M944SS build

[koko64]

Pretty flash!

[monsta]

the pics are great!
I like that you have a back-light!

looks like he's done a good job...

[Rudemouthsky]

I finally got baffles...going to go with this interesting setup from a company called "Car Chemistry"...The discs are a perfect press fit and I'll rivet them or maybe use stainless screws to secure them, and pack with steel wool. Will probably let the core protrude from mufflers, I still can't seem to find suitable end caps.

[koko64]

Time for an update.

[Rudemouthsky]

Time for an update.

Not much to report till I have my engine...


I successfully bled my front brakes...the old fashioned way because the Mityvac I bought specifically for this purpose was useless and it took me 2 days of cursing to realize it..

That's all I got

[Rudemouthsky]

Got a bunch of material for DIY ground and power cables.

The OE starter circuit (pictured right) really is a sad joke that ANYONE can one-up...

[ducatigirl100]

Got a bunch of material for DIY ground and power cables.

The OE starter circuit (pictured right) really is a sad joke that ANYONE can one-up...



 

[ducatiz]

Did you solder or just crimp the new one?

Got a bunch of material for DIY ground and power cables.

The OE starter circuit (pictured right) really is a sad joke that ANYONE can one-up...

[ducatigirl100]

Did you solder or just crimp the new one?

Soldering a crimp wire make it more stiff.  The wire is more likely to brake  at  the wire/ terminal juction.

Soldering cam be used where there a risk for the crimp terminal  to come loose bit it's not usually recomended

Not recomended for battery terminals ...  

[thorn14]

Soldering a crimp wire make it more stiff.  The wire is more likely to brake  at  the wire/ terminal juction.
Soldering cam be used where there a risk for the crimp terminal  to come loose bit it's not usually recomended
Not recomended for battery terminals ...  

I believe someone on this board also stated that in applications with high amounts of vibration, crimping was preferred, and that it was a standard for marine electrical applications for that precise reason. Brittle joints.

[Rudemouthsky]

Did you solder or just crimp the new one?

From what I understand solder has a fraction of the conductivity of copper, so I tried to pack the lugs as tightly as possible with wire and did the best "DIY crimp" I could with...what I had. I wouldn't brag about my method...but I'm pretty confident it ain't coming loose...and that it will sufficiently show up what Ducati felt was sufficient.

I hadn't thought of what DG100 and Thorn14 pointed about but that makes perfect sense.

Also...I'm not gonna slag the dude, and I've certainly no right to, but I studied those $120 kits intensely...the fancy, ultra special wire he uses is car audio cable from a company called "Amp King ", it's run of the mill 4 gauge amp wire that can be had just north of a buck/ft and doesn't seem to have particularly heat or abrasion resistant jacketing, and the lugs just look like run of the mill tinned copper lugs. With the right crimping tool and good quality welding cable *anyone* can build a kit of equal quality for about $10 in materials.

[ducatigirl100]

A copper wire is a copper wire. The only concern is that it has to be oil/eat resistant...

I bougth one of these  kits a couple years ago ..   yes I'm guilty

Ok here the trick go to your local specialized nerdy eletronic store

1x  24"   4awg size automotive wire 5$
1x  16"   4 awg size auomotive wire 5$
4  battery terminals  2$

Ask your girlfriend to come whit you... tell her to go see the guy behind the conter usually at the back of the store.

Ask he if he could help crimp the wire and the terminals becose you dont have the specielized criming tool to do it
 
Most stores will do it

Girlfriend= free
no girlfriend=  5$
 

Total cost  around 20$ + that diner you've promes to your gf a  while ago  

 

[MotoPsycho]

You can get by with solder if you drill a tiny hole in the side of the lug and feed just enough in to make it stick. Done it on my car stereos for years.

Wire is not wire though. For this application it has to be oxygen free copper, not aluminum clad copper like they sell in the car stereo kits at walmart. And the finer the strands the better. It's more bendy and there is less loss per length.

[Rudemouthsky]

You can get by with solder if you drill a tiny hole in the side of the lug and feed just enough in to make it stick. Done it on my car stereos for years.

For this application it has to be oxygen free copper

You're saying it *has* to be oxy free for an A/V application, right?

Seems to me that Motolectric uses the phrase "oxygen free" as a marketing shtick...oxygen free is "better" wire in the sense that less oxygen = more copper and more copper = less resistance, but if 4 AWG welding cable does the job of being your starter circuit just as well, I don't really see an advantage to going with their oxygen free amp wire at over 10x the price and without the added benefit of the ultra tough abrasion and heat resistance of the welding cables insulation.

There's a huuuuge thread on Ducati.ms about the Motolectric cables that almost lured me into buying one of their kits until I realized I was being seduced by the hyperbole of it all. What he kept going back to was the video proving the kit was vastly superior to the OE wiring, which was true...but when challenged as to why his was better than any other aftermarket or home made solution that used superior quality material than the OE stuff, he had to rename marine grade heat shrink; "dual wall mil spec shielding with hot melt sealant" to get his point across. It was all BS. Clever BS, but BS none the less.

[thorn14]

It was all BS. Clever BS, but BS none the less.

I that the degree talking?