Mot time for the Ducati 916 will it pass or fail

Its a worrying time when you have to take your bike for mot as there are many things that can fail the test. Some of the most common fails can be checked first. This could save you time and hassle of organising a retest or fix.

Tyres front and back on motorcycles should be checked. My personal view is that there should be at least 1mm all over. There is a difference to mot specification and the law which specifies the minimum tread depth. If in any doubt new tyres will give you confidence on the road. Also remember to run in new tyres.

Lights can be checked and made sure that they all work. Brake lights, low and high beam etc.

If only these two checks were carried out and headlamp aim. I wonder how many mot failures would reduce. In cars these two areas account for 65 percent of fails.
A high amount that could be avoided.

Two blogs on wordpress and blogger

I have a new blog on wordpress to see the difference in the two blogs and sites. Let me know if you think one is better than the other.
regards Vinnychoff

http://ducati916bp.wordpress.com/

Ducati 916 bp leaking oil from the clutch rod onto the exhaust

Pictures of my Ducati 916 and the oil that is leaking onto my patio. Not a nice sign to see oil leaking from the engine. Thanks to Harry who cleaned the oil first then on my way home I left the bike parked up on the stand to see if i could trace the oil back to where it was leaking. The exhaust has a small drop on it and from here I worked the trace of oil up to the push rod. Pushing the clutch push rod, I can see that fresh oil is leaking from the area. It was only a short journey of two or three miles.
Now back to the mannuals to see where the leak is from and if i can replace a seal or find out why it is leaking.
vinnychoff

Charging issues and how to prevent yellow wires burning Ducati 916

I have just finished my bike with some changes to the electrics and hope this will stop any issues in the future and warn me before I need to investigate.

First I have fitted a mosfat regulator rectifier which now when I check the voltage is charging around 14 volts. Before I had a regulator rectifier off a Suzuki tl1000. Although the connector block was a three pin and mine had two pins I was able to connect it together. This lasted about a year where I then noticed the wires from the stator into the plug was burning out again. So now I have the mosfat working efficiently. To warn me if the charging is out of specification I have fitted a led warning light that flashes fast if out of range and slow as it nears perfect voltage and is out when within range.

I have added a video to show the led where I have added it to the spare red charge light in the instrument cowl. The video shows it in operation and I have added a fluke meter to show the voltage.

Now I hope that the waterproof connectors and mosfat charging will last longer before I need to look into the charging again. Current mileage is 37404 miles and having owned the Ducati from 2002, there have been a few hiccups along the way.
With these two modifications I hope that I can catch any issues in advance.
Vinny

 

link to youtube. video of the led in action and the mosfat regulator rectifier putting out 14.4 volts

http://youtu.be/Dese-f7E9MI 

Pirelli Puncture nail in tyre

I was just getting ready to go out on the Ducati 916 and in my mind I know how tyre pressures can affect the handling so I used a old fashioned method of pushing my thumb into the tyre just to check the difference from front to back. The front seemed ok and as I pushed the back tyre in, it went soft. I pushed the bike forward and found the nail in the tyre causing air to escape. I have 120/70 zr17 pirelli angelst and 190/50 zr17angelst fitted.
It only takes a few seconds to check, even better use a guage to check cold tyre pressures before you set off.
vinnychoff

The pleasure of the open road

Today was my first ride out and it made me think that often I only try to write in the blog about fixs when one of the enjoyments of motorcycles is to get out and ride your bike.
It was a dry day and quite warm for this time of year just under ten degrees which helps confidence for grip on two wheels. I do enjoy opening the bike up and the noise of the termigionis bublling on throttle off and barking on opening up. Or when you are under a bridge and can hear the noise echo.
There are times when you have to be careful though and only yesterday I was talking  about the days of slipping on diesel on the road. Lately this seems not to happen so often as the price of diesel means many lorries or cars do not spill anymore.
I have in my history of riding bikes nearly fallen off twice due to diesel. On one occassion with a N reg honda 400 four approaching a s bend torwards a bridge the back end started to spin. As I kept the power on it spun from side to side but kept upright.
Another time when I was selling my W reg Suzuki Gs1000, I took the customer out for a spin and approaching the roundabout turned left and as I entered the corner started to loose grip. On both occasions this was approaching bends where i believe the fuel spilled. Both times were over ten years ago.

vinnychoff

ride safely

 Recently I have tried to stop the stator burning yellow wires. The plastic block connectors that burn. As in a earlier post I have done a bit of research and am working on a fix. Will update soon.

How to replace the speedo support cowling plastic on a Ducati 916

The light bulbs from neutral and low fuel had burnt the plastic cowling and when the neutral light was on it bleed into the low fuel warning light display. So I bought a new part 40740011A speedometer support from Mick. Below are the pictures and the steps needed to replace the speedo plastic cowling.
The most important information for me was finding that I needed a small screwdriver to undo the reset switch on the speedo. This was needed to remove the speedo from the cowling so it could be replaced.

The parts needed
A small positive screwdriver to undo the speedo reset
Clocks apart with the 4 8mm nuts taken off
Headlamp removed
Mirrors removed
Fairing zeus clips removed off top part of fairing
Picture of the clocks
Close up of the part to be removed.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150580489446515.435206.601201514&type=1&l=902c498cd5

Ducati 916 bp and why its a great bike to own

Below is a little piece I wrote on the visordown website about the Ducati 916 and its history. 

I bought the Ducati 916 biposto and have a blog detailing the time I have owned the bike. I always get so many comments ..It always draws attention and admiring looks and I feel it still can hold its head up with new models. I like the look of the front, the fairing and its twin lights. The sound of the termis and its handling. It helps to have so much race history and to see so much success on the track. Carl fogarty found fame from this bike with some trick pieces and a tuned engine.

On the road it picks up so quickly and is light and slim. When driving in traffic it is easy to fit between cars. I have not hit the mirrors of cars compared to some bikes I have owned. I recently checked the mpg and achieved 142 miles with 13 litres of petrol. 49mpg.

My first job was cleaning bikes at 15 and when I left school started life as a motorcycle mechanic. My bikes over 30 years have all been Japanese bikes until this Ducati. From hearing so many bad things about Italian bikes give me some time...

The electrics are crap:

Ducati have Japanese designed electrics and my bike has only let me down once, a flat yuasa battery caused by the regulator rectifier failing. I replaced it with a friends Suzuki tl1000 regulator rectifier and it has been starting every day since. 32,500 miles so far.

It lives outside and starts each time with a push on the button.

Maintenance and servicing parts are high:

I have carried out all my own servicing so cant agree. Parts are reasonable with other manufactures. Air filters are foam and just need cleaning. Oil filter is easily accessible and changed. Only two Plugs to change. The petrol tank is only held by one screw and disconnected with push on petrol pipes and a breather. Cam belts could be expensive but with so many sites and forums, this can be carried out. So much information out there on how to fix.

It will always break down:

I have used it in all weathers and have notched up over 23,000 trouble free miles in three years. I did have to stop in Clapham once when the clutch stopped working, as a dry clutch I was able to remove the allen screws holding the cover, tighten up the nut on the basket that had come loose and carry on the journey.

Some features I did not know:

 with adverse weather and high winds, a gust of wind lifted the cover like a parachute pulling the bike opposite to the side stand, smashing to the ground. The fairing scratched and the mirror flew off. The bolt that holds the mirrors is a brass shape with a thin necked head. This is made this way so when there is pressure on the bolt the head sheers keeping the mirrors in one piece. I don't know of any other bike that has that.

If you need to jump-start the bike. It happened to me and as the positive lead of the battery is visible from the fairing, it is so easily connected to jump leads.

Removing parts is quick.

Single sided swing arm and a wheel that can be removed with one nut. Front mudguard is held on with only 4 bolts to plastic clips.

it takes only 10 zuess clips to remove the fairings. Both sides can be removed. The front fairing is held on with only 4 screws.

to remove the rear seat there are two rubber clips and one light connector to remove the seat.

 It still makes me smile when I go out for a ride and having read most reviews think the most relevant comment is

“its a race bike with lights”.

What more can I say.

vinnychoff

Read more: http://www.visordown.com/reviews/motorcycles/classic-sportsbikes/ducati-916/1165.html#ixzz1hHEXlfw

Only if you have a Ducati 916

One of the main ideas of the blog was to share my fix and to help others. As my bike has a couple of fix,s on hold.
One is I want to stop the yellow wires from the stator burning which seems to be a common problem on my bike and many others. To try and stop it I have ordered a mosfat r/r to upgrade the regulator rectifier. I also think the connectors are at fault and have ordered some new ones that are water tight.
I also ordered a new clock surround as mine has aged. The light bleeds from the green neutral display into the low orange petrol light. Also waiting on good weather. Without a garage working outside in this weather is not kind.

While I am on hold is there any Ducati 916 out there that you are having problems with or want to suggest a blog update.
Vinny

Oil leaks on a Ducati 916 bp

Its a pet hate to have oil leaks on new bikes. I guess it was common on older machines that maybe were not serviced well or the technology let them down. On the Ducati as I pulled up I noticed that there was a few drops of oil and when checking the level it needed about 400ml of oil. I have never had to top up the oil since I have owned the bike. On starting the bike I took the fairings off and looked around. On closer inspection working from following the oil leak on the exhaust up the engine i found the leak. It was on the oil pressure hose attached to the oil cooler. Leaving the bike on tick over there was a gentle increase of oil leaking from the gauze area that joins onto the pipe that is screwed on.
A quick post on Ducatsti and no others had the same issue. I also wanted to see if it was related to oil pressure or any other problems. Not a good idea to search for more problems..
A call to the Ducati dealer quoted £125 for a new replacement and not in stock. ebay sellers wanted £40 with no guarntee that they were ok.
A quick search on the internet and I remember wanting to start a pirtek franchise which carry out a hose repair service. I called the local www.pirtek.co.uk in Mitcham and Kenny suggested to bring the hose down to the depot. He pointed out the clip that surrounded the hose was cracked. I had not noticed this. He found a replacement crimp, placed the hose on the machine and charged me £6. I was so impressed I gave him a tip and explained that he had saved me a lot of money.
The picture below is the pipe on the bike and originally the crimps were a short golden colour the new one is longer but with the fairings on will not be seen.
Vinnychoff

Ducati common electrical problem Rectifier wires

Its not nice to have issues especially if they are a known problem. On the Ducati the two wires from the mag (stator) supply two wires to the rectifier. I had issues with mine and fitted a rectifier off a suzuki tl1000. This has worked fine and only today I had a leak of oil which I will explain in another post. I stripped the fairings off and had to disconnect the rectifier to get to the oil pressure pipes. When I disconnected I could see in the block connecter that it had started to burn out. I have read that the wires from the engine are not man enough for the job and need to be larger wires so there is less resistance passing. This causes it to heat up and the pictures below are good compared to my previous and some I have seen on the net. A further search on the net and there are a lot of bikes that are affected by RR issues of either over charging or under charging. There is also talk of the RR over heating and that in the later models the fairings have larger vents and the RR are upped on amperage. The heat issue could be correct as the first picture shows a blob of shiny solder. I only noticed this on cleaning the connecter. The current passing through must have been so hot it melted the solder so that it dripped out as in the picture. Something I have to consider in what happens next.

Vinnychoff

 Two yellow wires from the engine. If you look close you can see what looks like solder. This is the start of it burning out.

The rectifier side is good but the connecter is starting to blacken.

36899 miles on the Ducati 916 bp

A pet hate is to pull up and see oil drips under a car or bike. This started to happen on the bike. I also noticed i had used 500ml of oil in the last couple of thousand miles. This seemed strange as it had not used oil before. A discussion with a mechanic and talk of piston wear or my thoughts originally was the breather was blocked and the oil was blowing out of the breather. A thorough clean and trying to trace the oil leak. I cleaned above the exhaust where it seemed to be leaking on....Then with the fairings off and the bike ticking over. I found the leak. From the oil filter cooler the top hose where the union joins with the guaze was leaking. With the bike ticking over after a few minutes, I cleaned the leak and it re appeared. This made me happy as a new pipe is easier to replace then pistons...
If you do suffer a leak...have patience.
regards Vinnychoff

bulb holder on the 916 for neutral, low fuel, indicator, high beam and low petrol.

I noticed the light was always on the low fuel light on the dash lights. After taking out the tank sender unit and cleaning it with Harry. The unit seemed to work ok. When i put the tank back on the bike and in gear. The light still stayed on. After a few miles the light for the low fuel switched off as it should but i could still see in neutral that the fuel light was still on but not as bright as it normally was. Below you can see the reason why. the plastic has melted and allowed for the light when in neutral to bleed into the other bulb light.
A new or second hand one is needed.
Vinnychoff

Ducati 916 bp sprockets and chain replaced

Below is a picture of the rear sprocket removed from the carrier and bike. You can see it is not like many other sprockets fitted to bikes. It took me a little while to source the correct sprockets for my bike and I believe part of that is the way the rear sprocket is different to the normal sprockets and probably that there are many manufacturers out there that do their own way of holding the sprocket onto a carrier. Renthal are some of the makes I have come across. It does make it hard to source the sprockets as there are less making them for the Ducati 916 bp.

How to adjust showa suspension on a Ducati 916

Suspension has to be right and if you follow motogp then you will understand that a lot of money and time is spent at each track fine tuning.
On the road then this is the same.
I started by moving all the pre load settings to standard as a benchmark. You could make a note of yours and then return back to the settings if you feel you have made a error.
so what are you looking for
me a soft ride that the bike rides over the bumps not skips or jumps.
accelerate and the back end should not sag or drop under acceleration
this will also help with any posture as i felt the suspension was too hard and my back was jolting on the bumps.

chain and sprockets

Just fitted a new izumi gold 525 chain and sprockets to the 916 bp. Mileage is 36000 miles at present. I will be interested to see how long this lasts in comparison to the old did o ring chain that was fitted previously.

Vinny

Ducati 916 bp adjust the valve clearences (shims) part 3

Last video with Arcadio directing

Ducati 916 bp adjust the valve clearences (shims) part 2

Another video with Arcadio directing

Ducati 916 bp adjust the valve clearences (shims)

Three videos of me and Arcadio (directing as he is from Hollywood USA).
Hopefully to help you in seeing how to check the valve clearances. The rear top cylinder intake valves are checked. 

The tolerance on the 916 for the inlet is in the manual is  0.10 to 0.12 mm. For the exhaust it is 0.15 to 0.17mm. 

Vinnychoff

Back pain Are you sitting comftable or

Back and wrist pain have to be one of the most common discussions I hear about sports motorcycles or race type bikes (R1, CBR, GSXR, RSV and Ducati 1098, 1198 to name a few) using them regular.
I have been using my motorbike (916bp) to travel to work for the last  five years and there has never been any strain on the wrists or back ache. Apart from the early days but....
For me it has to be that all the time you sit on the bike you concentrate on the stance. If you look into the reason for any aches or pains then the weight of the body is in a uncomftable position with all the weight possibly on the handle bars and arched. Understanding the information that is out on the net is difficult with so much information out there. Talking to experienced riders you will hear the correct stance is to straighten your back so the top part of the torso is straight and the lower hip is in a s position with the lower spine less of a curve. Similar discussions are out there talking about chairs and the correct seating position.
There should be no weight on the handle bars as when I drive I can feel I have no pressure placed on the grips. I can feel the handlebars light and am able to move easier around corners using my body and pushing opposite on the handle bars. The other benefit I found recently when I had a session with a personal trainer on exercising. I had complained some of the exercises that i was working on seemed to cause pain in my lower back. It Did not make sense to exercise and have pain in the lower back. After being told how to hold my back and spine in the correct position. This helped me in my seating on the bike and comfort.
Also on my bike if i curve my lower spine too much i can feel myself moving further up the tank away from the end of the seat.
Even now after five years I have found another improvement in posture. After a session with a personal trainer to check my posture in excercises i found that i was arching my lower back too much. when sitting on the bike if found i was sitting very near the tank. When i corrected my posture i found my contact was further back on the seat which also made sense.
Vinny