:mad:

Fanx, but my man reckons he has all the parts. I couldn't have used them anyway. If I'm getting the g to do the job and a stud fails, he say it musta been the 1 I supp'd!;) If I had'da done the job mi'self, I could'da used it...

Phuck-my-old-boots! :o Rosso Corse called to say the bike is ready! :cool:

If this is what I'll have to put up with if the poxy thing goes wrong regularly, I no not what I'll do! ;)

Hi SneakyMcC, What's the latest on your machine mate?, hope all's well. Woody.

When I collected it yesterday morning, the fuel light was on. I seemed to cough slightly on the ride home, I got fuel just in case it was that low. It seemed to have lost an edge to how I remembered it.

I been out on it today. It dont run as well as it did! It aint fuelling right from 3200rpm-5500rpm!

Rosso Corse are closed Mondays so the battle begins on Tuesday...

Oh, thanks for asking! :-)

Oh man, that's not what I wanted to hear :( . Is it drastic power loss? what happens beyond 5500rpm? Regards, Woody.

No, just the edge. TBH I haven't ridden it for a while, but I am sure the it aint right:(

Beyond 5.5 its ok, still a tad flat I think. But in that 32.-5.5 zone, if you're on a constant throttle, the mota is hunting. Then when you gas-up, the mota has to clear it throat before pulling! Does that make sense?

I live/work in London and take my bikes half the length of the country to Nelly at Cornerspeed. Costs a fortune in petrol but it's worth every penny.

Sorry you had to find out the hard way. :(

Ali

ps: Ask Ray if he ever ran an outfit in Crediton in Devon. Be interested to know if it's the same bloke...

You said your motor has to clear its throat before it pulls. Mine was sat for 5 years and I've got a little of that myself, but I think a little attention to the carbs should sort it. il get round to it one day, but for now it's easy to live with. Went out Sunday and managed to smash the national speed limit :devil: , so she can't be far off the mark :) .
Good luck with yours and keep us posted.Regards, Woody.

I saw 120 a couple of times (120 what, M'Lud, I'm not saying!). It wasn't pulling as hard as I thought it might?:confused: It was pretty wet on the road that was best suited to letting her run on, but the conditions weren't entirely right!:rolleyes:

Rosso Corse dont sound to pleased to be getting the bike back! Not very encouraging conversation today... :rolleyes:

The bike is back at Rosso Corse...

The saga continues!

The bike went back to Rosso Corse on Wednesday cause its spluttering between 3200-5500rpm.

Collected the bike last night. It ran so well that I took it back first thing this morning after putting some Pro-FST in it (to make sure its not carb-icing thats causing the trouble) and told him without getting too Grrrr that I want it fixed proppa!

I cant believe the man. He has given me a list of stuff that 'needs doing'. He wants to start sorting other stuff out, when he's phucked up a bike that was running sweet-as-a-nut before his partner 'fixed' it!:(

My sympathies and I hope you get it sorted soon. What else needs doing to it?

Rosso Corse say that the headrace is shot(?). Summit aint right, but I'm not sure its that. Plus a fork seal is weaping. He want £170 to do both seals and the h/race-n-bearings. I dunno why, but the gearing is way too tall. The rear sprocket is to small. It has a muller rear tyre.

When that lot's done, I could have a nice lil'bike....till summit falls off it, it's a Duke!:rolleyes:

This bike is making my back ache too!:(

I took the Duke back today. For about the 3rd time since the last update. The choke now works! :cool: And the power is back! :cool: :cool: :cool: I suspect that the flat spot is still there. The bike didn't quite get to the high temp that it gets really bad tho :confused: