I just went for a very short ride around the block… Couldn’t wait any longer. 800 meters tops. Didn’t even put my helmet on. Very happy with the clutch action and how gears switch. Very smooth! This was the last great unknown. I will have to further bleed the front brakes and then off to MOT.
Well, by « smooth », I was referring to the gear shiftings. The clutch does feel fairly stiff. But only Ducati stiff, no slipping or graunching. So yes, I am happy!
Looking great Guillaume. Had a poster of one of these in my bedroom as a young lad. I flew for AGIP (based at Ortona in Italy) for a couple of years (around 2000-2002) not far from Conti's factory in Pescara. Perfect exhausts for your bike.
Nice - but yeah a kinder description would probably be 'positive'. When you're rolling the CLUNK!! from second to first can be astonishing.
Well, let me tell you the story of my first real test ride, late this afternoon. It’s a good clutch story too… So first, I decided to head to the nearest gas station to fill the tank. First ride in actual traffic, bike feeling real good, really exciting. Can’t wait to get the T.Brancato side stand ordered from MdinaItalia last week, though. That thing is a bear to put in its main stand each time you stop for two minutes… Then, feeling lucky, I chose to ride to the nearest pass, about 15km from there. A nice well paved road with long fast curves. As soon as I got out of the village, I noticed the clutch lever had gone dead. I am riding in third at that moment, motor is pulling real strong from 3000 to 6000 rpm, loads of torque available, next round about is actually up there at the pass, screw it, I decide to press. What a surprise when I tried to up-shift without the clutch! It worked perfectly without a clunk or any other complication. Downshifting easy as usual, just slightly pressing the gear lever after cutting the throttle off and waiting for the motor to reach the right rpm. With the clutch issue solved for now, I decided to embrace the ride and let me tell you how fast and stable this bike is. That and the Contis roar. I very easily hit 160 kph in a straight portion. I love everything about this bike. Traction and torque provide for an amazing and exhilarating feeling. Very addictive, to be honest. Then on the way back home there was a traffic light. Of course, sod’s law had it red for me so I had to stop. Got into neutral before stopping like a feather and had about a minute to check the clutch cable (ok), the clutch actuating lever down at the front sprocket cover (ok too) and think about a way to pull away in first without the clutch when the light turns green. First tried from a standstill with a bit of throttle but the engine stalled right away. Decided then to get the bike rolling before pressing the lever into first and that worked perfectly, with a reasonably small clunk this time, I have to admit. And off we go until we get back home where I switched her off and called for help to get her back in the garage. The ramp is way too steep to risk it without any way to slip the clutch… Now what possibly happened? Well, quickly checking the clutch adjustment screw showed the blocking nut was not tightened at all and the screw had gone loose. Something I may have forgotten when putting things back together… As a result, my guess is the last portion of the clutch rod, the bit that pushes into the actuating lever in the right hand side, may have slipped free due to an untightened adjustment screw on the opposite side. I’ll know for sure tomorrow when I remove the sprocket cover. I still hope that the piece will still be stuck in there somewhere, so that’s a quick and easy fix. If it fell on the road, then it’s lost and I will have to replace it. More to follow!
So still no fairing? As mentioned before the side stand does leave the bike leaning at quite an alarming angle. However, there is a little technique required for the centre stand. Don't put your foot on top of the tang but rather from the front a little & pushing it towards the back of the bike. And instead of lifting it up onto the stand, again, pull it backwards whilst lifting. That way the bike sortov rolls back & up on the curved feet of the stand. Yeah it's a real visceral experience and as you say that peachy pull at 4 -5 k when the Conti's really start to bark is such a thrill. You'll be searching out bridges & tunnels & tight streets with tall buildings just to be able to blatt it in 2nd or 3rd. Extremely childish but no less enjoyable because of it I'm pretty sure it's no where near as fast as it feels but it does make for a surprisingly rapid point to point machine. However it is, of course, the feel that you experience & remember. Top marks for getting it back without the clutch - might be wise to check the chain mind As you know full well with Ducatis it's the positives that need to be concentrated on and in this case it's the fact the screw & nut hadn't fallen into the casing... There's never a dull moment with a bevel. Enjoy.
Clutch is operating again. As you say @Andy Bee , I was lucky not loose anything either on the road or inside the left cover… All I did was to forget tightening the nut. Now it’s done, everything is set up right and yes, I will double check for chain tension before I head to MOT this afternoon. As far as the side stand is concerned, my understanding is that the Brancato Engineering design is much improved compared to the OE one. Anyways, I will report my findings on this as well. Positives!
I was talking about the Brancato side stand... it's improvement is in the placing i.e. bolted to the centre stand frame plate rather than the frame's front down tube. It it well engineered and made but it does still lean the bike over at an unerving angle. I only ever use it whilst faffing about looking for a safer spot to use the centre stand. Hey ho - everything can't perfect and I'm not sure we would want it to be.
MOT successfully passed. Here are a few pics of the girl standing very proud during the medical examination.
Yeah, that’s a good question. I needed the mirrors for the bike to pass the MOT. However it came in my ownership without them. The ones I have found will need some bending in order to accommodate the front fairing. I prioritized the MOT in order to be able to initiate the registration process, which was done a couple hours ago. I’m hoping to get a French title and plate before the end of June.
Aha... yep get it on the road first and then sort the mirrors out... and looking at pics online & in Ian Falloon's book it looks like the SSD never ever came with mirrors. Although I did see one bike that had bar end mirrors fitted.
Yep, this one must have had a bar end mirror on the right side, to drive in Australia/Japan (WRONG side of the road, as you all know… ) as the grip was opened and without bar end. I have also seen pics with a square mirror mounted on the bar end… Not my thing at all. But so 80’s! Interestingly enough, controls were still threaded to accommodate mirrors. Different markets requirements, I suppose…
