695 mods and revamp

[suzyj]

Rather than use the standard castle nuts when I reassemble the heads, I was thinking about using these:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUCATI-CAMSHAFT-NUT-HEAVY-DUTY-RACE-CAM-ENGINE-CAMBELT-MOTOR-RACING-SERVICE-DC-/300690453125?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DDLSL%252BSIC.NPJS%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D300657417344%252B300657417344%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8033039742496916421#ht_500wt_1413

They use a 19mm socket to do up, which has to be a huge improve on the originals.  They aren't locknuts though, so I would have to apply some loctite.  I'm thinking blue would be appropriate.  Has anyone any experience?

[BK_856er]

Impressive teardown/improvements!   

A couple years ago my M695 developed a leak at the vertical cam pulley.  I had Nichols replace the seal and they said that nut was a total beotch to remove - worse than what they usually encounter.

While you have things apart be sure to check those valve guides.  Mine were shot at 5k miles, replaced with better ones.  No easier time than now.

BK

[Speeddog]

I've never used the hex nuts, I've got the official Ducati tool, and lots of bikes that aren't mine to change...

Considering how tight those pulley nuts are, I think you could get away with nothing at all. 
Seriously, I'd use some blue loctite.

IIRC, VeeTwo had hex nuts like that in the past, perhaps the resurrected VeeTwo still has them?

[suzyj]

Here's a few photos of the horizontal head after sand blasting the paint off.  There's still a little clean-up work to do in some of the hard to reach corners, which I plan to do with emery.

It was pleasing how easy the heads are to disassemble after getting the cam nuts off.  Just pop off the covers, undo the clips stopping the opening rockers from sliding along their shafts, then do so and pop the opening shims out.  Then just push the opening rockers down, pop the little half-circle thingies and closing shims off the valve, and the valves just slide right out.  Then the cam slides out equally easily.

I've left the closing rockers and spring in there, along with the pulley side bearing, as they don't get in the way for painting.



Note the cam has the key pushed back in it's slot.  The key needs to be removed before the cam can slide out.

So with the valves out, you can see into the ports:



Intake:





Exhaust:





I can see why people port their heads.  There's an enormous lump right in the middle around the guides that's just begging to be radiused.

[suzyj]

I'm a quarter of the way through porting.  I'm reasonably happy with the intake on the vertical cylinder.  I pressed the valve guides out and went at the port with a burr mounted in a die grinder, followed by emery cylinders, and finally lots of hand work with a stick of balsa and emery cloth.  I've finished the port out to 240 grit - there are a few stubborn tool marks, but I think they can stay.  My favorite burr was a 12mm round nose cylinder - it made short work of the projection at the base of the guide and allowed me to blend in the back nicely.

I also rounded the sharp edges in the combustion chamber.

Here's what it looks like from the top:



And looking into the intake port:



The valve guide isn't staying - it's the original one - I turned it down until it was a loose press fit in the head so that I could see what it looks like with the guide in there.

I did some damage to the valve seat while I was working - if you look really closely at the first photo you might be able to spot it between the two ports.  Once I've finished porting I'll press new guides in, then take the heads to a machine shop so they can regrind the seats.  Current plan is to go with 44mm (1mm oversize) intakes, same as stopintime's S2R.

Also here's one of my exhaust valves.  Note the pitting at the seat.  If that was all that was wrong with it, I'd probably lap it and reuse it.  Unfortunately the runout on all my valves is outside the 0.03mm tolerance, so I'll replace the lot.  This is starting to get expensive!

[FIFO]

Hey Suzy
I copied these tools courtesy of Mitt http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=22048.0

Work well for cam nut removal, i turned a 1/2'' drive socket to suit milled 4 slots and silver soldered in 4 mm key steel

[brad black]

i've had quite a few ds motors that the nuts were amazingly hard to get off.  i have a 3/4 drive 800 odd ft.lb impact gun and it has done nothing on a couple.  it's for mv wheel nuts, and eats them up easy.

generally these days people who do heads leave the ports, especially the inlets, rough in finish.

your exhaust valves were very light in colour.  is it an all std bike?

[Buckethead]

Loving the progress, Suzy. You're giving me ideas. 

generally these days people who do heads leave the ports, especially the inlets, rough in finish.

I'm curious, any particular reason why?

[battlecry]

Many fuel injectors don't atomize the fuel very well.  It tends to cling to smooth intake ports.  Some surface roughness seems to improve mixing.   

I'd think that you would still want smooth exhaust ports, as the pumping energy comes from the engine. 

[Buckethead]

Many fuel injectors don't atomize the fuel very well.  It tends to cling to smooth intake ports.  Some surface roughness seems to improve mixing.   

Better "stumble" then? Makes sense.

[suzyj]

your exhaust valves were very light in colour.  is it an all std bike?

Mostly. I've had a fatduc O2 maniuplator on for 18 months or so with an untouched ECU, but it's clearly still running lean.

Once it's coming back together I'll send the ECU off to get it open loop, then get it properly tuned.

[suzyj]

Many fuel injectors don't atomize the fuel very well.  It tends to cling to smooth intake ports.  Some surface roughness seems to improve mixing.   

I'd think that you would still want smooth exhaust ports, as the pumping energy comes from the engine. 

Roughness here is between polished vs smooth, not smoothed vs lots of tool marks.  My goal is smoothed to 240 on intakes, and reasonably poloshed exhaust, though thus far the shape of the exhaust port is less amenable to working, so I might just smooth it out too.

[brad black]

i think the main theory is fuel not clinging to the walls, but i would think it also has a lot to do with boundary layer dynamic, eg, dimpled golf ball.  a polished port should have a much thicker boundary layer.  i guess you could polish the short turn to help get the air to turn, much like D shaping the port floor.  except giving you're using the boundary layer effect you'll be comprimising the overall flow potential.

generally the heads i get back are rough on the inlets, showing tool marks / surface finish from the carbide burr (from a well practised hand).  I think they do both ports similarly.  i can't find a photo on this computer.  i have photos of my 750 heads somewhere.

i had a set of 998 heads here recently that were done by biggelaar and they were very smooth on both.  it made quite a lot of hp.

[suzyj]

A bunch of terminals and stuff arrived, so I've gone back to the loom.



It's work that I can do late at night, unlike running the die grinder, which is something I can only do for very short bursts in the middle of the day, for fear of annoying the neighbours.

It's very slow going.  I was hoping to have separate looms for the ECU engine and body connectors, but there's one wire - sensor ground - that I have to connect across between the two.  Also every time I work on it I find another terminal or splice that I have to buy...

Oh well, it's making progress, and it'll be significantly lighter and more reliable than the stock loom.

Next on the to-buy list is 6mm 12AWG terminals, a bag of 1/4" spade terminals, and some more crimp tools.

Oh, and I had the opportunity to buy some shameless bling for the bike, too, from one of the ozmo crowd   Thanks Dee!

[duc996]

Man! can't wait to see the finish project. you're a very handy person,good job