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?

[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 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

[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.

[utopia]

Originally Posted by Flip

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

When I first got my 750 and was pondering the issue of belt tensioning, my initial inclination was to try to use a spring balance.
In the end I didn't but instead settled on a combination of the allen key method, a 45 degree twist test and a good general jiggle about with both the old belts before removal and the new ones after fitting.
I tend to avoid harmonic methods because it requires the trusting of both the device used and your technique .. too much scope for error, for my personal comfort zone.
However I am a believer in using multiple methods, to cross check each other.

So I now find myself wondering exactly where (and how) you attach the balance, how you ensure (maximise ?) a 90 deg pull, and how much you pull to achieve satisfactory tensioning ....?
And I'm guessing its too late for a pic by now ?


On the tensioner bearing replacement, I guess the object of the exercise is not so much to replace a bearing which is definitely about to fail but more to achieve peace of mind about a bearing that might be.
So job done, even if the old ones seemed fine.
I'll be doing mine at 30,000 miles too.

[Flip]

Originally Posted by utopia

When I first got my 750 and was pondering the issue of belt tensioning, my initial inclination was to try to use a spring balance.
In the end I didn't but instead settled on a combination of the allen key method, a 45 degree twist test and a good general jiggle about with both the old belts before removal and the new ones after fitting.
I tend to avoid harmonic methods because it requires the trusting of both the device used and your technique .. too much scope for error, for my personal comfort zone.
However I am a believer in using multiple methods, to cross check each other.

So I now find myself wondering exactly where (and how) you attach the balance, how you ensure (maximise ?) a 90 deg pull, and how much you pull to achieve satisfactory tensioning ....?
And I'm guessing its too late for a pic by now ?


On the tensioner bearing replacement, I guess the object of the exercise is not so much to replace a bearing which is definitely about to fail but more to achieve peace of mind about a bearing that might be.
So job done, even if the old ones seemed fine.
I'll be doing mine at 30,000 miles too.

Yes true enough, I do kind of 'feel' the tension a bit to make sure I'm happy with everything after it is tightened up as it is not possible to achieve a 90° pull with a spring balance but looking at the factory manual using the Ducati factory spring balance tool that was favoured 'in the old days' nor do they.

As for where it fits to tension it up, I flattened the hook of the spring balance so it fits in the groove between the bearings but there's this guy on eBay selling these as a kit- I made the cup part up out of some metal we had at work but in reality it is really difficult to fit on a Monster engine because of the motor shape and frame tubes so I've never used it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUCATI-PA...IAAOSw9r1V-E9q

This is the method actually listed in the Haynes manual and they found the pull to be ten pounds on the spring balance- I just use a 'Little Samson' and check it using one then two bags of flour- always close enough and I've never re-tensioned them between changes either.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SALTER-LI...gAAOSw3yxZmumE

[Flip]

Pictures paint a thousand words and all that so here (for those interested) is how the tool is used in the genuine Ducati workshop manual for 1997.

As you can see the motor is shown out of the frame as is often the case in factory manuals making the whole procedure a lot easier.



And here is the same information from Haynes along with my home made 'cup' tool and the spring balance I use to get the correct tension.

[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.