Another successful weekend. The 2-1 collector that needed modification by my tig-welding guru was completed, so I went about completing the exhaust install. I utilized an old steel suspension dogbone from some long-forgotten project to fabricate an exhaust bracket which mounted the 2-1 collector and headers to the engine, with a rubber bushing. The only type of bolt I could find in the coarse M12x1.75 was a hex nut, but it will do fine for now. Exhaust bracket mount fabricated and welded in place. The complete exhaust: While it was still on the cold side (wiring sheaths get stiff) I did some work on the harness. I wired in the koso dash into the power leads, as well as the two idiot lights -- the oil pressure warning light, and the neutral indicator light. Everything switches on and off with the main 20A rocker switch on the dash. Both lights on -- the oil is red, the neutral is blue... both are so bright they overwhelm the filter on my phone camera. Neutral light off as transmission is clicked into first. The digital readout on the tach is for oil temp, but I did not plug that lead in. Still need to run the wire for the tachometer signal, which plugs into the ignitech.
My split FCRs have come in from overseas. I've also ordered a set of adjustable intake manifolds from Ducati Aprilia Kämna. I decided to take the carbs apart (the photos looked like the carbs were really clean) and as advertised, there were some new gaskets installed. I tried to set the float height to the recommended 9mm, but I was miles off. Luckily I decided to check out the float seat (which was new) and realized it was for the wrong FCR. I believe it's for an FCR-MX. Luckily Frank! MXParts out of Europe has the correct pair and those, too have been ordered. I doubt I would have gotten it to run properly as it was! I have the Chinese FCRs on the table for comparison. For what it's worth, the intake snorkel from the pukka FCR was damaged in shipping. The Chinese one fits.
A bit more progress. I had to wheel the bike off the hydraulic lift in order to jack up the front end -- I was planning on installing the spacers and the pair of rotors that I originally got when I started the project. However, the rotors did not fit the 636 front wheel. I confirmed it was the correct model year front wheel, and so realized that my original parts haul that started this project has ultimately left me with just one set of yokes, a left fork leg (right was so buggered I had to find a new one), front axle, and two calipers (both of which needed to be rebuilt). The rotors are a mystery and not suitable. Oh well -- either the guy I bought them off buggered me over, or he didn't realize he'd bought mismatched parts. I'll find a solution! In more productive news, I was able to wire in more of the harness -- I fabricated a mount for the reg/rec out of aluminum, and then plumbed the wiring back to the battery box. Over top of the belt cover is perhaps an odd solution, but quite common when upgraded reg/recs are added to Ducati superbikes. While I was at it, I also installed the ignitech ignition module. I also added a wire feed to pin #15 for the tachometer signal. Thanks to Liam at Fastbikegear for sending me some replacement pins. With the help of a welding rod, I was able to feed the wire (the blue/yellow one) through the original shroud up to the front of the bike for the tacho. After confirming the schematic with Liam, I cut the wires to length and fitted them to the coils he also provided. As I'm converting an FI bike to carbs, the signal from the alternator is plug and play -- you can see the OEM connector at the 2 O-clock position from the coils. I also fitted a 900ss/monster belly pan. I did need to modify the underside to clear the pipes. I also snagged a Ducabike 30mm clutch cylinder. It should help with the OEM 12mm clutch lever. The aforementioned brake calipers -- stripped and rebuilt with new seals, and then painted with caliper paint and baked in the $15 toaster oven for an hour. I wonder how durable it will be?? Note the leaking fork -- new seals to come for sure! Bike seems "long and low", but that is likely due to fact that there are no tires mounted! Wheelbase is 55", +/- rear wheel adjustment. Looking a bit racey...
Some more updates on the Scrambler project. Now that the weather isn't too miserable, I mounted up the Metzler racetechs and got the bike back on the lift. Even just mounting the tires makes the bike look far more along in the progress than it actually is! A number of other parts came in -- the proper FCR float seats and valves from Frank! MX parts, and the Jako motorsport adjustable intake manifolds and malossi rubbers from Ducati Kaemna. The manifolds are as advertised -- a brilliant design, and they are also already tapped for a 5mm vacuum port, typical of most/all Ducatis. I had a few laying around. Note OEM-spec "factory" velocity stack guards! I'm a bit nervous about the vertical carb's gaping velocity stack ingesting a boulder or two... playing with the idea of mounting 2 oil coolers, one below the horizontal cylinder and one above, with the upper on doubling as a fender-extender! Realistically overkill for this application, but it may necessitate a bunch of engine mods to justify 2 coolers! I've been reading up about routing spark plug wires, both online and with the ignitech manual. If I was to run the two leads in parallel for a short distance, not actually touching each other and insulated with a rubber p-clip, is there a risk of "crossfiring"? These are aftermarket silicone leads (and coils) as recommended by Liam at Fastbike Gear...? Making the throttle cables was tricky. Some patience with my bits of venhill kit eventually resulted in a twin-pull setup. I had a "come to Jesus" moment on my RD350/400 hybrid early in my track "career" when the 1-2 splitter jammed open... I vowed I would avoid using cable splitters whenever possible. The TZ250 throttle housing is very neat, but the throw is super-short -- in the end, it might not be suitable as everyone loves a short-turn race throttle, but the cam on this unit is pretty extreme -- 1/6 throttle? As well, a Braking brand rear rotor showed up. I don't have an accurate way of weighing it against the OEM rotor, but I am 107% sure I am saving thousands on milligrams over the stock one. I miss Projection Components -- in the past I bought a superlight rear rotor from Kayla (?), and emailed hand-drawn diagrams for aluminum rearset plates for custom projects which came back perfectly.
