Ducati 900 Cafe Racer.....

[dewjantim]

As if one build isn't enough..... I am also building another duc. This is the bike which one of my best friends, Ronnie Miller, was killed on. The remains of the bike were given to me by Ronnie's wife, Deanna. I am building this bike as a tribute to him. When it is finished an inscription will be painted on the bike saying, "In memory of Ronnie"...... As you can see the new frame has been painted red, as have the wheels. The tires are racing rain tire on the rear, and DOT race tire on the front. Airtech laid the seat w/carbon number plates, half race fairing, and carbon front fender. The rear carbon fender was purchased from eBay for cheap...... the white paint on it will be sanded back to the carbon finish, then cleared..... as will all the carbon and carbon Di-noc parts. Tank is also courtesy of eBay (not cheap though). Red, stock appearing graphics have been purchased and will be added to the bodywork which is to be painted "vivid black". Carbon accents will be added where ever possible using the 3M carbon Di-noc film. Then everything will be painted with a coat of clear. Pictures will start in the next post......

 

[dewjantim]

Wheels and tires along with two of boxes of parts...... some new, some used. I am using as much as I can from the original bike.....

 

[dewjantim]

Extremely light weight aluminum race fairing stay, front and rear carbon fenders, and used tank w/solo seat.....

 

[dewjantim]

Detail of used tank and seat..... along with the new (to me) frame......

 

[thirsty 1]

Sorry to hear about your friend, but his old bike rebuilt as a tribute is very cool. What year SS is that? take looks about 95-96'ish. I have a good two wire stator if you need one in the future. I also have some 2V rockers and shafts if yours are bad. Let me know and maybe I could get them to ya cheap----er.

 

[dewjantim]

Race fairing and sides...... then the front end. Having never had an USD front end apart before I took my damaged fork tubes to my Ducati mechanic to repair using two used forks which I purchased on eBay. He kept them for a few weeks then said he couldn't do it because the other forks were off different models than mine. I took them home, took the internals apart, measured them, and found them to be the same.... only the length of the forks and lack of adjusters was different. So I reassembled my forks using the stuff which I purchased and the fork springs and adjusters which came with my damaged forks. I then installed new seals, cleaned, and polished the forks. Always remember that no matter how much someone knows..... he doesn't know it all. I have always been one of those people who have to see for themselves.....

 

[dewjantim]

Sorry to hear about your friend, but his old bike rebuilt as a tribute is very cool. What year SS is that? take looks about 95-96'ish. I have a good two wire stator if you need one in the future. I also have some 2V rockers and shafts if yours are bad. Let me know and maybe I could get them to ya cheap----er.

Thanks Thirsty. The crashed bike was a 99' SuperSport. I already have a nice one of those so I decided to do it up as a 95' model 900 CR, with the half fairing and added the SL seat. I may be interested in the parts at a later date.....

 

[dewjantim]

Exhaust system pictured is one of the mufflers which came with the bike, the other was destroyed. It is attached to a home made 2 into 1 head pipe. The other pics are what is left of the donor bike after all damaged and usable parts were removed.... The engine, electrics, and swingarm (which attaches to the engine, not the frame) will be transfered to the new frame. I have cleared some space in my overcrowded shop to work on this bike along with my 500 GTL duc....More pics will follow as work progresses.

 

[dewjantim]

And these pics don't have anything to do with my build. I just took them because I had to get these two bikes out of the shop to clean a little, the sun was out, and they looked cool sitting there warming up : : : ...... My 750 Sport, and 851 Superbike, both ducs of course .....

 

[tWistedWheelz]

I am extremely green with envy of you bike collection! That 851 is the SHIT!

 

[dewjantim]

Thanks Twisted...... the 851 is one of my favorites . I saw several 851 racers in the 90s' but this is the only street version I can ever remember seeing. My wife used to give me grief for having so many bikes, but last summer I talked her into buying a rare bike at an estate sale. We paid $1200 for it and it looked awful..... had been sitting in a garage for about 15 years. I picked it up, took it home, and sold it two hours later for four grand. Now she seldom says anything about my bikes...... but she still bitches about my leather jacket collection...... I'm getting ready to buy another honda 550 in a couple of days. I have been working on buying it for a year and am finally getting it for $600. It is in nice shape and runs. Think I will do a quick cafe job on it (seat, tank, sidecovers, clubman bars, exhaust, and probably a fairing and ride it as my main ride this summer.

 

[Dale]

WOAH! This is going to be an interesting build. That two into 1 - is that a Termi?

 

[Dale]

...Think I will do a quick cafe job on it...

Yeah like you don't have enough going on already! ;D ;D ;D

 

[dewjantim]

Dale, the 2 into 1 is homemade with a ducati performance muffler. It should only take a short time to turn the 550 into a cafe bike. Just clean it, new tires, fluids, air cleaner, put on clubman bars, aftermarket shocks, and spare bodywork. The longest wait will be for the seat. It is a cafe job from Carpy and is intended for a 750. I have to modify it and send it out to be covered. Whole process should take a day after all parts are in.....

 

[dewjantim]

Nothing much to report except that I purchased a black billet gas cap since I tore the other one up because the key was broken. "The Shed" is too full of motorcycles and parts so I have to finish something to have room to do more work on this one....... here is a pic of the cap.

 

[dewjantim]

I am waiting for warm weather to start again on this bike. It needs to have the engine cleaned before getting started and I have to do that outside....... will spring ever get here?????

 

[dewjantim]

Summer has come and gone...... I finished a couple of cafe bikes to sell to fund my other projects. Last week I finally got to start on my 900 SS. Front end put together...... wheel and tire mounted...... brakes put on..... new clipons added and everything installed on the frame. Engine in frame....... new oil cooler mounted...... sidestand was fixed and polished. Rear tire and wheel mounted on swingarm..... rear brake, lines, etc were added. Sprocket and chain put on bike. Lots of nuts and bolts polished or painted and all brackets cleaned and polished or painted. Rear sets also bolted on. Stay tuned for further installments of the Frankenstein Ducati...... pics to follow.

 

[dewjantim]

I have been buying all the little odds and ends needed to finish the bike. New cylinder and piston, new right hand switch, instrument panel, air box, etc....etc. Wiring harness put back on and almost everything connected. Handlebars, switches, throttle, ASV levers, and grips all installed and switches hooked to wiring harness. Quite a bit of gold billet bling spread here and there and I hope to polish the racing aluminum fairing bracket and mount instruments on it in the next couple of days. I have decided to paint the bodywork half green and half white, a red stripe down the center with gold pinstripes to match the billet. I have already purchased repop factory decals in red. As soon as the buyer of my KZ650 pays up....... the bodywork goes to my painter. This project is starting to roll toward being finished and I am getting that anxious feeling I always get when finishing up a bike. I am also working on another Ducati which I purchased from a guy in WV for cheap money, and parts for my GTL Ducati are still back ordered...... looks like it will be a busy winter. Stay tuned for pics of this bike and another build thread on the other Ducati.........

 

[thearcticsea]

pics

 

[dewjantim]

OK guys...... I haven't been sitting on my arse' all this time. The bike is close to being finished..... wiring done, bike mostly together except brake, clutch lines, and a few odds and ends. Body work is at the painter now and the paint design has been finalized. Here are a few pics...... more to come later.