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