Hello from Boerne tx. New here Just picked up this 93' in Austin Tx. Went to Austin to look at a ST4, and since this was in the same area seemed worth taking a look on my way. Kinda got seduced I guess as this is what I came home with. 27k miles, the owner (engineer) purchased it 9 yrs ago and did his own maintenance. Steering head looks perfect, black head studs 8 yrs ago, recent belts, valve adj, FCR41s and runs well $2800. Could have purchased the ST4 for $3k but theres something about the SS! Been reading about the crank galley plug and am spooked a bit. Is the failure mode catastrophic? I am pretty observant of noises and looking after things, are there any clues? Thank you, Dean[/URL][/IMG]
hello and welcome dude. If you were trying to post a pic, it didn't work. Try again as we love pics. And ss's's's
Very Nice indeed. If it's helps I've had three of these engines apart now and none on them have had a full sludge trap in the crank, but it does of course all depend on how often the oil has been changed in the past. Do you have any plans for it? Or are you just going to enjoy it as is? Nasher.
Hi Nasher, In the three you had apart, were the oil galley plugs securely in place also? I think I'll leave the bike as is and enjoy her! Driving home with the bike in the trailer I stopped for gas, two people yelled "nice bike" confirming the attraction.
Two things to look out for are cracks in the top frame rails at the end of the plate which the tank restraining clip is attached to and the nut holding the flywheel coming loose. The symptoms for this are a knocking noise and dropping onto one cylinder.
They were, and needed a bit of force to get out where they were put in with Loctite or similar. Nasher
thats betterer! Looks nice mate. I've a 98 in yellow. Don't want to argue about which color is faster ( but I will!) they are fantastic bikes I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. good price too, is that the norm over there?
very fair. Ones in similar condition as what yours looks to be in ya pic with similar mileage would go for the 3-3.5 mark in £'s over here. And seem to be rising. Future classics for sure and a great ride.
Welcome and a very nice bike. My first Ducati was a 900ss and when I bought it I was informed of two possible weaknesses, one being the cylinder head bolts can snap and the rectifier can fail. Both of these happened and were replaced under warranty. Great bike, wish I'd kept it. Many happy miles.
Regarding the oil GALLERY plug, take the oil strainer out of the right hand side of the engine (the big nut under the oil level site glass) withdraw the nut gently, the strainer comes with it, look for crescent shaped aluminium fragments in the strainer, they appear when the gallery plug starts to unscrew and gets pieces sliced off it as it contacts, it's VERY rare for these plugs to fail, most Ducati mechanics have never seen a failed one so in general don't worry about it just enjoy this brilliant bike, every time I ride mine I find it hard to believe it's a 26 year old machine! PS always allow the engine to run for a minute or so before riding off from cold, always use fully synthetic oil, never use more than 5k revs until the engines properly warmed up and it will serve you well for years.
Great looking bike btw, a few other things spring to mind, the steering is very precise and responds well to good tyres so if the front is worn on one side replace it, I prefer Corsa's/Diablo's but most premium tyres are good these days, change your cam belts every 2 years, that may be an overly cautious service interval but it's not an expensive job, £150 at a U.K. Ducati service centre and even cheaper if you do it yourself, have you ridden the bike yet?
