Hi all, as you may or may not know, I have finally managed to ressurect my beloved 600ss from the dead ( the big end bearings went and the crank was slightly bent etc... now all the engine runs etc, I want to have a play. Back in the day I had the engine dyno'd and it put out 52 bhp, which was apparently pretty darn good for a little 600ss. I remember way back when the bike originally self destructed, I talked to a member of Ducatisti who advised when rebuilding, I could omit the ally head gaskets in order to raise compression slightly. thus boosting the little engines output. I'm not convinced yet, so is there any truth in this?
Increasing compression will increase power to a point. But you need to make sure the ignition timing is correct or you could have detonation problems. As a percentage increase on a 600 is it really worth it? The 600 is a nice engine but if you want power the best way to go is more cubes!
In other words, for the cost involved in optimising your 600 motor you could slip a 750 lump in which will give you more torque and power. This is probably not what you want to do, but it's where I would spend my money.
I've already a 750 and the 600 is a toy to play and learn with lol ! But would that work to raise compression?
Removing a head gasket will increase the CR but you'll need to adjust the timing to suit by the required degrees. I doubt very much that anything other than a dyno will show a difference.
Or; if going to the trouble of an engine transplant for more power, then slip a 900 in. No more work and only a few different ancillaries and it saves you thinking "I want more" again (for a while anyway)...
