Rescued M900 Rebuild Thread

[AdmiralKit]

So back in November I saw a Craigslist posting for a '94 M900 in boxes.  I was looking for a new project to get my hands into, and even though the frame had been chopped up I figured the worst that happened was that I sold off the parts and should probably at least break even.  A couple of other people I talked with said that they'd seen it and passed on it, but I decided I'd go after it.  Here's how it looked when I first got it:







You can see the frame in the third picture - the engine mounts were chopped off and didn't come with the bike, and the steering mount was still attached to the triple.  The dent in the tank in picture 5 was carefully covered up in the CL post I saw it on, but for $900 I figured that would be something I could deal with. 

With the help of Düb Lüv parting out his old M900, I managed to get a frame with a title as well as the FCR 41 carbs, some coils, a lightened flywheel, and some frame sliders, so I knew this was going to be more than just a stock rebuild - I was going to build something that could kick some ass and take some names.  I started working through Indy Ducati to locate some 944 overbore hi-comp pistons as well as some ST2 cams to put in there, and we decided that we would port and polish the heads and put in some oversize valves.  That's a bit beyond my technical expertise (yet), so when the shop went into their winter labor rates I dropped off the engine and let their mechanic get to work on it.







I was pleased to learn that the internals were in pretty good shape - not perfect, but for a bike that was bought in boxes and only had someone's claim that it had run properly before it was torn down, that was a big concern.  You can see that there's some surface corrosion on there as well.  We figure that it was someone's race bike, since they had drilled holes through the nuts for the header pipe mounting clamps and a couple of other things that said they were looking to keep bits from being lost on the track.

More in the next post.

[AdmiralKit]

Now, the reason I'm starting this thread is that I'm finally getting to the point where progress is actually being made.  As such, it's time to share the joy as that helps me ignore the painful sobbing sounds my wallet is making.

The frame I picked up from Düb actually helped make the decision on whether or not to chop off those handles on the tail section easy - they were already gone, decision made and onto the next step!




The next question was the design.  I had a nice thread about that where people made some suggestions, but in the end it came down to two choices - some combo of blue/white with a brown seat, or flopping the scheme on my M750 (known around town as the Bumblebee).  I decided to run with what I know - black and yellow it was.  I took the frame off to the powder coater I use, and after going through a few color wheels I decided that I finally found one that lined up nearly exactly with Ducati Yellow.  I got a call earlier this week that the first round of powder coating was done, and managed to pick it up today to bring it home and start the build.

I also picked up the engine, cylinders, and heads to paint those myself.  While I'll leave the tank to a professional, I wanted to get the engine cleaned up without breaking the bank.  Since I'm just blacking it out, it shouldn't be too terrible once I get everything taped up.  Here's how it all sits in my garage right now, though:
Frame, Swingarm, and Hoop:





Engine:





Heads:



And the best shot I could get that showed the yellow on my M750 compared to the new frame powdercoat:


This weekend looks to be a cold rainy one, which means I get to turn the kitchen table into a taping shop to get the heads and cylinders all set up.  More pictures as progress continues.

[Q]

Great thread and project! Maybe I missed it, but what color are you doing on the tank? What about the wheels? I think I'd break up all the black and yellow with a third color/finish, maybe gray or natural aluminum. Please keep the updates coming.

[AdmiralKit]

The wheels are already black, and I'm going to leave them that way.  Yellow is a really powerful color when set against black, so I'm trying not to overdo it.  The plan for the tank is to do black with offset racing & pin stripes, like how it is in the last picture with my 750.

A third color would be nice, but I don't think I'm going to go out of my way to add it in there.  The images I have in my head of the yellow frame with a grey tank and black wheels don't really appeal to me - black and yellow is a pretty classic combo that doesn't really need a third color to break it up, so I'm going to stick with that for now.  I've got no plans to do any painting on the forks, though (I may change my mind on that after I figure out all the details on what I'm doing with everything). 

[kopfjäger]

Nice, the 900 is the Monster. 

[phishhead1]

i like the ducati island pass on the 750 same spot as mine

[cicii]

Great work Admiral!
looking fwd to seeing more!

[koko64]

 
The early Monsters are classics in my book.
Nice work.

[Nottsbiker]

Nice, the 900 is the Monster. 

Amen brother 

[koko64]

Very interested to see how your engine combination perfoms  as I am planning a similar engine rebuild in the future.

944 hi comp (904 hi comp at present), more porting, bigger inlet valves. I haven't made up my mind on the cams. Currently running stock cams advanced, but thought I would go to stock specs with 944. Also undecided about using 900 ie or ST2 cams with the long manifolds.

Does the valve increase include both inlet and exhaust or just 44mm inlet valves like I am planning?

A very interesting build.

[AdmiralKit]

 

Does the valve increase include both inlet and exhaust or just 44mm inlet valves like I am planning.

I'm just going with the 44mm inlet valves on the intake, no adjustment to the exhaust valves.  I'll be keeping the long manifolds for the time being as well, especially since I'm using the paired FCRs instead of the split single FCRs.

I figured if I was doing engine work, I ought to go to town on it.  The 944 overbore was a good combo between getting more out of the engine without taking so much out that it would have any effect on longetivity or requiring additional cooling capacity (or if I decide it needs more cooling, I can go to a single larger oil cooler instead of needing dual coolers like the 966 or 984 overbore kits).

Spent the weekend scraping crappy paint off of the heads.  Horizontal head is ready to be taped up, but the vertical head has some interesting nooks and crannies I'm trying to get into.  Lesson 1 from this weekend: get a sand blaster.  Lesson 2: attempting to burn paint off of the head of an air cooled engine with a heat gun is a lesson in futility.  Heat + heat sink = ineffective.  Whoops.  Lesson 3: use a drop cloth before applying paint stripper goop when the kitchen table is your workspace.  I've got a new project after the bike comes together.

[koko64]

Where did you source the 44mm inlet valves?

[AdmiralKit]

Got them through Indy Ducati, who got them through one of their suppliers.  Took about two months to get them IIRC.

[Slide Panda]

 

Always fun to follow along with these. Looking forward to the final product

[dropstharockalot]

Thread book marked... because I think I talked to that same guy about that same pile of parts!

Does it have the guage plate that holds the half-moon LED tach?

Great start, btw.  Can't wait to see how it turns out.