Ducati Superlight
Rebuilding my '93 Ducati 900SL Superlight, #898
Belt covers off
I spent a bit of time on Friday night getting the belt covers off to prep for doing valves and replacing the belts in the Ducati. Here are a few photos I took along the way, including one of my shop help that evening.
LT's Desmo Maintenance Manual
If you ask around, you'll find that there is one workshop manual
overwhelmingly recommended for owners of contemporary Ducatis: LT
Snyder's
Ducati Desmodue/Desmotre Maintenance and Modification Guide
desmotre (ST3, etc) motors, or a different one for the 4-valve heads,
from http://www.desmotimes.com/ Mine showed up extremely quickly after ordering it, and you'll also
find that LT stocks parts, tools and other goodies in his online
store.
Son, Loading Ramp, Duc on Workbench
My son and I finished up the loading ramp and work bench today, and put the Duc upon it. You can see in the video how proud he is of our day's work.
Stand Ready
Now to put the bike up there and start work!
Much power drill assistance from my 7yo daughter and 4yo son, who were extremely helpful and willing to spin up that drill over, and over, and over again.
Two Things I Learned getting ready to make workstands
At the last moment (walking into the hardware store), I decided to do the simplest build - option #4, the plywood and 2x4 contraption. It's also the cheapest.
So I grabbed a 4x8x3/4" sheet of plywood, and asked the folks at Home Depot to rip it in half lengthwise. Then I grabbed 7 2x4's. Four were left 8' in length to run along the sides on top and bottom of the frame. The other three were cut into 2' lengths - eight of those for legs, and then 4 of them for cross-braces at the ends(*1).
Two things I learned as I was getting stuff together at the store:
(* 1) Thinking through the necessary cuts in my head, I forgot that not everything needed to be 2' long; the cross-braces on top and bottom of the narrow ends should be 2' less 2x(thickness of a 2x4); I'll fix the m with a circular saw (Skilsaw) when assembling tonight.
(2) I thought I could get all the cut lumber into my car - a 1999 Toyota Camry sedan - because the two back seats actually fold forward, which would open up the passenger area and trunk to some storage. However, I've only folded down one of the two halves of the seat in many years, and I could only get that one unlocked and folded down. So, I couldn't get the 2'x8' pluywood sheets in there, and had to place them on "will call" at the store to pick up when I have a bigger vehicle. Oops :) I could get all the 2x4s in though..
Tonight, my 4 year old son and I will build the frame from 2x4 pieces, and then I'll pick up the plywood sheets tomorrow to screw onto the assembly as a lid.
Also, I'll stop by the local Harbor Freight and see if they have any wheel chocks that I could bolt to the front end for some additional stability. I have one or two other upgrades in mind, but we'll get the basics in place first.
Motorcycle Workstands
For a while now, my Superlight has been sitting in a corner of the garage, covered for protection. However, it's not easy to get to, and it's not been easy to spend a few minutes or hours working on it - so weeks have dragged into months and years, and it's still not on the road. So, in the next step of making it easy to work on, I'm going to build a simple motorcycle workstand to lift up the bike, stabilize it and make it easier to work on.Friends have built workstands before, and I - being a research-y type guy - wanted to look at some options for sturdy, easy to make, relatively inexpensive workstands. There are three great options for stands made from 3/4" plywood that I can find in Internet searches. Here they are (names are entirely my own):1. The Collapsing Cyber Stand
Weblink: http://www.midnightfantasy.com/cyber/workstand/ See also http://www.lonestarbmwriders.org/2008/2008workstand.shtml, very similar in design, but uses 2.5 sheets of plywood and likely quicker to build.
This is the one I've seen in person. It's nifty.
Advantages:
1. Made from 2 sheets of plywood.
2. Has side-wings which effectively double the workspace, but fold down when not in use
3. Includes a built-in ramp that slides out and stores easilyDisadvantages:
1. It's probably a day's worth of work to build (which isn't much, but it's hard to find a whole free day)
2. Most easily built if you have a tablesaw, which I currently don't. I guess I could borrow my neighbor's, though.
2. The Eurospares Ramp Stand
Advantages:
1. Simple to make, requires the least woodwork of these options (with the possible exception of #4)
2. Breaks apart for easy storageDisdvantages:
1. Doesn't seem too sturdy, though the design and various comments by builders at http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/general-bike-related/53031-motorcyle-work-table-lift.html convinces me that it's good.
Weblink: http://www.midnightfantasy.com/cyber/workstand/ See also http://www.lonestarbmwriders.org/2008/2008workstand.shtml, very similar in design, but uses 2.5 sheets of plywood and likely quicker to build.
This is the one I've seen in person. It's nifty.
Advantages:
1. Made from 2 sheets of plywood.
2. Has side-wings which effectively double the workspace, but fold down when not in use
3. Includes a built-in ramp that slides out and stores easilyDisadvantages:
1. It's probably a day's worth of work to build (which isn't much, but it's hard to find a whole free day)
2. Most easily built if you have a tablesaw, which I currently don't. I guess I could borrow my neighbor's, though.
2. The Eurospares Ramp Stand
Advantages:
1. The workstand top IS a ramp, and when you load the bike onto it, when the bike gets past a pivot point, the ramp flips up and you lock it down.
2. Not too tough to make
2. Not too tough to make
Disadvantages:
1. Not as sturdy as the other choices, but can be beefed up3. The BBC Racing Break-Apart Stand
Weblink: http://www.bbcracing.com/old/box/
Weblink: http://www.bbcracing.com/old/box/
Advantages:
1. Simple to make, requires the least woodwork of these options (with the possible exception of #4)
2. Breaks apart for easy storageDisdvantages:
1. Doesn't seem too sturdy, though the design and various comments by builders at http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/general-bike-related/53031-motorcyle-work-table-lift.html convinces me that it's good.
2. I'm not too concerned making a stand that is transportable, so not a big requirement for me4. The Sturdy 2x4 Stand
No weblink, but rip a 4'x8' plywood sheet into two 2'x8' pieces, build a 2x4 frame to support it, and voila!
No weblink, but rip a 4'x8' plywood sheet into two 2'x8' pieces, build a 2x4 frame to support it, and voila!
Advantages:
1. Simple to make
2. Strong
3. Cheap
4. Easiest access to storage space under top
5. Most flexible design; wanna make a 3' wide stand? 38" Easy to figure out what to change.
Disadvantages:
1. Heavy
Summary:
At this point, I think I'm going to make option #3, the no-fastener stand. Mostly because I can go to Home Depot, buy the plywood, have them do all cuts but the slots (and do the slots with a jig saw and circular saw at home). That would get it done quickest, and get my Superlight up. I think that in a few months, I'll put together a second stand, like option #1.
Videos of other Superlights
I've been quiet for a bit but am getting geared up for making my
Superlight roadworthy. For inspiration, I've been looking on YouTube
for videos, and found another to share here.
Nor is this:
Nor is this:
Nor this:
Nor
Beauty shots, and not
Here are a few pictures I took today of the current state of the bike. Some are pretty shots, some not so much.
Today's parts order
Today I ordered a few parts for next weekend's wrenching session, mostly related to installing the Keihin carbs:
Qty Item Description
- 1 Throttle tube and housing for FCR kit SS, Monster
- 1 Cables for SS FCR kit SS
- 1 Airbox adaptors, 62mm for FCR kit, pair SS OE airbox
- 2 NGK D8EA (each) All except ST4/Testa/02+ 748
All from the nice folks at http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/, (and, for the moment, successfully resisting the temptation to add one or two bits to the cart from http://motorcycle.nicholsmfg.com/). If I had the extra cash, I'd definitely start with the engine bolts. But not this time.
