Monster 900 restoration

[buzzer]

Thin layer of Three Bond or equivalent. 

Thanks, I will do that...

the rebuild of the heads is going well… some of the clearances are out though, not surprising as I gave the valves a bit of a grind in and replaced the half rings. I have a little spreadsheet that I put the values in, which calculates everything from there, and also mirrors the measurements in MM rather than the thous I prefer to work in. Old school I know!

Been doing the plating on and off, its time consuming, but I put parts in the bucket, set the timer so I don’t forget, and the magic happens… just a few parts to go…

frame and wheels are back from the powder coater, and its another superb job….

[ducpainter]

If you prefer to work with imperial measurements we have a calculator here on the forum that you can download...

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/configurators/valveshimcalculator.xls

Enable editing, and put in your own data.

[Speeddog]

when building these engines do you guys use any sealant on the base gasket?

As howie said, 3Bond.

Paper gasket under the cam cap, no paper gaskets ANYWHERE else.
OEM style rubber-coated metal gaskets are fantastic, install clean and dry.
3Bond or Orings only.

[buzzer]

thanks guys...

one of the things that has been niggling me is the engine oil pipes and oil cooler lines are badly corroded on the ends… replacements, even aftermarket are a fortune… So I decided to try and plate them… they actually came out rather well!

[buzzer]

Some bolts I just tighten… but critical components I always use a torque wrench… in the past I have used a long series a spanner and calculated the pull I need on a spring balance… but for some reason I could not get the spanner on I have used in the past and its part of an expensive set, so I didn’t want to modify it by grinding… , so had to make a tool… I knew that old spanner and socket would come in one day!

One tip I picked up years ago when I used to build Crossflow race engines was always mark the head nuts/bolts after the first stage torque.  I would paint an arrow on them with tippex...  then move on to the second stage torque, and then the final stage.  then I would check all the arrows were facing the same direction, and if any weren't, I would give them an extra tweak until they did.  the rational for this is that it takes much of the varying nut/bolt/washer friction out of the equation and you get an even clamping force.

Of course that's exactly what you do in effect on modern engines, but now in a more refined way with an angle gauge...  on a BMW engine I recently worked on the bolts were torqued to 40 NM, then 90 degrees, then another 90...  I still put arrows on them! the reason for that is its all to easy to get confused as they need to be puled down in sequence, and there are 20 bolts! its all too easy to forget where you are... and its not like a torque wrench where you give it a click to check!  All too easy to give a bolt 90, 90 and another 90, at which point it pings!

[buzzer]

When people ask me why Ducati bikes are expensive to maintain… I say try doing the valve clearances and adjusting them to the correct specification… its a fiddly job on the bench, let alone in the frame!  and this is just the 2V!

[buzzer]

more or less finished the engine build, and also added some of the plated parts to the carbs, they have come up really well..

[koko64]

I'd say the plating and coatings are better than new. OEM wasn't the most durable. That looks clean.

[Howie]

I'd say the plating and coatings are better than new. OEM wasn't the most durable. That looks clean.

I'd say you are correct.

[buzzer]

I'd say you are correct.

it has come out rather well...  but as i did more it actually got worse, to the point where I called the company for advice...  he told me to do a "plate out" with the solution for 24 hours and it should be back to normal...  I have had the kit 3 years and done a lot of plating.  I will give that a try and see how it goes, I have the odd bit left to do...  I may buy an anodising kit from them to see how that goes...

[buzzer]

Did a bit of painting and polishing today… painted and lacquered the clutch cover, and rear spring, and put a coat of lacquer on the cam belt covers which I had decided to carbon effect dip… not everyone’s cup of tea I know, but I like the look… The silencers came up really well! there were a few marks on them that would have niggled me so I decided to polish them.

as an aside, while the spray gun had some lacquer in, I finished off some cheese boards I have been making as Christmas presents for friends... its got me a few brownie points with the wife which I desperately needed  the fruit and spices are encapsulated in clear casing resin.

[koko64]

Smooth move on both counts.

[buzzer]

Started the rebuild… first job was to put the frame on the engine, easy job, I held it, my wife popped the bolts in! I then fitted the headstock bearings, which I have replaced as there were small sighs of pitting, and they are cheap. I pulled them in rather than use a hammer, which also means you can give them a good tighten and bed them in nice and hard against the register. Its starting to come together… Was also playing around with the image of the engine…

anyone know what those forks are and how much oil I should put in each leg?

[Speeddog]

~~~SNIP~~~

anyone know what those forks are and how much oil I should put in each leg?

~~~SNIP~~~

More pics necessary, they look like adjustable Showas buuuuut... they do not seem to have the boss/adjustment on the lowers so TBD

[ducpainter]

More pics necessary, they look like adjustable Showas buuuuut... they do not seem to have the boss/adjustment on the lowers so TBD

Could the compression adjusters be up in side above the axle, or are you thinking they have a fake top cap?