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Ducati 900ss Track Toy

10K views 63 replies 16 participants last post by  DesmoDog 
#1 · (Edited)
As mentioned in a previous thread, I retired recently. In prep for that I sold off all my Ducatis except for an 851 and a couple single cylinder project bikes that have never been anywhere near rideable during my ownership.

While I was working on the 851 I realized I missed having an aircooled Ducati around. So I started looking for an M900 Monster for a project bike. Something as stock as possible.

Then I saw an ad for a 900ss in Chicago. Track bike, not stock, not a Monster.

So yeah, I bought it. I've had a couple Super Sports before and like them, and I got it for $100 less than I had sitting around in my toy fund, so there ya go. No where near stock track bike instead of near stock streetbike. Makes perfect sense.





And it came with some spares




Now the question is, what to do with it. The bare minimum to use as a track bike? Or push it towards the Super Sport I've been building in my head for 20 years.

What it has right now:
Ohlins shock
916 forks w/aftermarket top triple
944 kit installed
Flat slide carbs
A bunch of other track oriented tweaks

I didn't go over it all that closely when I bought it, so I'm still not sure just what I have yet. Since getting it home I did notice an oil leak I didn't see before - nothing major but needs to be looked at.

I don't like the clip-ons it has, but I think the Woodcraft numbers I had on my 996 will fit and feel better to me?

The bodywork is pretty ragged. I'm not at all familiar with fixing fiberglas but I think it's doable. But is it worth it? Will I repaint it? I'd like to but not right away.

Pretty sure the tires on it are ancient. Date codes are 4409 and 4309 which if I remember my codes right means the end of 2009? Probably would have done them anyway, but dang.

I'd like to put spools on the swingarm but that's not at all critical. I just like them and since it has no side stand the rear stand is going to get used a lot. (I'd like to put a sidestand back on it but not sure I have one with the spares)

The exhaust looks a little sketchy but probably not worth replacing right now.

I'm not sure if the carbs are 39s or 41s. Or if it matters for my uses.

Anyway, that's what my latest project is. I probably won't do much of anything with it until I finish the 851's TLC. I'm tempted to clean it up, look it over, put on some new tires, and take it to a track day as is just to get a feel for it before I do anything. I won't be able to do any trackdays until August probably, so maybe one or two this season then turn it into a winter project.

Not sure what I got myself into here... I'm probably not going to do anything with it right away so this thread may never get updated! Oh yeah, Like that would be rare. A project thread with nothing except a couple "look what I bought!" and "Dang, I just found this out" posts followed by nothing. This bike should fit right in.

Also stay tuned for numerous for sale posts of misc 900ss parts. I'm guessing most of the "spares" will either be sold or trashed... You'll notice the spare frame is broken (or cut?). I almost didn't take it, but it has a title, and if I ever get around to building that supermono replica it might help to have a titled frame... or, a certain part of a frame to start with. Because you know, someday I'll stop rambling about doing that and actually start on it. Don't hold your breath...
 
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#2 ·
Matt at Tannermatic can do anything you need as far as fiberglass repair. He's super reasonably priced too... just need to send the parts to Massachusetts.

I don't see why you couldn't slowly build the Supersport while keeping the option to take it to the track... that way you get the best of both worlds.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I don't think these fairings are worth sending back and forth anywhere, for now they are way down on the priority list anyway.

I looked through the spares today, and not surprisingly most of them are not all that great. The spare front fairing mount is bent/bashed/cracked. One of the engine cases is busted up enough to not be worth using. May as well tear that down and sell the internals. Not sure about the other engine, it seems to only have a broken boss for the sidestand mount.

PSA - Ducati side stands are to be used only to keep the bike from falling over when you are not riding it. They are not meant to hold up the bike with you and your girlfriend/boyfriend on it. They are not meant to be used as a pivot to spin the bike around or lift the rear wheel to lube the chain or whatever it is these idiots are doing to break them. Buy a freaking rear stand you cheap bastards! You WILL break the mounting boss doing that crap. You've been warned. EDIT: I've since learned that the main culprit for breaking the cases is defeating the auto-retract feature on the side stand, then later riding away with the sidestand down. Lean left, sidestand hits the ground, bang, broken boss on the case.

Ok, back to our show. So yeah, I went through the spares and did not find a sidestand (boo!) or a rear hugger (didn't think I would but hope springs eternal). The wheels look unbent though the CR set (4.5" rear) are painted in a horrible red and black. I'm not sure it's worth pulling the ancient tires off of them and stripping the paint before selling?

The swingarm is off a CR so it's steel, not the sexier aluminum everyone wants. The front forks off the same CR are not desirable to being with, and one of the legs was deeply gouged by something rubbing on it. So not worth much at all. Lots of damaged shit in the boxes basically.

Anyway, the gist of it is I figured there wasn't much there to help recoup much of the cost. But then I made a list of things and looked at what people were asking for them online. Wow. They're asking how much for axles? And brake calipers? If i could sell the somewhat decent stuff for around what asking prices are (and not have to pay seller fees and shipping) it'd be around $2k worth? That shocked me... even at half that it I'd be happy. Time to clean stuff up and list it on the Ducati sites. (I've grown to hate eBay and would like to avoid it if at all possible)

The "spare" frame. Yeah, it's trash. I don't see where reparing it would be feasible so now I'm wondering if the stamped steering tube and matching title are worth anything to anyone. I know that the chopper guys used to like to use them to build custom frames from because it simplified titling the thing in most states. Not sure if it's technically legal anyway (is it ok to replace a section of the frame? How large can that section be?)

I don't think the bike would even pass tech without work. I'm still trying to decide if I should do the minimum just to get it on a track or if I should bite the bullet, write off this trackday season with it, and turn it into a bigger project.

I guess the next step is to pull the bodywork and get a better idea of what I have. I've already noticed the subframe for mounting the fairing is bent and has a small crack...

I sense a major project in the works. Cripes, I'm even considering buying a decent titled frame so I don't feel bad about going all in on the refurb. Could even add lights and make it street legal then. Why not, I've got nothing better to spend time on this winter.

Other than the two project bikes I've had sitting around for ten years that is.
 
#7 ·
ST2 cams were developed for a 944 engine, but they are rare so expensive. I saw a used set for... $800 was it? Yeah... not going there right now. I think later cams from an injected bike are an upgrade too? Not sure. The engine will be whatever it is until the chassis is worked out. There is a LOT of work to do before I start dumpingmoney into the engine, and there's a point when an 1100 swap starts to look cost effective...

No update yet, other than it's stinking up my garage with gas fumes. I think the first order of business will be to pull the bodywork and see what sort of mess I've gotten myself into this time, and find a sidestand for it so it's easier to move around.

My 851 has it's fairings scattered around the shop right now awaiting new coolant hoses and soem other TLC items. I want to get that put back together before I get too far into this. Plus I need to stop the stink before I pull it into the shop. My wife is very sensitive to that. I opened a fooking can of carb cleaner or something in the shop once and 30 seconds later she came down from a room 2 floors up and asked what that smell was. At least that's a polite way to describe what she said. I used to have a spray booth down there I'd put stinky stuff in but I tore that down last fall so nowhere to hide the smelly stuff anymore! I may have to rebuild that before fall when this all has to get out of the garage.
 
#10 ·
I'll keep that in mind. 20 years ago I had visions of building a frame but reality is setting in so I'll probably end up getting rid of it.

I had a few minutes to spend in the garage today (told me wife I was working on making it not stink but didn't learn a ton.

After staring at modern Ducatis and even the 851, dang these things are simple bikes.


One thing I didn't notice when I first saw it was, the frame has been repaired.


I SWEAR I looked for cracks when I was there and didn't notice this! Whatever... I'm pretty sure there's "new" titled frame in it's future. I'm leaning towards barely street legal track bike at this point.

I started making a list of parts I'd like to find. Some right away, some eventually. It HAS to have tires before any track day though. The big question is, do I yank the old tires and have the wheels refinished first, or go with new tires on unmatched rims and deal with refinishing when the time comes? Hmm...
 
#11 ·
I pulled the fairings off it today to get a closer look at what it is. Again I'm amused by how simple it is.


It turns out the bodywork was set up for lights when new, and the openings were glassed in.


The tail was done the same way, as were the sides with the signals. Someone also reinforced areas of the side farings with an extra layer of glass mat, but it didn't stick very well and is now flaking off. Whatever, it's fine for track bodywork.

It definitely has Keihins on it. I'm still not sure if they're 39s or 41s though


Ok, this has me confused. He said it was set up with GP shifting. But, this looks like the same orientation as a stock bike??? Push down on shifter, shaft on engine moves counter clockwise. That's the same as my 851. And now that I look, the same as on a picture of a stock 900ss that I found. Obviously I haven't ridden it yet but I played around with it on the stand where I can get false neutrals between every gear so that wasn't much help. I'm pretty sure the seller was confused.


Also found the chain has a master link (I'm not a fan) and the gearing is 14/39. For reference, my "stock" 900s used to do unintentional wheelies with 15/39 gearing. This one has more displacment, more compression, flat slides, and lower gearing. I should probably leave the lower than stock clip-ons in place.

Dash is pretty rough (and again everything is filthy)


Looks like an aftermarket regulator? If I go with a lithium battery I'll have to put a mosfet regulator on it (learned that lesson on my 851) and I'm assuming this isn't one.




I also spotted that they have the starter wired with 4 gauge cables, so I shouldn't have any issue there!
 
#16 ·
Ok, this has me confused. He said it was set up with GP shifting. But, this looks like the same orientation as a stock bike??? Push down on shifter, shaft on engine moves counter clockwise.
Looking at the pic, it seems like a standard gear linkage set up. You could get the reverse setup (GP - engage first by lifting the lever, change gears by pushing down on the lever) by putting a gear lever directly on the gearbox spline.
 
#12 ·
Def. an aftermarket Reg/Rec. Mosfet is a good way to go.
Air cooled 2 valve motors are so much simpler than and water cooled motor. My naked ST3 has tubes and stuff everywhere, just cluttering things up.

Those look like DP Mufflers. What did teh PO do anout teh crankcase breather and catch tank/oil separator?
 
#13 · (Edited)
Def. an aftermarket Reg/Rec. Mosfet is a good way to go.
Air cooled 2 valve motors are so much simpler than and water cooled motor. My naked ST3 has tubes and stuff everywhere, just cluttering things up.

Those look like DP Mufflers. What did teh PO do anout teh crankcase breather and catch tank/oil separator?
The mufflers are Arrows. I'd like to put the same fake Termis on this as I put on my 851 but I've forgotten where I bought them! That's also money I don't need to spend right now, these will work fine for what I'm doing with it for now.


The crankcase breather is stock, it's even still vented to the airbox which is now open with a K&N filter. In the past when I've bought these with open airboxes I've put the lids back on to quiet them down, but I don't have a lid for it so it will just be loud until I get too sick of it. It'll be less annoying for a 20 minute track session than on a morning long ride. I hope.
 
#14 ·
Thanks, That's interesting. Pipe cores and end pipes are almost identical to DP except they say Arrow. Obviously pipes are a little different which allows them to tip upwards after the pegs, but not I look again, I see that ST3 pegs are lower than your SS, but appear to be further back than the SS which also allows the SS pipes to be higher. Interesting.
 
#17 ·
I was bored today so I thought I'd tear apart a spare set of calipers I got with the 900. They're roughly 25 years ols, likely never been apart, and have been sitting for who knows how long with no hoses hooked up to them.

This is what the pistons looked like after sitting for however long.


So yeah, if you're thinking of just buying some take-off calipers and replacing what you have or converting your 750 to dual front calipers or whatever, plan on rebuilding them first. Everything cleaned up fine, there was no corrosion anywhere, but a lot of "gunk" from the fluid sitting around so long.

The seals for these calipers are availabe still at about $20 per side, and I'll also have to replace the bolts holding the calipers together, but the pistons are fine. When I rebuilt calipers for my 750GT it needed new pistons too and by the time I was done I discovered I could have bought new calipers for not much more than all the rebuild parts cost me. Add the hassle of having them re-annodized and I would have been better off buying new ones.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I was out of town for a few weeks but have been playing with this again lately. Changed the oil and the belts a few days ago and fired it up for the first time. There are no chokes on these carbs so it was a process. It took a while to get it to fire. Then a while to get it to idle. And then some time to get it to accept any throttle... I think there were some unburned hydrocarbons involved at first.


Yes it fired and ran smoothly after that. I haven't ridden it yet, but there is a bike night at Gingerman tomorrow that some friends are bugging me to attend. It still needs tires, I'd have to get them put on at the track. And I discovered it's got an oil leak. nothing major but I have no idea where it's coming from. I don't have time to work on it tonight, so I doubt I'll make it to Gingerman tomorrow... I should at least test ride it before I pay registration and load it on a trailer!

I didn't ride my RSV before it's first track day, just fired it up on the stand like this. Turned out the RSV wouldn't run while in gear. I ended up riding demo bikes that day, but there won't be any demo bikes tomorrow...

EDIT: I skipped the track day, turns out it rained anyway. My buddy rode for about ten minutes and it's a two hour drive each way to get there and back.
 
#20 ·
I've had a lot of Ducatis with dry clutches. This one is the loudest of any of them I think. I should have taken a video from teh clutch side to demo the sound for those of you who weren't around for the days of dry clutches... this post loses everything without audio. That clacking sound you hear at the beginning of the video I put in my previous post gives a hint of what I'm talking about. Imagine the camera on the other side of the bike, about 12 feet closer, with a bunch of ringing along with it.

The problem is the wear on it. Those tabs are supposed to have square sides.


So are the tabs on the clutch basket.


Slipper clutches are getting almost affordable for these things but it's still more than I care to spend right now. I retired recently, I haven't got that kind of money to toss around anymore! For now I'll probably gather up all the various clutch plates and baskets and stuff I have around and come up with the least worn combination I can. Then when I sell something and don't have tires to buy I'll spring for a slipper clutch and new plates. Unless there's some other bright and shiny thing that catches me eye at the moment.
 
#26 ·
Slipper clutches are getting almost affordable for these things but it's still more than I care to spend right now. I retired recently, I haven't got that kind of money to toss around anymore! For now I'll probably gather up all the various clutch plates and baskets and stuff I have around and come up with the least worn combination I can. Then when I sell something and don't have tires to buy I'll spring for a slipper clutch and new plates. Unless there's some other bright and shiny thing that catches me eye at the moment.
Slippers are cheaper so long as you can install them yourself without a bunch of specialized tools! Learned that the hard way on my last bmw.
 
#22 ·
I was out in the garage and thought I'd put together a little video showing why Ducati clutches used to be so loud. I'm not sure anyone somewhat new to riding would even understand the "Loud clutches save lives!" T-shirts and other Ducati jokes, so here's little info on the subject.

 
#24 ·
My next track day is at the end of the month. After putting more time into this, a decision was made - the 900 is getting shoved to the side of the garage and the 851 is being prepped instead. The 900ss isn't going to run this year.

Numerous reasons, but the final straw was that when I did the video on clutch noise, I noticed there is some play in the clutch basket. The entire thing can be moved around ever so slighty. Me thinks there is a bearing that's gone south. It'd probably work for one track day but I don't want to buy tires and a battery for it if I have plans of digging deeper into the engine as soon as it's over.

In other news I shopped around for new friction plates and ended up deciding which slipper clutch I want to buy for it... 900ss, meet the slippery slope of not sticking to the plan of doing the bare minimum to get it back on track. It hasn't been ordered yet, but options are being considered. That money I had planned for tires and a battery may get spent in other places. :)

Oh, and "prepping" the 851 will consist of removing some lights, taping up others, and putting the fairings back on. I had already changed the oil and coolant hoses so it's good to go for an hour or two of use.
 
#25 ·
Yeah... so I "finished" prepping the 851. Put all the bodywork back on, and then for yucks turned the key to hear the fuel pump prime.

Nothing happened. Everything else worked but turn the key and no fuel pump. Checked various fuses, could hear a relay clicking, but no pump. Dag nabbit... off with the bodywork, go deeper into trouble shooting. When checking the relay I noticed a connector that might not have been fully attached, so I disconnected it, and shoved it back togther.

When I did that, the fuel pump primed. With the ignition off. WTF? Then I smelled gas, looked down, and saw a puddle of gas on the floor. Double WTF???

Disconnected the relay again. Ignition still off. Plugged relay back in. Fuel pump primed but nothing leaked this time. Also discovered that cycling the ignition key made the relay next to this one click, I had mistaken that as the fuel pump relay clicking. Oops.

Long story short, replacing the relay seems to have fixed the problem. The bike ran like crap until it was warm, but then I already knew there was more tweaking to do. It will have it's day on the dyno in the future but for now it just has to run well enough to make it through a track day. I'm pretty sure there will be demo bikes there too, so it really only has to make it though a couple sessions!

Here's the 900ss unceremoniously stuffed in the corner, while the 851 sits on the trailer. I'm heading out of town tomorrow, returning Sunday night, then leaving early Monday morning for the track day. You might thing loading the bike five days early is overkill, but true to form, it turns out the Kendon trailer was not set up to work nicely with an 851 and I spent hours getting it all to play well together.


SOMEDAY I'll have it all down where I'll have a ready to go trackbike to put on an already set up trailer, so trackday prep will consist mainly of throwing crap on the trailer and into the Jeep instead of hours spent prepping everything for maybe a couple hours of track time. I'm starting to remember why I sold my last track bike.
 
#27 ·
In thinking about it I realized that for a lot of years I've been using engine braking instead of real brakes, to the point that sometimes that's all I use. It'd take some getting used too. And nothing sounds better than a two valve Ducati that's engine braking... so I'm not as enamored with them as I was a couple weeks ago.

Par for the course for me. By the time I get to where I need it there will likely be some other bright and shiny thing I'll want more!
 
#28 ·
... and upon further reading, I can get an adjustable slipper clutch and change the amount of engine braking so I'm back into the slipper clutch lust phase.

It's still running the stock ignitors and coils, and an open airbox (yes it has a filter, I took that off already).


Carbs are racked with long manifolds. After pulling them off I measured the outlets and the ID of the screw in adapter/mount/whatever is 39mm. I suspected that's what they were. I'd rather have 41mm but it's not something I'm going to worry about. Dance with the one that brung ya and all that. I'll just set it up best I can with the smaller carbs. I checked the plugs and it's been running pretty rich so changes will need to be made.


Part of me wants to pull it down to nothing and redo everything, but my toy fund says that's not a great idea. Hmm...
 
#30 ·
I was looking at the K-bike stuff but should check out Ducabike too.


I doubt I'll be ordering a clutch soon. I'll likely deal with the carbs first, I want to rebuild them if for no other reason than to find out how they're set up now. Need to search more on what jetting people are using for the 39s, though I'm guessing finding someone who's using 39s with a 944 kit won't be easy...
 
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