| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
OK, boredom inside on a sunny, COLD day, led me to THIS: https://knoxville.craigslist.org/mcy/6041941486.ht ml Read the ad: 1995 Ducati SS900. "Timing belt broke" he says. Obviously you'd have to throw $$$ at it, but- that's how I ended up with that Triumph Sprint ST, LOVED it. I've told myself that I'll stay with my old, beloved '77 R75/7, but this is DANG tempting! Who here knows anything about these old Ducati's? A few Bennies gone, it could find a new home? Sexy beast needs resurrecting from the dead... Holla! | ||
| Midknyte |
Jelly, but I just recently talked myself out of Ducati and other exotic dreams after encountering the attitudes of what would be my nearest service shop. (I have no aspirations to be tearing things apart myself when I could be riding). | ||
| 86129squids |
Yeah- I know my limits as a wrench, and know nothing about who's who locally to service that thing. Chattanooga IIRC is the closest with a shop- not too far from my aunt. But... Just looking for the usual BW brain trust to help me out.  | ||
| Thumper74 |
Funny Squids... We seem to have similar tastes from the Buells to the Sprint STs to the Ducks. I'm eyeballing some Monsters and I'm finding some that are behind in maintenance, that can be had cheap, even some salvage bikes. I like the idea of tinkering in the off season doing the valve adjustments and they turn my head like the XB first did years ago. If you can do the work yourself, it might be a good buy. Just because a timing belt broke, doesn't mean the motor is trashed. Put a new belt on, roll the motor by hand to make sure nothing is binding in the valve train, do a compression check to see if the valves are bent and leaking. If all is well, fire it up. $84.00 plus shipping to find out... http://motowheels.com/i-15441804-exactfit-timing-b elt-for-ducati-900ss-monster-900-mh900e-st2sold-in dividually.html | ||
| Ratbuell |
something tells me Duc's have interference motors? As in, if the belt breaks the pistons and valves try to occupy the same space...or is that only for *some* of their motors? | ||
| Ltbuell |
..man..wish i had the coinage...would get it and do what Thumper74 said.......if it runs and goes after doing what he said..win win....love those Ducs...expecially, the SOUND....LT | ||
| Crusty |
Hey; if you love tinkling clattering clutches and a valve train inspired by one of Rube Goldberg's nightmares, along with usurious parts prices that empty your bank account faster than a Nigerian Minister's Wife and maintenance that will use up all your riding time, then by all means buy the Duck. It'll make that pig in a poke really look like a steal. | ||
| Midknyte |
I like our no adjustment, hydraulic, pushrod tractors  Last time I looked for a Monster, I found my X1, and I likey. | ||
| Aesquire |
I always loved the Ducati Desmodromic valve trains. It's 19th century locomotive lever technology done by a watch factory... Personally, if I was building a V8 car engine, I'd run hydraulic tappets instead of mechanical, simply because I'm lazy. I'll take the loss on the top end for quieter maintenance free operation. ( I've adjusted a solid lifter 360 Mopar in a VAN. It's not that I can't, I don't wanna ) My GS750B Suzuki used shim-over-bucket adjustment, and with the right tools, It's just a bit tedious. My GS1100E used wee bolts ( adjustable rocker arms ) and after mastering the technique of locking them down with an ancient Suzuki tool, were a breeze. If the valves & pistons aren't harmed, by all mean go to town and buy it. Parts prices are clinically insane, but the work isn't hard, just fussy. Definitely do a compression test before buying. ( per wiki the swing arms are prone to cracking ) Besides, you really want to look at the inside of the engine, and go full zen mode on grokking the philosophy behind the construction. Every company does it different in the details. And that's a sweet machine. | ||
| Pwnzor |
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| Ratbuell |
I won't get into the money side - there are folks who say our Buells are junk, unreliable, and not worth riding...but I've never had any issues that weren't easy to deal with through standard maintenance procedures. So either I'm the anomaly, or haters will hate no matter what. The Duc's are sexy, I'll give them that. They're twins, which I love riding. The desmo valvetrain...seems a bit over the top to me (not sure if this bike specifically has that setup; I'm not totally "up" on their setups) but like anything, I'm sure if you do your maintenance it'll serve you well. My main concern, as I said before (and again, not positive this is the case), is wondering if this is an interference motor, and if valves are bent from that belt breaking. If not? Snag it, fix it for a couple $38 belts, have some fun...and if you don't like it, get back out of it. | ||
| Damnut |
You could probably get that for $800 | ||
| Ourdee |
Buy it for 800 and put a Yanmar diesel in it with a flapper valve on the exhaust. Re-badge it. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
Been down on the left side. Dented tank, scuffed/broken stuff. Broken motor. That needs to be a pretty cheap acquisition. | ||
| 86129squids |
LOL, Matthew- I'm not compelled to grab this one, just sorely tempted. The Sprint ST was rideable when I went to look at it, MAJOR difference... after about a 10 minute COOOLDD November ride, I ascertained that most of the mechanical needs were minor. Joe, that's question #1- was there any damage when the belt died. In the ad the guy mentioned that "the bike had just been started in the morning"- if true, that scenario is much better than if it broke while on the interstate at speed, yadda yadda. Also- the pics show the right mirror off the bike, and perhaps some plastic damage on one or both sides. Didn't quite see a dented tank? Off to Vern's it'd go... Yeah, it's a Desmo, which I've always appreciated for design- somehow, the latest models have gotten VVT technology too, which is fascinating. They're just sexy machines, any way sliced. Bottom line is, reality check: I've gotta save a big wad of dough to go to Las Vegas in October for my GF's daughter's wedding. So, if I get a good scratch-off tonite on my way home from work, we'll see. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I'm not saying don't get it.... just that you'd best have your eyes wide open. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Looks like a fun bike that would turn a lot of heads if you put it back together. | ||
| 86129squids |
...waiting to chat with my local mechanic. Found out that he's good with Ducks! Please standby... | ||
| 99buellx1 |
I mispoke, it was down on the Right side. You can see the dent in the first pic, the Ducati and under it is all dented in where the bar contacted it. When you look at the left side pics you can see the difference. At least, that's how i'm viewing them?? | ||
| Strokizator |
In second to last picture the bike looks bent. If you draw a line up through the center of the rear tire and the taillight and continue on up, it ought to bisect the gas cap but misses by a wide margin (the seat is really out of whack but it might not be locked down). Could just be me but it doesn't look right. | ||
| Court |
Who cares if it runs . . . it's a Ducati . . a RED Ducati. Buy it for $800 . . . park it in front of your house . . . get laid a dozen times and sell it for $800. I mean . . what else would you do with a Ducati? | ||
| Greg_e |
If the timing belt breaks, does it wipe out all the valves? At $500 you could part it out and make a little profit. Or you could mess around inside the motor and learn about it before parting it out. But I wouldn't go more than $500 because I bet the dealer would charge several thousand to fix it. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
It would look pretty cool hanging on a wall. (Dented side in of course!) | ||
| Cycleaddict |
good thing, only one head is thrashed . checkfor bent rod as well ... amhik... | ||
| Etennuly |
Thanks Court! I haven't hurt myself laughing in quit a while! | ||
| Ratbuell |
If the timing belt breaks, does it wipe out all the valves? That's what I meant when I asked about it being an "interference motor". That's the definition of the term. Some engines - my Mopar 2.2/2.5 turbo 4 cylinder engines, for example - are non-interference. Meaning, even if a belt breaks, the valves and pistons never occupy the same place so there is no damage. | ||
| Etennuly |
In that same line of thinking, at big Corvette show today they parked an NCRS 1966 Corvette next to mine. It is a totally documented highest mileage car of that vintage in original condition. A true ragged out POS in horrible condition. It has some unknowable value because the original owner was a hoarder of useless receipts and registration records. They display it with pictures from when new and all that paper. I would not value it at over $4,000 for parts. The paper makes it a $50,000 piece. I was going to say " only a Corvette!" But Court reminded me that there are others | ||
| Fast1075 |
A wealthy MD friend has an SS900. He has a home workshop complete with all the goodies. One day, he decided to remove the "ugly" timing belt covers, and make some skeleton ones out of shineymium. In a high speed sweeper, a stone kicked the belt for the front cylinder off. A handful of parts were fit to be reused. Broke the rod, which caused a cascade of destruction. Never mind the two broken legs from the crash. He fixed the bike. More accurately he had one of the Ducati boutiques in Miami fix it while he was recovering. He still rides it, and in a damn fine sporting manner. But it has those "ugly" belt covers, and a holder for his cane. | ||
| 86129squids |
Yeesh, Fast, sad story. Good news is, "post removed by author". I've still got a healthy bank account. FWIW, thanks for the funnin'. Court, I appreciate your $.02, LOL- but my sweetie of 12ish years might not. Maybe I could do better with less moolah death by looking for a nice canoe/kayak. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Should check this forum more regularly... I have a '92 900SS (half-faired, black wheels, white frame, the prettiest of them all). I rebuilt the engine at 41,000 miles since a ball main bearing retainer failed (it has journal rod bearings but ball mains). It is a very easy engine to work on and maintain. I have many photos from that rebuild. The 2V air-cooled SS engines are pretty nice; lots of mid-range. And being a mechanical engineer, I love the desmo valvetrain. Which, by the way, is quite stable since there are no valve springs. One of my all-time favorite bikes. Right up there with the '06 Uly. --Doc | ||
| Dr_greg |
Oh, and yes, it is most DEFINITELY an "interference" engine. --Doc | ||
| 86129squids |
Thanks, Doc! I resisted the temptation... really should just hang on until I find the D/S bike I "need"... | ||
| Ourdee |
Nasty stones. I caught one on top of my left foot almost a year ago running the inside lane on 70 through Indianapolis. Bone on top still hurts on and off. Still a nasty bit of road. |
