First picture of the bike when collected. It has been outside since 1999
Front wheel bearing replace on Ducati 916 bp
Did 525vx chain snapped on Ducati 916bp
Picture of my bike after the izumi chain snapped. 10000 miles later. The bike is at 47k. The orginal izumi chain was fitted around 37k. Even with a scott oiler the chain gave up. I did notice that the slack on the tight spot and loose spot was increasing. This should have made me think of changing the chain before this happened.
As always after it is easier to say. Now I have a did 525 vx chain and new sprockets fitted. What make do you use?
Hose into electrics is not a good idea. Problems with datatool alarm
After the clean the bike is seen here, 44,400 miles so far and a oil leak started so I cleaned the bike with a degreaser. Took the seat up and cleaned under the seat. Big mistake as after the bike would not start. The alarm started to make some unusual chirp noises and would not restart the bike. I found a broken wire to the alarm supply. Cleaned this and waited for the alarm to dry a bit.
One thing to pass on is try not to use too much water. the bike is not made for this under the seat. Its a mistake that I should not have made. Now the bike is clean. I found a oil seal loose at the back of the clutch with help from Harry and Dave. The seal pushed back in. The second leak was that the oil filter was slightly loose. I tightened this and all seems ok now. Fingers crossed there should be no problems for my three thousand mile round trip to Mugello for moto gp 2013. To visit Lake Garda and the surrounding countryside.
Ducati electrics who to blame not the manufacturer
It is one of the most comments about the bike that Italian electrics are no good. To put it polite. The truth is that they are quite good on the Ducati 916 bp as most of it is made from the Japanese
and the connectors are even one more and sealed.
I am on a trip to Italy some three thousand plus miles round trip and wanted to clean the bike and check a few things on the bike. As i degreased the bike and stripped all the parts of the bike. I found a issue on the bikes electrics. It was to do with the datatool alarm. The positive fuse had only one strand left compared to the twenty or thirty copper strands that are normally connected. I realised that this was one of the reasons why the bike had a lazy starter. For some time i stripped the starter motor and could not find out why the engine turned over so slowly.
In the picture you can see it has broke. When i took the picture i had bought another fuse holder to solder into the alarm. When I made the new connection the bike turned over normally and fired up. It seems that all this time i was using the bike it could of broke. If this broke there would be no power to the alarm and the bike would not start. Sometimes it pays to take time and clean you bike thoroughly taking note of all connections and inspecting for any wear or unusual indication.
Here is to safe starting from the Japanese electrics.
Vincenzo
vinnychoff
Ducati high Mileage 42000 miles and climbing
Looking at the speedo I can see the miles are creeping up and with a trip planned to Italy from the UK. The miles will increase by a few thousand.
While in Italy we plan to visit the Stelvio pass, Mugello race track to see the moto gp race. We are going to be based in Lake Garda and there will be lots of exploring of the area as the roads were made for learning. Not many straight roads but awesome views and lots of bends.
The trip will add two to three thousand miles on the bike. At the moment it is 42k but is this a high mileage. My friend Harry has bought a Triumph tiger which I am using at the moment with 51000 miles on the clock. It made me think with all those miles to go. That I should carry out a check over the Ducati before the journey.
The idea of checking the motor cycle over will help to make sure that any of the possible failures are covered. The best way to prevent this is to go over the bike carefully. One way is to clean the bike thoroughly.My first partial clean I realised that the air filters had not been cleaned in a while. I could see that the foam filters needed cleaning in petrol and soaking in oil.
Next I looked at changing the engine oil and filter. Next on the list is to check the brake pads, change the brake fluid.
One of the normal checks is to go over the cycle parts first. check the tyres, tyre pressures, oil level, visually inspect all over the bike looking for any breaks or signs of wear. After a clean most parts will have a visual check and even closer inspection.
Have you checked your motor bike recently
.
vinnychoff
Motorbike travel to Italy lake garda Mugello
I am planning a trip to Italy, Lake Garda area. It is a lovely area for holidays with the bonus of some great roads around for motorcycles. The stelvio pass is north of the lakes made famous with top gear driving fast sports cars. The sound of aston martins, lambogorni and ferraris.
Also around the lakes are some mountain roads with great views, very little traffic and Italian drivers that are interested in the journey. I think that there is a big culture difference abroad compared to here with road rage. One of the reasons I believe is that there are more cyclists of all ages that drive cars. Also there is a high amount of young moped drivers 14 is the legal age that they can drive. These moped drivers turn to cars later.
They seem to give cyclists more space on the road. Are more forgiving of other motorists be it on two wheels or four wheels. The only down side is that they are impatient and want to get to their destination quickly. Here in the UK how many times have you been slowed down by some one in front of you that makes a point of enforcing you cant get past and drives slowly. I have never had it happen in Italy. I wish more drivers in the UK learnt to drive on two wheels, push bike or motor bike to have an appreciation of the road and other users.
Vincenzo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stelvio_Pass
