[billyraw]

Ducati 1994 M900 desmodue
Carburetors
Bike in storage for 6 years. TLC overhaul in the works.

I am mechanically saavy, but not Ducati specific. Goal is to put bike back on road, as stock as possible. Looking for tips and Ducati specific help.

List of issues -
Brakes -> Front brakes, pads, calipers, fluid
Oil -> oil relatively clean, filter in good shape (replacing both of course)
Spark plugs -> quite black on ends
Carbs -> look ok from the top, air filter immaculate considering age
Gas -> probaly drain and replace?

Brakes first - Front brakes had issues. I lost the right caliper in a house move, but need to replace both. What do I need? Manual says Brembo P4.30/34 - 4 pistons. What does that mean? Most people are calling their parts "goldline" with a spacing (40mm, 65mm).

 

[test-reg]

Welcome to the board and congrats on the Monster [thumbsup]

You have 40 mm spacing single pin calipers. I would speak to Fred at http://www.yoyodyneti.com
for the caliper. Good price, great service.

You will probably need to disassemble and clean the carbs, but no reason why you can't give it fresh gasoline and maybe some Sea Foam and see how it works out.

*WARNING* You will probably not keep the bike stock.

 

[ducvet]

Looking at your picture you also have piting on your forks that will be the end of your fork seals.
once you have pitting that is rusting like yours it can get expencive too re-chrome. keep your eyes open for a better set of forks.
good luck

 

[ducvet]

sorry but I forgot the two must do's on a ducati
change the timing belts and carefully check all belt tensioner bearings .
cheers

 

[test-reg]

Agreed on the belts, I would change them before even starting the bike. After looking at the photo again, if those two marks are indeed pits you need fork work. Those pits will immediately tear the seal,

 

[greenmonster]

You could probably save some time and frustration w cleaning carbs and
check jetting and settings at the same time. Make sure throttle cables
move freely.
Fuel pump diaphragms could be dry. Before starting, just remove gas hose
into carbs and test pump w running the starter a few secs. Should pulsate freely,
disconnect plugs f safety before test.
Check all rubber hoses to carbs, pump etc.
Check that wire connection into ignition modules are OK.
Fresh gas.
New plugs.
+1 on changing belts.
This f starting engine.

Change hydralic fluid to brakes & clutch.
Manual is correct, you need a RH w that spec.
You could find a caliper from a Supermoto on eBay f a reasonable price,
one as Howie described. I`ve seen quite a few.
How many miles?
Any service history?

 

[erkishhorde]

I think the 40mm or 65mm refer to the spacing of the mounting bolts but I could be wrong. I'm not sure what the goldline means.

 

[Speeddog]

The 40mm and 65mm are indeed the spacing of the mounting bolts.

Goldline is a description of that 'family' of brake components within the Brembo product line.

 

[ScottRNelson]

I don't think it has been emphasized enough the importance of changing the cam belts. You're supposed to change them every two years, especially if the motor has not been run for that long. I wouldn't even touch the starter button without new belts on there. Actually running the engine would be taking a big chance of breaking them, which then leads to valve/piston contact and a lot of expensive damage.

I would also dismantle everything between the tank and the carburetor outlets, including the carburetors, to make sure nothing is gummed up from old gas.

Oh, and throw away whatever tires are on the bike and get some new ones. The rubber will be too hard to really be safe.

 

[AKmnstr]

On the electrical side, check and clean all the contacts. I've had corrosion build up just over a winter in storage. +1 on all said before plus check the valve clearances.

 

[billyraw]

Thanks for all the helpful hints

About 5 minutes after I posted, the weather turned unreasonable!! It has been a long winter, and way too much stuff got in my way. But I got started on the restoral today.

Over the winter I procured parts from Ducati Seattle (guess I could not find a place farther away, maybe Ducati Hawaii?). They had the calipers I needed and they are really nice guys. Included in my purchase were steel braid front brake lines and those cam belts.

First I tackled the brake lines. The old brake lines were in 3 parts, and the new has only two parts. Once I removed the speedometer panel I could see what was going on. The incumbent had one line from the cylinder down to a manifold bolted to the frame just below the speedometer console. (attachment 1) From this manifold, two lines feed the calipers. The new brake lines stack up on the cylinder (attachment 2) and feed separately down to the calipers (no manifold). There were no instructions, but based on the length I used the shorter line for the right caliper and the longer line for the left. A little tip for those who come after me...save the rubber grommets from the old lines. They can be slipped off with a little effort. (attachment 3) The new lines are much smaller diameter and without the grommets, they can slip out from the frame clamp (discovered this after getting everything assembled). Also, make sure to tighten the speedometer down before the frame clamp. There are pins on the bottom of the bolts that poke out below the speedometer mounting point for aligning the u-shaped from clamp.

Next I attached the new calipers with little fuss. The left brake line took a light twisting to get it just right. I put the brake line on the caliper first and then gently twisted the caliper in place. If I attach it the reverse way, the line seems to bend toward the fork where some rubbing could occur. If you ask me, they could manufacture it about 15 degrees rotated to seat perfectly without any twisting.

I am off to get new oil and air filters, spark plugs, and oil. Next weekend I will tackle those belts. I may also get a new clutch line. It looks out of place next to those shiny new brake lines!!

Bill

 

[billyraw]

Welcome to the board and congrats on the Monster [thumbsup]

You have 40 mm spacing single pin calipers. I would speak to Fred at http://www.yoyodyneti.com
for the caliper. Good price, great service.

You will probably need to disassemble and clean the carbs, but no reason why you can't give it fresh gasoline and maybe some Sea Foam and see how it works out.

*WARNING* You will probably not keep the bike stock.

Any parts needed/recommended while disassembling the carbs - jets? Someone mentioned settings...what can be set? What is Sea Foam?

Thx - Bill

 

[Desmo Stu]

If you haven't seen this site already, you might find it helpfull...... [thumbsup]

http://www.ducatisuite.com/home.html

 

[motolocopat]

As everyone has said you basically need to replace anything rubber, especically timing belts and tires. they could save serious expense immediatly the other will just make things go smoother and avoid breakdowns in the shortterm, like the first time you get a 100 miles from home and the little rubber bits in you carbls that held up for a bit crapped out on you later. Handgirps while your at it....

You have a handle on the brakes it seems like, one caliber is new but did you check the other to make sure it is ok? SImple thing to do and probalby worth doing a rebuild on it even if nothing is apparently wrong with it. Same on rear

Forks, they are pitted. Get some of those(can't think of name) green pads that will not scratch your forklegs and put some light lubricant on them and gently clean off your legs. YOu might get lucky and have caught it in time : Ohterwise you will know it when your forks start leaking..... If they do not leak then firt opportunity spend the bucks to have your forks serviced with new oils seals wipers and valved/sprung to your weight. If they do start looking for a new set. PULL THE REFLECTORS OFF

FLUIDS, brakes, hydraulic, oil, gas. PUll the tank off while doing your carbs and rinse it our SEVERAL TIMES. pouring the washed out stuff into a container that you can inspect. If it is coiming out dirty put some nuts, not nuts like squirrels like, the ones like hod your bike together, in the tank ans swish the gas/nuts around until you are tired sot prest repeat, drain inspect drain inspect, repeat until clean. If that doesn't work then you are going to have to find out about this other stuff, I think it cleans and possibly seals up rusty old tanks.

CHAIN SPROCKETS INspect them carefully, treat to a new set if you can, get a nice new gold bling chain, they are also higher quality.
Alternatively if the sprockets are ok then pull the chain off and give it a good cleaning and lubing. With the CHAIN OFF you can tell if any of the links are stiff. Cant really tell if on the bike and is usually not an issue unless some sado masochist has let his bike sit for 6 years.

CARBURETORS> Pull them and rebuild them with all new rubber parts, jets don't cost much either, I'd just replace with new brass, especiealy if the bike had 25K miles plus. At a minimium pull and give a good cleaning. New brass can save you a lot of troubleshooting later.

CABLES are fairly easy and cheap to replace and give a nice new feel to the bike. Otherwise get a good cable luber and lube all

ELECTRICAL, While you have your tank off and seat fairing take several hours just going through connections and pulling them apart, clean if necessary, add a drop of 3in1 oil or similar and reconnect. when reconnected give the wires a pull test, move on to next connection. Tag all connectors with tape when you do one so you know you got all of them.

SEAT might crack real soon (PLASTIC RUBBER thing) like as soon as you start riding it again. There are several upgrade seats or you might find someon who has upgraded and want so sell there stocker.

Shame on you for letting it sit for that long and same for not getting on this during the winter.
Get her going and post pics and we will forgive [thumbsup]

 

[billyraw]

Judgment call - help

So I picked up some parts today (battery, air filter, fuel filter, new mrror, etc) and I was telling the guy about the cam belts. He made a face and told me I should not attempt that job. He said the belt tension must be just right and that I would need a special tool (like a guitar tuning fork, he said). What do you all think?

 

[ScottRNelson]

Re: Judgment call - help

So I picked up some parts today (battery, air filter, fuel filter, new mrror, etc) and I was telling the guy about the cam belts. He made a face and told me I should not attempt that job. He said the belt tension must be just right and that I would need a special tool (like a guitar tuning fork, he said). What do you all think?

I haven't done it myself, but you can also use a 5mm and 6mm allen wrench to measure the clearance between the belt and pulley and get good results. I'm sure a search of this site for belt tension or something like that will find additional useful information.

 

[howley]

Re: Judgment call - help

So I picked up some parts today (battery, air filter, fuel filter, new mrror, etc) and I was telling the guy about the cam belts. He made a face and told me I should not attempt that job. He said the belt tension must be just right and that I would need a special tool (like a guitar tuning fork, he said). What do you all think?

Haha the guy is full of ****. Maybe on a 4v bike, but on a 2v its a piece of piss. Only hard bit is keeping everything lined up while you get the belts on (which on my '94 was a total PITA). You can check the tension with a spring balance, like what you use to weigh a fish. Pull on the tension bearing with the balance till it reads 4.5kg, then tighten the bolts. You should just be able to fit a 5mm allen key between the belt and the bearing.

ps if you don't have a haynes manual you should get one. They are indispensable!

 

[jpmonstro904cc]

I would check out www.desmotimes.com, they have a pretty good guide for working on and modifying desmodues and a great selection of parts. So far I've had good service from LT Snyder, the guy who runs it.

 

[64duc]

Re: Judgment call - help

ps if you don't have a haynes manual you should get one. They are indispensable!

+1 With the Haynes you can easily do it yourself.

 

[billyraw]

Going ahead with belt change...thanks for your support

Haha the guy is full of nuts. Maybe on a 4v bike, but on a 2v its a piece of piss. Only hard bit is keeping everything lined up while you get the belts on (which on my '94 was a total PITA). You can check the tension with a spring balance, like what you use to weigh a fish. Pull on the tension bearing with the balance till it reads 4.5kg, then tighten the bolts. You should just be able to fit a 5mm allen key between the belt and the bearing.

ps if you don't have a haynes manual you should get one. They are indispensable!

ok so I am encouraged by the response and started the belt change this morning. Now that I am into it, it looks like no problem. Just like changing the belts on my old subaru dx. The maintenance guide I have is from desmotimes - "Ducati Desmodue/Desmotre Maintenance and Modification Guide" by LT Snyder. It is good in most areas. The belt section is good for what I am doing. The brake section was a little light, but they may assume some knowledge that I do not have.

Attached are some pictures of the bearings. They have rust on them, which might mean rust IN them. I have called the two "local" ducati shops ($183 but not sure if that is per belt or total), but no one has them in stock. Probably get them from SeattleDucati again.

Oh well, bike not going to be started today...bummer. Guess I will clean today. Happy riding to the rest of you!

Bill