Starting the rebuild
 

Hi all,

Some of you may remember me from several years ago. I purchased a mint 2002 748s from another user and lived out my Ducati fantasy. I loved this bike and took great pride in looking after her. I was inolved in an accident around 5 years ago which wrote her off. The front end was ripped off wreaking the headstock. I got the bike back from the insurance company with the intention of rebuilding her one day. Well i've finally mad a start striping and buying parts. There is still a lot to do but thought i'd post some pics up. I'm sure there will be loads of silly questions along the way and would be greatful for any help you guys can give.



After getting the engine out i started cleaning and stripping off the loose paint



I've begun to tart some bits up



I plan of doing the work myself over time and painting up various parts as i go along. Most will be rattle can due to cost but will see how we go.

Might be worth popping the back off that starter motor and checking how much life is left in gthe brushes

Nice project to be getting on with during the crap weather

The engines only done 6k miles. Do you think it'll be ok?

Hi Chris

Good luck with your rebuild. Keep the pictures coming, always interested in other peoples projects.

Not that much to report as yet. Painted the headlight surround



And i've got some primer on the frame. Still undecided on the final colours of the bike but the frame will be red.





Whats the best place to get head bearings for an adjustable headstock?

Hi Chris,

I've at the same stage as you in that I've just had my frame stripped and am underway getting it resprayed.

Re. the head bearings, I went for tapered roller bearing as an upgrade to the standard OEM ones. Reading some of the US forums they're supposed to be excellent.

I got mine from Speedy Moto in the states last week. The were ordered on the Monday and arrived from the states on Wednesday. Paid £18 duty to DHL on top of the cost price. ORder detail with part numbers is below.

Regards, Guy

Code Name Quantity Price/Ea. Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
03-02TB-1 Tapered Bearing Upgrade Kit - Fits all Superbikes 94- current, all Monsters 2002-current and Monster 1 $59.95 $59.95
Shipping: U.S.P.S. Express Mail® International (EMS): $42.75
Sales Tax: $0.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: $102.70

Hi Guy, Just seen you're only up the road from me. Small world! They seem pretty expensive for head bearings. There must be a place in the UK to source some?

Pretty sure there is, as I replaced the caged ball bearing races in my S2R with Taper Rollers, I will see if I have the info anywhere.

Set of Standard ones on Ebay but they are £75
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DUCATI-genuine...em1c174 652b1

respect is due. It will be interesting to follow progress.

I got all excited by the nice day and when i got home from work i put a bit of colour on one side of the frame. I wish i had somewhere to hang it so i could do both sides at the same time. Wonder if the washing line would take it lol. It'll take a couple of coats to cover fully but i'm happy so far. The colour is Ford radient red from Halfrauds. Its not that far away from Ducati red to be honest - Maybe a touch brighter?. Will see what the next coat does. In all it'll be much cheaper than a pro job anyway.

I've been applying clear to the frame today. Was gutted that i got a run on one of the tubes though. I also came up with a way to hang the frame up so i sprayed the clear in one go all over. When i've sorted the run i'll give it another coat of clear. Not too much orange peel either so pretty happy.

Well the run is now gone and i've started putting stuff back on. Cant wait to get the swing arm and subframe done so i can get the engine back in.

No new pics at the moment. Went down to Ducati Leeds last weekend with the intention of spending about £3. Went home with £170 worth of stuff lol.

Today i stripped down the swing arm ready for painting. Got a friend to use his air tools to undo the nuts. Made it far quicker.

Dear Chris

I think you bought this bike from me? I lived in a flat in Ware, Herts at the time. If this was mine I'm over the moon to see her back. Had a real lump in my throat when I read of your crash.

I've got a 2005 749s now and still love it.

Good luck with the rebuild, and keep the updates coming.

Regards

Mark.

Hey Mark i think it was. I came down with my girlfriend to get it. It was a brilliant bike and its hurt me every time i;ve looked at it sat in the garage looking unloved. Today i took the wheels down to NB Coatings in Pontefract to be powder coated satin black.
Got these from the bay to tart them up when they get back.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT
In red. Also these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The bearings that came out of the front wheel are in pretty good nick and feel ok. Am i right in saying that they should be replaced anyway?

Also got some primer on the swing arm :0)


to


I'll paint it black over the next couple of days. Took ages to mask everything up.

Looking good in black!

As a principle I would replace all the bearings if I was you.
I had my swingarm powder coatted black as well and replaced all the bearings in there too.

One tip on this though the needle bearings won't go in easy and if you hammer them in you are going to bugger them up. I figured a way by cooking the swingarm in the oven on 150C whilst leaving the needle bearings in the freezer for 24Hrs. Went in like a hot knife in butter though the missus asked what the heck I was cooking in the oven...

Yeah i was thinking as much. Not sure i'd get away with putting it in the oven though lol. Whats the feeling about these?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ducati-748S-74...em3f030 e80cd

They are very cheap but does that mean nasty?

Got the wheels back. They look ace! I've even put some stickers on. Red stripes to come

The red wheel stripes turned up toady. I was worried about how hard it would be to apply these but it didn't take very long and was pretty easy. Only a few tense moments trying to sort out a small crease when the strip stuck where i didnt want it. I've even got enough spare to re do one side if i wanted. Hope you all like them. I'm happy!

I like the red stripe on the black wheels. That swinger looks very good, too.

Enjoying this thread a great deal :)

I'm glad you're liking things so far. Was starting to wonder if its worth posting as i feel like its only me looking at it. Oh well i'll keep plodding on and see how it goes.

I've ordered some new brakes which are a bit of a bargain
DUCATI 748 R 2001-2002 ARMSTRONG FRONT WAVY DISCS SET on eBay (end time 03-Apr-11 15:28:11 BST)

will update when they arrive.

Today i've been stripping down the subframe ready for paint. Took loads of pics of wire routing but not really worth putting those up. I'll take some better ones tomorrow hopefully if i can get it rubbed down and some primer applied.

I found a cool nut and bolt supplier in Harrogate today. If you need some give them a shout.

www.tool-bolt.com

Got a load of stainless bolts for not a great deal of cash.

Some new bling has arrived. Wheel bearing fitted too.


They look good on the rim



Hope to get some rubber fitted soon.

Lovely. This is going to be one sweet bike.

Great thread i will be watching with interest,looking great so far
Nick

Well its been a productive day so far. Went and got some lovely sticky rubber. £230 fitted at www.biketyresleeds.com



Then we carried out the dreaded timing belt change. Stressful but not too bad really.



Then a bit more paint went on the engine




And then just for good measure i got some primer on the rear subframe.



And its now beer o'clock. Phew

looking good :roll:

The pace has picked up a bit the last couple of days.

Stared fitting nice stainless steel bolts to the engine along with my new clutch cover. Will have to do something about the clutch though as it looks like arse.



Then i put the frame and swing arm on. Well actually i tried to but discovered that the new frame has smaller mounting holes. A 12mm drill bit sorted that though. Was stressed at having to drill the frame but its worked well. I mounted the frame on my own and as a result managed to chip the paint on some of the frame. Very upsetting! Still overall looking awesome if i say so myself.



A cheeky pic of the new shock. Will have to do something with my rusty ride height adjuster. Not sure what yet though.



Then i got all keen and put my newly painted subframe and belt covers on. These really make the bike look great. (IMO)



Since then ive started to re-assemble the rear hub area but now its time to get cleaned up and go to work. Gutted.

Just looked back over those pics and realised how sad my old shock looks in the background. Poor thing.

I'm getting a genuine sense of anticipation for this thread. I am a mechanical numpty (useless with tools I mean, not that I'm a sort of clockwork drongo), so this kind of job just looks like wizardry to me. But it is enjoyable to follow :)

I've taken hundreds of pics to show me how it was before i took it apart. With those and the trust haynes manual i'm hoping that it won't be too hard. I got very excited today when i stood back and had a look. Still a way off being done but the big bits are there.

Today i have sent my wrong brake discs back for an exchange. Hope they come back soon so i can get the front end on. I've been putting the rear part of the loom back in along with the ecu and undertray. I also decided to order a load of stainless steel jubilee clips because it would be rude not to.

Not much interesting to report. Got my stainless jubilee clips on and just for the fun of it i decided to paint the thermostat.



I'm having a nightmare working out what this plug is for. Any ideas?

Think that one's the diagnostics port?

Not sure buddy. It has two brown and white wires if it helps. I think the diagnostic one will be the three wire one with a rubber cap on it

I'll check the wiring diagram tonight and let you know.

Great thread, always good to see a bike coming back together in such style.

Clutch pressure plate:

I have a MPL plate on my SS and am impressed with the quality for the reasonable price:

http://mpl-tuningparts.de/shopd/index.html

Shop is only in German at the mo so either click on a scrolling piccy or look for Druckplatte.

Cheers - Frank

It might be spare on the 748. If Ducati used a common loom with the 996, then it could be to connect to the second injectors, which you don't have.

In my strip down pics its clearly plugged in but i'm stumped as to what. I'll get there in the end. I'm hoping to get the front end on this weekend. I've fitted the head bearings and lower yoke to the head insert so i should be ok. Fingers crossed.

My replacement brake discs have also arrived. Top marks to the customer service of bikedevils.co.uk. They exchanged very quickly with no fuss.