Here we go again......

[Flip]

With little more than an oil and filter change and an MoT needed last year after the previous two years' Winter refreshes this year we were due some quality garage time together.

I still had a new clutch waiting to be fitted and another little Euro trip on the Horizon but before embarking on the the work I thought I would get the old girl MoT'd for the year first.

However, while I was checking it over I noticed the cause of the exhaust note sounding a little harsh of late- a split in a swaged joint where the link pipes are riveted to the can so for the moment it was on with the original cans for the MoT.

Happy to report it passed without problem despite it's muted voice highlighting the rattle of the clutch to the amusement of the tester.

Back home it was time to play with some new toys and make a start on the clutch (apologies as some of this is a repeat from another thread), if it wasn't for my up coming mini tour I would probably have left it to get it over the 30,000 mile mark but it seemed daft not to change it for sake of a couple of hundred miles.

Once the pressure and clutch plates were out my new impact gun made light work of the clutch drum nut:


With the old basket out and clean up it wasn't looking too shabby in there:


Before fitting the new basket:


For anyone who hasn't already seen what I have done in the previous refreshes, details can be found here if you have nothing better to do:

http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...onster+refresh
http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...onster+refresh

Some of the work was replacing consumables, some was required as a result of age related wear and some simply because I felt like it

[Flip]

While waiting for some new 'O' rings to arrive it was onto getting a most important job done- Yep! That missing Ducati bass line heard through my Fast by Ferracci pipes.

After taking some Cobalt drill bits to the rivets and pulling the cans apart to see what's what, a chat with a friend at work turns out a friend of his has a metalwork business that (among other things) does Stainless welding. A couple of emails and a trip up to see him later has him not only agreeing to repair the broken pipe but also weld the swaged joint on the other pipe to prevent the same happening to that.

Ebay was a friend when it came to new perforated tubing for the cores along with correct blind stainless steel rivets and thanks to Paul and Miky for suggesting 'Acoustasfil' which worked really well.

Twenty one years has taken it's toll on the insides:


Fun with Acoustafil:


Both pipes welded (the outer part) for £40- happy with that:


Riveting:


A spit and polish and they're ready to go back on:

[Flip]

With the 'O' rings fitted the clutch can go back together after popping a new bearing into the pressure plate:


Before:


After:

Love a nice weld. Hope the acoustic treatment doesn't change the original sound to much?

[Stafford]

What type of rivet did you use?

[Flip]

Originally Posted by Stafford

What type of rivet did you use?

They were A2 Stainless 'sealed or closed dome' (that's the important bit) blind rivets, suitable for where they are required to be either gas or water tight.

It's the one on the left compared a 'normal' Aluminium open ended rivet on the right:


I bought them from About Town Bolts on eBay- great service and I was happy with the price.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-8mm-x-C...72.m2749.l2649

[Darren69]

To be honest they don't look that bad inside for 20 odd years old. What was wrong with the perf tubes that were in them, not stainless?

[Flip]

Originally Posted by Darren69

To be honest they don't look that bad inside for 20 odd years old. What was wrong with the perf tubes that were in them, not stainless?

No maybe not for the age but the wadding was falling apart when I took it out and it would have been silly to only do one.

I am sure the original perforated tube was stainless but that too was a bit fragile and thin in places from all the heat cycles so it made sense while having them apart to do those too.

I've almost got the exhaust equivalent of Triggers broom but if they last another twenty one years I'll have got my moneys worth I reckon

[Flip]

So after going through my old receipts and putting them in date order (sad I know) I noticed it had been years since I bought a set of brake pads- in fact I have only ever changed them once before.

So although I have regularly checked them when cleaning the calipers etc. and even though they still had plenty of material left on them I thought while I'm at lets pop in a new set so that's what I did.

I chose Brembo again as I've been pleased with them from a performance point of view and the wear to the discs is minimal (it makes sense that the same manufacturer would optimize materials/compounds to ensure good levels of wear) and so went for their SA Sintered compound.



Oooh look they even match my bike:

[Flip]

The final instalment of this little bit of work before getting the bike back on the road ready for next weekends' little Euro jaunt was an oil and filter change and then a new pair of belts.

The old belts had been on since March 2015 and didn't look too bad, certainly no damage or cause for concern- just a slight visible line where they have run through the (now old style) double bearing tensioners.


Even when bent back on themselves:

[Flip]

As already said, with very nearly 30,000 miles on the clock and still running the original tensioner bearings they were probably due a change.

So while ordering a pair of belts from Exactfit I took advantage of a UKMOC 10% from them while also supplying a set of correct C3 clearance SKF tensioner bearings.

Not really a job I'd want to do more frequently than every 30,000 miles to be honest which is probably why Ducati don't swap the bearings instead supplying the tensioners complete with bearing fitted but at £125 a pair aren't cheap when the bearings themselves are less than £20.

Again no evidence of damage or excessive play so may have been unnecessary paranoia:


They took some whacking to get on but I got there:


Back on a new belts fitted and tensioned using my tried and trusted spring balance method.

[Nasher]

Flip

I think I'd like to try the Spring balance method to do my belts this year, but it strikes me there is one big difference between it and the Allen Key method which I've previously used.

When using the Allen key method you use a 6mm Key as a gap setting tool/feeler on the vertical cylinder and a 5mm one on the horizontal cylinder, apparently because the vertical cylinder gets hotter and expands more.

Do you set the tension differently using the spring method?

Thanks

Nasher.

[Flip]

Originally Posted by Nasher

Flip

I think I'd like to try the Spring balance method to do my belts this year, but it strikes me there is one big difference between it and the Allen Key method which I've previously used.

When using the Allen key method you use a 6mm Key as a gap setting tool/feeler on the vertical cylinder and a 5mm one on the horizontal cylinder, apparently because the vertical cylinder gets hotter and expands more.

Do you set the tension differently using the spring method?

Thanks

Nasher.

Yep I’m aware of the Allen key method and I understand the theory behind the gap being different between the cylinders due the the vertical one supposedly getting hotter but (and I know lots of people use this method with obvious success), in all the years I’ve owned and been around Ducati’s I don’t really know where this method originated other than what has been posted on the various web sites etc.

So basically no, there is no mention of any difference in tension using the spring balance method either in the factory or the Haynes manuals.

I can only assume from that there is a fairly large tolerance on tension and we can all get a little paranoid about it and tend to over think and worry too much......

....maybe.

[utopia]

I had a further ponder about the spring balance method and I came up with the following notion ...

When setting using the allen key method you are first making a fixed adjustment, then locking it in place and finally checking to see how the tension is ... with everything locked in place.
With the balance method you are setting the tension before locking everything down. It struck me that this introduces an extra potential for error (basically it could move a tad as you're locking it down).
Tbh I think I'm splitting hairs a bit here as the assembly doesn't look like it would want to move as its tightened down ... but the allen key check avoids the issue entirely.

I'm still keen to play about with the balance method though.

In general, I think there is often a lot of unnecessary fretting done about belt tensioning.
My view is that there is a moderately wide tolerance of acceptability and also that variations in tension have negligible (if any) affect on performance. Its simply about not snapping the belts or having them flapping around.
However, in a dealer workshop network there is a need to standardise what would otherwise be an adjustment which depends a great deal on mechanical feel (ie if using the simple allen key method) and would therefore be susceptible to unpredictability and variance between different mechanics.
In my judgement it is the desire to standardise the process which has lead to the use of factory specified gizmos.
Again in my judgement, the simple methods are perfectly suitable in a purely mechanical sense, and are at least as accurate as the gizmo-assisted ones, when done by someone with decent mechanical feel.
Which, I guess, is good news for those of us who own "keepers" and regularly change our own belts.

I might do a comparative test of various methods one day ... but then again .......

[utopia]

Also, on the long-lasting front brake pads ....
Now, I'm not a heavy braker. I do use them, but I definitely don't hammer them.
I've done nearly 26,000 miles on the original pads.
I've just had them out again actually and they're still well up to continued use.