Ducati 916 oil leak hard to find

With modern machines it is unusual to have a oil leak so when my Duke developed a leak I have been trying to find where it is coming from and took the bike apart. If you look at the pictures below, I have taken off the fairings which had oil inside the fairing, There is oil under the clutch slave cylinder and on the other side of the bike with the clutch cover off. There is oil contained and dripping from the bottom of this compartment that holds the clutch plates and clutch basket.

 The drops of oil are pointed out above

 Ready for service

The clutch slave side where there is a trail of oil from the lower of the three allen screws which hold the clutch slave cyclinder on. This tracks down under the side cover and ends up on the exhaust and fairing below.

Ducati 916 service time belts and oils

Once a year I service my Ducati 916bp. As last year I changed the belts, then this was a minor service. I checked all the cycle items steering, swinging arm for any play. And the amount of pad material on the pads front and back. Changed the brake fluid for the clutch and front brake as the fluid was dark. This also helped to increase the feel of the brake. Now it does not flex as much. I carried out a change of the engine oil and replaced the oil filter, draining the oil after the engine had reached operating temperature. Took out the gauze filter and cleaned the odd gasket glue off. Took out the air filters and cleaned the sponge in petrol then when they dried out, re soaked them in air filter oil. Now at 35000 miles the bike starts within a few turns of the starter motor and is returning around 45mpg. A good sign that the bike is working as it should.
Vinny

Ducati 916 bp would not start

It is not a nice situation but when you press the starter button and nothing happens. The first thought is that the electrics have failed but in this case it was the charger. I have a trickle charger connected all the time and the halfords charger gave up. It stopped charging and the battery was low as the alarm drains voltage from the bike. Changing the charger and connecting up the battery within a few hours a press of the starter and the bike fired up....
Vinny

Ducati 916 bp side stand leaning over

The Ducati 916 bp when parked up, seemed to look as though it was going to fall over. On inspection the side stand has worn as it is made of aluminium and where the stand touches the ground has a sharp point that can dig into tarmac. I tried to tighten the stand and this helps but still it leaned over far too much. I went to see Alex at Alpha Welding, Croydon, London CR0 2RQ where Stan helped to measure the lean angle and work our the amount needed.He then cut out a piece of ally around the stand and Alex welded the part on. It is more on the basis of a trial stand where the part that touches the ground is larger and is less liable to dig in to soft ground.
Below are the pictures of before and after. Alex can be contacted on 0208 684 3811 and quote "Vince"

snow and under the motorbike cover

The snow has passed and this brings back memories to the problems with the weather of snow and ice on the roads. The bike was parked up and under cover, once lifted off to check the bike I have found condensation. This could start rusting or corrosion on the bike. It is always a good idea to clean the bike of any dirt and to use some corrosion resistant sprays.
The other day I started the bike to let it warm up and when up to normal temperature switched it off, I think that motorbikes, cars, mechanical parts do not like sitting still. So many times I hear that bikes with low mileages have so many problems (caused by standing). Parts that seize or rubbers that harden and leak, Cam belts that can break or jump a cog. This leads to so much discussion on the time to replace? time or miles, with the 916 bp there are very small gears on the Ducati s and as the angle is so tight, this seems to be one of the reasons why the belts are changed every two years. Whereas I have experience of servicing cars and a Honda car and a Toyota van, the owners have not changed their cam belts and both are over ten years old. Peace of mind would have me change the belts straight away but good examples of how belts can last longer. As with any service item, it is always best to make up your own mind.
Another issue is the bike battery which is connected permanently to a trickle charger. The alarm is constantly discharging so its good to have the battery in a optimum state so when you press the button.
what tips do you have when you park up your car or bike for a while?

Vinny

Front fork seals replace and how to fit back

I have no pictures to show the fork seals as I dropped the forks off to Pat my mechanic friend who took them apart and replaced the seals.
He did mention that it would have been advisable to replace the weather seals at the same time. These stop water and dirt from the main seals so should be changed. Also when putting the bike back together the workshop manual shows to put them back with measuring from the middle of the spindle to under the lower fork brace. I have set them back as the previous picture where the three rings are. This is only a few millimetres off the original advice. Also when putting the forks back in to the bike I forgot to make sure the braided hoses were routed correctly. I had to dismantle the forks again so hope you do not make the same mistake.
Vinny

Front fork seals replace and how to fit back

The front fork seals have started to leak so I am in the process of taking the forks off so that my friend Pat can replace the seals and renew the fork oil. Before taking off I took two pictures of how they locate in the head stock so that I can put them back the same way or find out if they need to be adjusted.