Ducati 1000 DS custom build

[900Rebuilder]

Looking good!

Thanks for all your help btw with the 900

[buzzer]

Originally Posted by 900Rebuilder

Looking good!

Thanks for all your help btw with the 900

No problen!


Things don’t always go to plan… I dropped the speedo and of course the glass cracked. Very frustrating! My first reaction was to just buy another… then I got thinking… maybe I could repair it? So I made a new bezel out of aluminium and tried to peen it over… first attempt failed, it was too thick, so I made another, and that worked perfectly! One tip when bending aluminium is to aneale it first. To do this mark it with a sharpi pen and heat it.. when the marks disappear, its the correct temperature for annealing! just let it cool…

I was able to turn a new glass out of 3mm polycarbonate, clamped between two pieces of aluminium, and a revolving centre. I guess there are now a couple of advantages… the alloy is more in keeping with the bike, and i was able to remove the GPS logo. While the MOT man is not bothered, (its not a reason to fail) A GPS speedo does not comply with construction and use regulations.

[900Rebuilder]

Is that an Acewell? I'm tempted with one later to tie in the Ignitech (revs etc) and the ie temperature sender in the head but keep the stock single 85mm clock.

[buzzer]

Originally Posted by 900Rebuilder

Is that an Acewell? I'm tempted with one later to tie in the Ignitech (revs etc) and the ie temperature sender in the head but keep the stock single 85mm clock.

its one of the cheap ons off Ebay... around £50.

[buzzer]

This build comes to an end, just in time for spring and the better weather! Took it for MOT today and it passed with no problem… But then again he follows my builds!

I did spend a very frustrating day yesterday.. I measured the voltage to check it was charging... It wasn't! I set about fault finding ( the electrex worldwebsite has a fantastic fault finding section!) and everything checked out, I couldn't understand what was wrong... In desperation I asked my mate to pop round... First thing he di was check the volts... with his meter... It was charging! the fault was my meter!

I will update in a while when I have put a few miles on it... first impressions are very favorable! Its very light and weighs in at 139KG with a bit of fuel in there... On the road it feels torquey and nimble!

[crawsue]

As always, Tony, a cracking build….if even more quirky than usual ! Certainly in my advancing years the quest for lightness is becoming more of a “thing”, your finished weight is mighty impressive. One question which has been prompted by recent shenanigans with changing bike insurance providers is how do you describe your creations to the insurers ?
Once again thanks for getting us through another dreich winter.

[buzzer]

Originally Posted by crawsue

As always, Tony, a cracking build….if even more quirky than usual ! Certainly in my advancing years the quest for lightness is becoming more of a “thing”, your finished weight is mighty impressive. One question which has been prompted by recent shenanigans with changing bike insurance providers is how do you describe your creations to the insurers ?
Once again thanks for getting us through another dreich winter.

With the insurance I just declare all the modifications... some companies just decline, but I always seem to find someone to take it on, it helps they are older bikes...

the weight thing is topical...

As this build finishes my mind turns to the next project, I have 6 months to think about it as I like to ride over the summer months... Yesterday I moved the cars and bikes out of the garage so I could give it all a good clean. Moving the bikes around made me realize just how heavy the Guzzi feels (200kg) its manageable for me at the moment, but I am sure a time will come when that also becomes too heavy... The Ducati's weigh in at 165- 168 KG and with the high bars, they are easy enough to move around. The Honda feels super light in comparison! Incidentally I rode a Honda Montesa last month... at 80 ish KG that felt like a push bike!

I think the next build will be a single cylinder, and as powerful as I can find... which means going for a watercooled bike. maybe quite modern, and perhaps accident damaged/reparable salvage... we will see, watch this space!