Friday, December 11, 2009
Ducshop Review
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Top 5 Ways to Beat Winter Withdraws
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
G2 Throttle Tamer Review
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Ducati Needle Bearing Disaster: Part Two
In theory replacing the clutch slave, pushrod, and pressure plate is an easy job, but putting in a new needle bearing is a tad bit more difficult. Good luck finding a bearing puller that is small enough to fit inside the bearing—I ended up grinding down the claws of my bearing puller to make it fit. Unfortunately, the bearing internals came out, but the casing did not. I tried a blind hole bearing puller with no luck either. In a moment of desperation, I used a 7/16 tungsten carbide burr to shave away the sleeve. Luckily, the burr knocked the sleeve loose, and I was home free.
The new bearing slipped right in, and with the new pushrod, slave, and pressure plate I bled the clutch. For some reason I ordered a pre-2000 pushrod, which is shorter than the newer ones.Oberon was nice enough to supply spacer so that I could use the new slave with the pre-2000 pushrod. But, even with the spacer the slave was reaching the end of its travel before disengaging the clutch. I used a section of the old pushrod as a second spacer—and it worked!
After a quick test ride, everything seemed to be holding up nicely. My only complaint was that the friction zone of the clutch was at the very beginning of the lever travel. I must have made the second spacer too long. Instead of shortening the spacer, I shimmed the slave off the case cover using 2 thin washers on each bolt.
First impressions of the Oberon slave are excellent, but I will have to wait until spring to fully test it.Saturday, October 24, 2009
Ducati Needle Bearing Disaster: Part One
downshifting without the clutch, and somehow managed to avoid crashing. The clutch worked intermittently as I limped home, then finally gave up the ghost about a mile from my 5-by-10.
The disassembly of the clutch revealed quite the mess. The slave cylinder is fried, the seals are blown, and the bearing that is supposed to keep the pushrod from spinning is filled with metal flakes. On the clutch side of the bike, the needle bearing is missing several rollers, and the pushrod is chewed up.
New parts on the way:
-Oberon slave cylinder
-Pushrod
-Paulimoto pressure plate
-Main shaft needle bearing
-Various o-rings, etc.
Such is the life of a Ducati owner. Stay tuned for the fix…hopefully before it snows.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Electraeon Ducati Superbike Throttle Cam Review
After high siding my CBR a few years back, my right wrist has never been the same. I love my Duc, but it is brutal on my wrist. I think having to regrip to hit full throttle contributes to the pain. So at the beginning of the season I installed the Electraeon throttle cam. With the riding season drawing to a close here in Colorado, I have had some time to reflect on this mod.
Bike: 1999 Ducati 748
Price: $47
Installation:
- Remove right side fairing
- Unbolt stock cam
- Replace with Electraeon cam
- Adjust throttle cable slack
- Test ride!
Pros:
- No need to regrip to get to full throttle.
- Hit full throttle faster (Read: FUN!)
Cons:
- Jerky on/off throttle response exacerbated by the new cam.
- Need to be more careful on cold tires, or in the rain.
- More effort needed to twist the throttle.
Bottom Line:
Thus far this is my favorite mod—it is certainly a hell of a lot of fun in the canyons. But, as with many mods there are trade offs. In the off-season I need to work on some ways to eliminate the glitchy on/off throttle response.
Buy it here:
http://www.electraeon.com/throttlecam.html