PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Did a couple quick fixes.

Turns out the pegs were aftermarket and the right one was cracked/welded. I replaced both with stock.

The middle plastic chain guard had a broken mounting tab and the rear guard was missing. I picked up some stock ones and replaced the middle guard. I'm not sure if I want to install the rear or not at this point.







I also bought a new chain and gears. The rear is a quick change rear with +1 tooth.


And I'm also planning on dropping the exhaust to polish it.

When I picked up my Duc I was a fan of the ex-box exhaust but it was pretty tarnished.. I looked around, found Stain-Magic and decided to give it a shot.

I'm definitely happy with the results.

I did try to use stainless polish on the outlet face of the box before this and it did help but didn't get rid of the orange hue. It also made it look a little inconsistent, so I ended up lightly polishing that face after I used the Stain-Magic.

Thats an amazing difference on the exhaust! Did you put anything on it to prevent it from retarnishing or just stop after polishing it?

I just polished it and reinstalled. I'm not sure if there's anything outside of maybe clear powder coat that would withstand the heat?

Now that I've dropped the exhaust once, if I have to do it once or twice a season, I wouldn't really mind.

Yeah probably not much would hold up to the heat. And you just got the hard work out of the way. Should be just touch up/finishing from now on to the it shiny again.

I know this is off-topic, but the primary pipes on my bike have a little rust on them. Originally they had a finish that was similar to a black chrome, same as on this muffler:


I haven't found what kind of finish it is to be able to repair it, wondering if you came across anything while you were looking for a way to re-finish yours?

Sorry Matt, no idea. Have you tired regular chrome polishing compounds?

If its actial black chrome mother polish says its safe to use

I tried Eagle One but the areas that were rusted are still pitted. The rest of the system cleaned up nicely though. I'll have to dig into it more over winter.

I installed the new chain and gears 2 weeks ago without issue. It feels a bit smoother now and more dialed in.

Here are a couple cell pics from a trip up to Bushkill Falls, PA this past weekend.

I picked up a DP pannier knowing the supplied bracket wouldn't work on my tail chop. The bracket mounts to a part of the tail that was been literally cut off. I like the look of the bag and intended to make it work anyway..

The supplied bracket utilizes the passenger foot bracket. I didn't see the point in keeping it in the picture since I'm fabbing something anyway. So, I made a tubular frame that bolts to the passenger foot peg mount and clamps to the tail stub. I opted for tubular as a nod to the trellis frame. The bag is mounted lower, below the passenger grab handle but otherwise straps in like it should.









My welding could use some work but overall I'm really happy with it. It's rattle can primed and painted now but will be powder coated when I return from a touring trip.

Remember when I just said this will be a fun way to get to work? I lied.. lol

I was riding the bike occasionally right up until a few weeks ago.
Right before I started tearing into it I installed a power commander 3 that I can tune the fueling on, a PLX WB02 sensor with handlebar mounted gauge, and a velocity stack/filter kit.

The intakes leaned the bike out quite a bit but a canned PC3 tune that was available got me pretty close.

Currently the bike is apart for the following:
Powder Coat
-Clutch cover (sanded out minor scratches from PO), stock silver
-Generator cover, stock silver
-Horizontal cyl exhaust timing cap, stock silver
-Brake and Clutch master caps, black. I bought black anodized caps but I guess they weren't hard anodized since they faded.

Desmo Valve Check and Shimming
-The opener and closer shims are barely within spec but not ideal. I'm going to get them to the recommended specs, save $400 and know exactly where I'm at. The belts have to come off for this which kind of sucks but it's not the end of the world.

Fuel injectors
-Sent out for cleaning and flow testing

Wheels
-Having minor flat spot from PO in the front wheel fixed then powder coated black.
-Rear wheel is being powder coated black. It has a few chips and paint imperfections.

Tires
-MICHELIN Pilot Road 4s

Pedals
-Switching to moto-gp reverse shifter hard anodized gold and matching brake pedal

Tank
-100% NIB Ducati Dark tank, got a good ebay deal. My stock tank had a couple chips and some scratches from the PO
-Swapped everything over and changed the fuel filter

Exhaust
-Go back over the exhaust with Stain Magic

Other
-Clean up the oil leaks from the worn timing cap gaskets I'll be replacing













Time to really start cranking.. Spring is here. We still have snow piles but it got up to 55* today.

I picked up the parts from powder coat the other day, assembled the covers and installed those today.

Bengal Silver ended up being the closest to stock with a little bit of flake. It pops with the flash but it's otherwise very subtle.









I picked up my front wheel from the repair shop and dropped both off for powder coat when I picked up these parts. I also picked up my Mich PR4s.. The wheels should be finished and back in my hands next weekend.. The plan is to really dig into the valve shimming next weekend as well. I need to install a part I get Tuesday and re-measure before I order another part. 1 variable vs. 2 will make it easier to get the clearance spot on.

I was going to install new split rings (valve keepers) this weekend and re-measure all the shim clearances but I got 8mm rings vs. the 7mm I have. I did order them by year, I guess the dealer just got it wrong. Ducati switched to 7mm in 2007.

So, I removed all the shims, measured, and tried to swap them around so that at least one or two of the valves were close. I was able to get the vertical cylinder exhaust valve to ideal specs (0.004/0.002"). Beyond that, I ordered 3 thicker closing shims, one thicker opening shim, and one smaller opening shim. The remaining shim I'm going to shave down. All the parts were confirmed for 7mm valves.



All in all, not too bad. I modified forceps like Ducatitech.com suggests in their how-to video. I also had to tap on the closing shims with a deep socket to loosen them from the valve.

My injectors came back from cleaning testing and those are back in.


And I bolted on my reverse shifter. I'll have to get a pic of that later.

Did a quick fix with my plastic welder.
The forward mounting hole on my left fairing cracked leaving an open mounting point.. I broke out the plastic welder for a functional fix. First wire mesh was melted into the inside. Then I used filler rod to build up the missing portion. Then I dremeled a new hole. It's not the prettiest thing but it's strong and hidden.

Missing pieces of the puzzle:



I needed to sand 3 shims but was able to get 0.001" on the closers and 0.004" on the openers. I've very happy with these clearances and there's no binding on the closers.

FWIW, new split rings took up about 0.001" of clearance on the closers.

Andd, all wrapped up for the most part:

Bad news for anyone tuning in.

Started getting a bottom end noise last night then it got worse this morning and the oil pressure light came on.

I ordered a 5k mile S2R1000 engine with stock exhaust headers and dual spark coils.

So 200 more ccs, dual spark, 15k less miles, and dry clutch. I'm beyond pissed but I don't want to waste an opportunity to upgrade.

Dang.

Sorry to hear about the motor. A Ducati is a bike I aspire to, if I don't reach my own expiration date before I get to it...

^^
Check out some older monsters with good maintenance records, they might be cheaper than you think.

Old engine carnage.


I picked up the engine Wednesday night, checked that valve clearance when I got it home, re-shimmed as necessary this morning, and had it running tonight (Friday).

The guy who sold me the engine let me borrow his stand.. So, I decided to do the valve clearance check and re shimming from the comfort of my couch.. lol.








Parts recap:
'07 S2R 800
-Frame, wiring harness
-Throttle bodies and injectors (no stepper motor fast idle stuff)
-Slave cylinder
'06 S2R 800
-ECU/Gauges/combo (had to replace due to cluster failure a few months back)
'08 S2R 1000
-Engine
-Rubber trumpets from the throttle bodies to the heads. 800 trumpets didn't work.
-Stock exhaust to the utter - 800 exhaust headers are too shallow for the 1000 heads. I'll likely revisit this soon.
-Dual spark coils and wires
-Battery box bracket and tray

And a video of it running:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pei1uKT1PwA

I have a wideband O2 sensor hooked up with a gauge mounted on my handlebars. At first it was actually idling around 13 AFR but it slowly creeped up to 15-16. When I gave it throttle or messed with the choke, the AFR shot up too. Aside from the initial ok idle AFR, all that was to be expected.

I still need a few things to come in the mail before I can consider taking it for a test run.
-New belts
-Swingarm to engine case shim
-Bigger injectors

I have a power commander (piggy back fuel management) but apparently they don't add fuel to Ducs below 4500 RPM. I'm going to see how 475cc injectors (330s stock) behave when I take it for a test run. There's also still the possibility that the ignition mapping is too far off. I'm in talks with a guy who might be able to burn 1000 maps onto my 800 ECU and program out the 1000's O2 and fast idle stepper motor. The 1000 ECU is closed loop vs. open and it has and IAC. If I can't get the fueling in check myself or the ignition maps are way too far off, I'll be going that route.

Other banter:
The rod to stroke ratios between the engines are similar meaning piston dwell time and accel/velocity should be similar.
S2R1000: 1.82
S2R800: 1.88

The crank sensor is the same and reads the same gear (same p/n and teeth) on both engines.

Going to have to change your signature.....