Lucky Phil

I don't know about this docc. These style of bushes are actually designed to work clamped up as standard and the rubber flexes. It's served you well for many many miles now. The issue now is that you have 6 additional wear points, 2 on each side of the internal bushes and 2 on each pivot bolt. Car suspension arm bushes work the same way as the Guzzi torque arm with the isolating bush clamped up tight and the rubber providing the flex.I know it "feels" like a good idea but I don't believe it actually is. It's not going to be an issue in the short term though. If you want to go the other route you should use a torque rod with rose joints at the ends as my bike has. I cant tell any difference in performance or "feel" to be honest. Ciao

You cant leave the upper clamp in the position you have it. The underside of the clamp must be flush against the bearing adjuster nut. The upper clamp acts as a fail safe to prevent the bearing adjusting nut from the possibility of backing off. Ciao

I've mentioned before in posts that the sound of the clutch engaged changes depending on how you release the lever as well. On my bike ( previous 2 valver with std twin plate clutch) when I start it and it settles into an idle the clutch will be a little rattly. If you then give the clutch a quick as you can disengage and re engage it quietens down by a good 75%. So a quick pull and release of the lever and it quietens down. I assume its the friction and drive plates re aligning on the splines and taking out some of the backlash. I used to do it after every start to avoid public humiliation and so people wouldn't think I was riding a Ducati:) Ciao

The best alternative out there is Wilbers in my opinion There is no correlation between rubber bump stop cracking and the inner seals being degraded. One is exposed to the atmosphere and one isn't. Yes they are rebuild-able. Some dis assembly is required to replace the cracked bump stop. If its just surface cracking then it will probably be ok. Ciao

You could remove the header pipes and clean up the old overlap area with some fine emery cloth to remove the old overlap mark. The exhaust heat will pretty quickly bring the colour back to match whats on the pipe now and it won't be noticeable at all. The clamp usually look better fitted one or two mm back from the crossover end as well. From memory you need to clock the other side clamp to clear the side stand stop assembly. Have you ever considered one of these? https://gtmotocycles.com/collections/all-products/products/gt-eccentric-folding-toe-peg Ciao

Hope, we live in hope:) Ciao

Yep check it for binding, just in case. How did the rear disk look? Blue? Are you sure the new pads didn't jam in the caliper and cause the issue? Ciao

This would be the 3rd set of different valve clearances I've seen from Meinolf for various bikes and probably due to language differences the usual intake/exhaust way of expressing the figures he has now given them as exhaust/intake so just be careful to not get them the wrong way around if this is what you want to use. Maybe docc you might want to change it around in the post or maybe highlight it. Or maybe its just me? Ciao

Most likely cause for this is a mal adjusted master cylinder or a master cylinder thats jammed partially on. have you been doing any work on the brake lever or foot pegs? Could be the caliper of course but the first 2 are the usual suspects. Ciao

Personally I'd start from scratch with new crush seals in the heads. Remember to remove the old head seals as I've seen a few with 2 seals fitted there. So remove the headers install new crush seals and re install leaving everything loose and nip up the joints that are causing the issues and then the headers in stages with the rest of the system. I've fitted many many full systems over the years and Termi's on Ducati's can be an appalling fit that you need to wrestle into place. The Akra full Ti system on my 1198 is the only system I've ever fitted that fits perfectly everywhere with the most beautiful and highly accurate slip joints you could imagine and zero strain on anything. I couldn't believe a system could fit so perfectly until I experienced it. Mostly there will be stress involved OR some degree of poor lateral positioning. Sometimes both. How much lack of engagement at the joints do you have? My system has at one joint maybe only a couple of mm past the clamping slot on one side and it creates a tiny black line on the pipe there after a while. Another 3 mm would be good but its about on par with what I expect from a system these days. You could always go to a decent exhaust place and get another 5mm of pipe welded on and linished back smooth. Ciao

Yes docc and paulnaz are correct. Personally I dont think I've actually washed a bike for years, its something I try to avoid because it introduces problems. I wouldn't advise washing a bike unless it was unavoidable and necessary. When I do I just use a detergent and water mix and apply it to the bits with road grime and confine the hose to those parts with gentle spray only enough to wash it off. Everything else including wheels,bodywork and screen etc gets sprayed with Mr Sheen furniture polish. It takes off bug spatter as well. It's all we used to use at the race track to clean the bike and screen etc including the IOM where the bike is caked with flies after most races and practice. The switch gear gets Armour all. As I said personally I think washing with water and suds should be kept to a minimum on a road bike. Nothing much benefits from it , wheel bearings, instruments, wiring, chain drives, switch gear. Only after a ride in the rain do I approach the bike with water and detergent and then very sparingly as outlined. Ciao

Sorry Chuck 12 years. I thought I need to check that figure but forgot. Good advice, one step at a time, small bites, one day at a time,break it down to manageable pieces. Works for life as well:) Ciao

I mean building from scratch is massively impressive Chuck but more so sticking at it for 10 years. I always suffer from the mid project slump and struggle to keep motivated and thats on the 6 month jobs. Ciao

MG Cycles sells a replacement I'm pretty sure. Ciao

I did a 2 min research on the interweb after I made that post but got bored. All I know is when you boil the kettle it starts to produce vapour quite a bit before it reaches boiling point. My Ducatis with the oil sight glass also produce a light bit of Mayo when started from cold in the workshop and after a warm up and a lap around the block it's cleared. Not very scientific I know but I lean towards the practical experience even when the scientific says otherwise sometimes. And thats a whole nother interesting discussion right there as the dissimilar materials folks would attest:) Ciao

Yep, I just highlighted it because people seem to worry if they dont achieve 100 deg oil temp then it wont evaporate off moisture at all. Long trips with moderate oil temps will get it done or shorter runs at 110. Ciao

Looks more like 6-8deg? or is there parallax error. Ciao

Ok, I assume you had a shop replace it? Ciao

Grumman tracker? Ciao

Doh, you're correct. My amazement at their temp tolerance was always sort of linked to their Nikasil cylinders and their resistance to seizing which your 900 had as well. When sitting in traffic the front gets virtually no cooling either. The front cylinder on a Ducati only cools better when on the move. Like all air cooled engines cooling is marginal when at rest no matter what the configuration. Did it continue to smoke after the sitting in traffic situation? The usual issue with overheating with regards to pistons and cylinders is the rings lose thier tension and the cylinders can glaze. Usually new rings and a run through the bore with a flex hone sorts the situation. Ciao

You need to remember that the oil temp doesn't actually need to reach 100 deg C or 212 F to evaporate off the water. Put a pot of water on the stove and watch the vapour start rising way before 100 deg. It's just that obviously 100 deg C will make it happen more quickly. It will still evaporate off at say 90 or so but it takes a lot longer. So longer runs at a lower than 100 deg oil temp will still get the job done. Ciao

I've got a bunch of personal photos from the Daytona pits from that year of the Cosworth and plenty of other bikes. All very detailed with the bodywork off etc. can't get that sort of access anymore. Ciao

Beetle ( Mark) has done a very nice retro thermostat fit to your old Grisso you would be aware of Pete. Pricey but neat.Gives better fueling control and economy as well. Ciao

You know without knowing all the details here I doubt the traffic heat did your Ducati any real harm. I say this with confidence because in my race track experience I've never seen any engine that can cope with temperature abuse like a Ducati twin. I once saw an 851 superbike back in the day run completely out of coolant during a race and arrived in the pits with the cooling hose fittings (plastic in those days) melted off. Result? fit new coolant fittings and rectify the leak and back out for the next race with no issues. I've seen another rider with a bike I know well sit at the end of pit lane idling the race bike until it boiled and started dumping fluid on several occasions and away it went without problems and was fine when pulled down. The rider had to be re educated to NOT head out as soon as pit lane opened and cruise down to the end and sit there and wait for the green flag. He was a owner/rider but didn't work on the bike and had zero mechanical skills or knowledge but he had deep pockets which made education on mechanical sympathy difficult. I remember a delayed WSB race once in Italy when it was very hot and Troy Bayliss came back to his bike on pole position after going for a quick toilet break before the delayed start and gesticulating to his mechanic and pointing at the dash and the mechanic shrugging. Troy gave him the old Aussie "Arr @#!#$# it wave off" and the race got going and he won. I knew what he was gesticulating at........engine temp. It had overheated on the grid. Didn't matter though, still won. There'r heat tough Ducati twins. Mechanically a bit fragile in those days but temp tough. Ciao

The V11 has this standard but the Griso doesn't which seems odd but there you go. Ciao