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Old 10-03-2018, 07:16 PM   #616
350TSS
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I know the trouble is my list is what I know I have to do at the time , when i find I have to make carb float bowl plugs and plugs for the electric heaters the hours go up by in this case 3. I think I am now past "peak hours" and it should be downhill from now and my estimate for engine work has been quite generous.
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Old 10-03-2018, 07:18 PM   #617
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I hasten to add I have never before stripped or rebuilt a Ducati motor - so plenty of scope for cock ups and under estimation
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Old 10-03-2018, 09:43 PM   #618
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 350TSS View Post
I hasten to add I have never before stripped or rebuilt a Ducati motor - so plenty of scope for cock ups and under estimation
I do like your attitude! Keep up the good work amigo.
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Old 13-03-2018, 06:27 PM   #619
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Swinging arm cleaned up Ok but enlarging the slots proved a little troublesome. I had originally intended to enlarge the holes (4) with a Dremel finishing with a file.
This was not really practical as I was unable to get the cutting disc to sit far enough proud of the Dremel collet to cut the slots at right angles to the face of the swinging arm. Two other issues made a Dremel impractical, the fibre/corundum cutting discs clogged very quickly with the aluminium and the diamond disc made it impossible to see the line I was trying to cut to. I had to resort to a file and it took a long time to file out 4mm on each side of the first adjustment slot. I managed to file the parallel bits on one leg of the SA Ok but have yet to file the rounded ends on that first side.
Tomorrow looks like more of the same.
One issue which I need advice on, when I removed the SA 3 shims fell onto the hydraulic bike lift bed, 2 about 0.020” thick and one about 0.010” (I am too old to be able to think in metric shim sizes – imperial no problem just a mental block with metric shim sizes).
I have no idea which shim came from which side. I am assuming that each side has the 0.020” shim but the thinner shim could have come from either side. How would you measure which side it came from? – what is the datum? – is it the vertical split line on the crankcase?
It may not matter that much as I suspect the frame is not made to a front to rear wheel alignment tolerance of c 0.020” but it would be nice to put it back the way it was built.
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Old 13-03-2018, 09:37 PM   #620
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I had to add 0.20 to my better swingarm. Luckily found correct size NOS on ebay but Ducati sell them for £'s.. One of my sides the right has more than left at 0.20mm Not over critical as chain has that slack and you need a bit of wiggle room. I just measured gap with feeler gauges.
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Old 13-03-2018, 10:17 PM   #621
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I think my point is that the wheel because of the fixed spacers should always sit in the middle of the swinging arm (or at least in a designed position relative to the arms on each side). If the SA is shimmed 0.020" either way then front to rear wheel alignment is affected. The steering head and therefore the relative position of the front wheel is fixed to the engine, the rear wheel therefore must move laterally one way or the other depending upon which side you put the additional shim and by, I think, twice the thickness of the shim
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Old 14-03-2018, 01:21 AM   #622
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From memory, I think there is a particular side that the thinner shims are supposed to go.
Also from memory, I think its the non-drive side.
This would make at least some logical sense as the clearance would be taken up without upsetting the chain alignment.
I also seem to remember thinking at the time that I would check both the chain and the wheel alignment at a later stage, then reconsider the shim placing.
I'll check my notes and stuff on this but can't do so just now.

I guess the overall picture is a complex(ish) interplay between wheel alignment, chain alignment and swingarm pivot/rear spindle parallel ..ness.
The way I see it is this ..
The relative position between front wheel and engine is a bit of a moveable feast as the wheel can obviously turn.
If the rear wheel is displaced laterally, say by fitting shims, this can be counteracted by twisting the rear wheel slightly in the swingarm, and turning the front wheel slightly, to suit.
Not that I'm suggesting doing such a thing, but the process is the same as for normal adjustment of wheel alignment using the chain tensioners.
Wheel alignment could be restored but the chain alignment would have been altered in the process.
Bringing these three factors (or is it four ?) together harmoniously is the nitty gritty.

Or at least, that was my analysis at the time I fitted my ally swingarm.
But I think it was near enough with the thin spacers on the non-drive side.
Other stuff took over and I never revisited it.
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Old 14-03-2018, 11:20 PM   #623
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I nearly finished opening the adjustment slots in the SA out to 25mm today, one side complete the other needs the ends of the slots rounded to fit the circumference of the spindle, half an hour tomorrow should see that done.
Overall it was a job that took a lot longer than I expected but it was satisfying to a) get it done and b) for it to turn out well. The wheel spindle, interior spacer block and slot are all a much closer fit than my original standard M900 arrangement.
The adjustment plates that I have that fit outside the swinging arm and inside the wheel nut will need to be re-bent or re-made as the 25mm hole in them is about 2mm South of central when the angle is engaged under the swinging arm.
The SA itself has the usual scars from a sloppy chain, chattering of the nylon chain guide / rubbing strip, one bevelled bobbin from an off, and careless insertion of the rear wheel spindle. I have tried to rub them out with wet and dry which obviously has gone through the anodising so the SA will need to be painted or powder coated. Some scars are annoyingly just too deep and are likely to remain evident on the finished article.
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Old 16-03-2018, 07:37 PM   #624
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Good day today, finished the slots in the SA and checked that the rear wheel axle is on the same plane as the swinging arm spindle for all of its longitudinal adjustment.

Decided to remove the frame from the engine and was expecting the bolts to be a pain but they came out as good as gold and they are hardly corroded at all. The front bolt had a nyloc nut but the rear bolt does not, it just threads into the frame, looks as though it was made that way as the rear bolt is not long enough to take a nut.

Got my brazing torch out and brazed on my first cable lug.
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Old 16-03-2018, 07:53 PM   #625
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Good making progress now. Yep only one bolt has a nut. Glad it's finally working out
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Old 20-03-2018, 08:01 PM   #626
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Almost spring-like this morning following the weekend of snow, and a tolerable temperature in the garage. The plan for this week is to
1. get the engine ready for painting;
2. get the frame including the SA ready for painting; and,
3. finish off the wiring harness.
Re 1 above I had to prevent all the crap getting inside the engine so first task was to make up some blanking plates for the inlet and exhaust manifolds and the starter motor. I then re fitted the alternator and clutch cases and sealed every orifice with masking tape – this took a couple of hours – I then spent a further 2 hours cleaning the motor with a nylon brush in a hand drill. I did not want to put it in the blast cabinet and sand blast it because the grit gets absolutely everywhere and seems to be capable of passing through masking tape. The other reason is that I was not confident of being able to lift it on my own high enough to get it into the cabinet. Probably just as well.
The nylon brushes (ex Screwfix) work well, they are aggressive enough to remove the crud/old paint without damaging the aluminium, They have the advantage that they do not shed their fibres as a wire brush would and do not leave carborundum dust as a small drum sander would. Their disadvantage is that the diameter of the brush is too large to get into the nooks and crannies of the castings although they do work quite well between the fins on the barrel/head.
In the 2 hours I managed to do about a quarter of the engine (probably the easiest to get at bits), so there is still at least another 6 hours with the nylon brush then probably a further 2 or 3 hours with a Dremel and a smaller tool to get to those important little places.
I intend to paint the engine first then strip it and repair any damage to the paint before putting it back in the frame. I will use etch primer from rattle cans then a topcoat, colour as yet not 100% decided upon (but not satin (or even gloss) black).
Picture of 2 hours-worth of progress



I was a little disappointed to find that my welded-up alternator case may have been distorted in the welding process as the faces on the peninsular bit above the rear sprocket do not quite mate by about c 0.5mm. After I had it welded I tried it on a glass plate and it looked OK so maybe I have some detritus preventing the dowel from engaging fully. I will need to check this tomorrow.
If there is no obstruction on the dowel then I think I might put it in the oven (bare without the alternator windings) for a couple of hours at c150 degrees C and then bolt it up hot and see if it pulls back square otherwise I will get some hallite and cut a thick-ish gasket with a ball peen hammer and a dome headed nut on a stud.
Re 2 above, this involves me a) tidying up all the lugs that I cut off with an angle grinder so that there is no evidence that they existed at all; b) taking off 2 or 3 other extraneous brackets (see below); c) filling any pin holes/ corrugations from my less than perfect MiG welding (coil brackets and rear sub frame cross brace) with braze and filing smooth; and d) brazing on the remaining 10 new brackets I need to keep the loom out of sight and to hold my CF air scoops.
I cannot remember what this C bracket is for and therefore whether or not I need it. (holding main fuse?????) Help please!



I will then put the frame in the sand blast cabinet and strip all the paint off.
I may not get to 3 above this week which is annoying because I will need the bench space soon for stripping the engine. I only have 4 x 2 pole amp male connectors to make up and to wire to and from the Hall effect ignition trigger and Ignitech box and coils and to wrap the loom in non- adhesive PVC tape. This should not be more than 4/5 hours work.
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Old 20-03-2018, 08:11 PM   #627
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I took the old ignition triggers off that work off the flywheel and found that the hole in the crankcase for the trigger leads is the same size as the sump plug 22mm x 1.5.
I have ordered a 22mm die and some 25mm hex aluminium bar so will turn up two hex plugs one for the sump (with the addition of a strong magnet) and one to blank off the redundant trigger leads.
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Old 20-03-2018, 09:42 PM   #628
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That c bracket holds a rubber clip for the tank prop.
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Old 20-03-2018, 11:28 PM   #629
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Not needed then so more angle grinder/file/belt sander/wet and dry
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Old 21-03-2018, 09:00 PM   #630
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Some good and some not so rapid progress today.
I managed to clean as much as I can reach of the engine (the belt covers have yet to be removed) using the nylon brush. There is still a lot to do that cannot be reached with the brush (particularly in the lee of the barrels and the box patterning on the sump casting will need attention from another smaller tool, not sure what yet).
I was quite pleased with the back of the engine as virtually no original paint remained and road salt had “anodised” the aluminium black, here is the “after” picture.


When I started to get white finger from holding the drill I decided to get on with brazing the cable lugs on. This was not so successful, about 3 times I brazed what looked like an acceptable joint which when it cooled down I was then able to separate it with my fingers.
I started this project with one of the stated objectives being “learning how to do stuff”. This was not a learning experience because it seemed random whether the brazing “took” or not. The frame and the bracket were cleaned with emery before any attempt to braze, I made sure the two parts were good and hot before introducing the flux coated rod. The only thing I can think is that where the brackets were to be located meant that I could not get a good angle on the direction of the cone of the flame, i.e. dissecting the angle between the bracket and the circumference of the tube and also having a 60 degree lead on the nozzle compared to the axis of the join to be made. I used a lot of gas to achieve 3 “satisfactory” joints by the end of the day. 8 more to go. If the remaining 8 are as problematic then I will need to order some more gas this evening.
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