The Worst Ducati in Dallas

The Jimbonaut said:
Back from Craigslist. That was humbling. Maybe a trip to Vegas and a night on the craps table? Daddy needs a new pair of shoes!

You just have to be patient. I have less than $3k in the original bike. However, I've already more than doubled that spend with parts and materials. There are a number of things I haven't shown you guys yet. If it's got tits or tires it's gonna be expensive.
 
Hey fellas, time for another update. Progress has been slow as a new puppy has taken up a bunch of free time and the garage isn’t currently a safe place for a puppy.

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Oh, and I snuck in a trackday too.

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After completing the PLA prototypes I had some time to research. Apparently, carbon reinforced plastic is junk and difficult to work with. The consensus seems to be that ABS is the better material for making parts. On this project ABS parts simply won’t do. So, it was back to the drawing board.

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I took the file for the mounts and created an inverse image to create a mold. While the prototype took 3 hours to print both sides, the mold took significantly longer. I had four or five failed prints before I got the settings dialed in. Each side of the mold took over 15 hours to print. This 3D printing stuff is no joke. I think the end product turned out pretty nice. It’s kind of a shame that these molds are sacrificial and will have to be destroyed to extract the part. The mold release wax is too clumpy to get into and then out of the small nooks in the molds.

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I have seen a number of products constructed using what amounts to injection-molded carbon fiber. This uses small shreds of fibers mixed with resins and put into a mold. As the part I am making is too small to make using continuous strands a practical approach I figure I’ll give it a try. However, I’ll be using a clam-shell mold rather than injecting the material. Largely, because I haven’t determined if the material I am able to produce can actually be injected. I guess I’ll be spending my 4th of July afternoon with some carbon scraps and a sharp pair of shears.

The tail section turned out much better than the first but still not perfect. The current plan is to body work it and skin it to get the pattern right. A little trimming and creativity should perfect the fit on the bike. Here it is mocked up.

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Like you guys, I spend waaay too much time looking at custom bikes that are professionally built and have craftsmanship that is the cream of the crop. Since I had an airbox that was a copy of the original and a seat that was patterned after a “one size fits some” essentially universal part, the gaps where the pieces meet was going to incredibly hard to get perfect. Anything short of a perfect gap was going to stand out in a big way. This realization made me decide to sidestep the whole issue.
What’s cooler than a perfect panel gap? A one-piece airbox and seat.

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Yup, I bonded them together. That’s the beauty of composites. Once I get the junction of the parts the way I want, I’ll skin them with a single sheet of carbon to get the weaves to match and make it a single piece.

More to come!
 
Hey Fellas. Time for an update. the quick and dirty is that not really anything that I posted last time worked out.

The molded carbon failed due to either too little hardener in the resin or some kind of chemical reaction with the mold material. Regardless I ended up with junk.

The integration of the seat and air box wasn't without problems. It turns out I got a couple of angles wrong. I had to cut it apart and try again. the 2nd attempt worked out nicely. From there it has been a lot of bondo and sanding. I'm hoping to have it finished next weekend.

I've been keeping an eye on the internet for a set of wheels. I would love to have some spoked wheels from a Multistrada but those don't come up often. Also, I think that Kineo wheels look dumb. Instead, I scored some wheels from a hypermotard. They even came with tires and rotors. Tires will eventually be replaced with something super sticky.

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The final problem turns out to be the headlight ears. I looked into a couple of online CNC machining places. They wanted $1,400 to machine the ears. 3D metal printing was better but just at $700. Is there anybody out there with a CNC machine that is up for a challenge? dropbox link to the file below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/u400svd2mfz89z5/Ears.scad?dl=0
 
I was busy this weekend with the sand paper and carbon fiber. I really want the option to leave any part of the carbon body work unpainted. So, after getting the tail body worked, I added a skin layer. I then put on a few extra coats of resin to get a smooth finish with plenty of depth. It still needs a bit of sanding and eventually some kind of clear coat with UV protection.
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Next, I created a seat pan from the MK1 of the tail. I have no idea if I'm going to use it. My plan to this point had been to simply use race foam but the way the seating surface is shaping up, I may just leave the carbon exposed. The inspiration for the seat pan was this:
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If you look close, you can see a nude carbon panel on top of the silver. I could just as easily leave the carbon exposed. We'll juts have to see what happens.


The plan since day 1 was to put the battery and electrics in the tail. I can't believe the number of Ducati "customs" that leave the battery in the stock location. Yes, it keeps the CG lower but c'mon. I think it's just lazy. I plan to use a super-lightweight battery and GP style exhaust which should result in a CG lower than stock. But who knows?

I 3D printed models a few of the batteries I was considering. I can't see buying a battery for the bike at this stage when I can use that money for current tasks. I then crafted a battery box and ECU mount from carbon that I intend to bond into the tail. The ECU will hold the battery in place and both will remain out of sight and tucked away.
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As I have planned for this to be a high-end build from the start, nothing but the best will do. The mail man delivered this today.
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That's right boys and girls. Motogadget M-unit blue. If I am to get all the wiring for this ugly duc inside the tail, I was going to need to slim down the wiring loom significantly.

The end result of all these parts should come out something like this:
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That's what I got for you fellas tonight. I'm off to solve as many problems as I create!
 
Hey everyone. It’s been a minute since my last update. There’s not a ton of progress to report. I’ve got my fingers in a lot of areas but not too much reaching completion.

This week the big victories are the front brakes. I scored some semi-radial Brembo master cylinders from a 1098.
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I’ll still need to source proper levers and figure out reservoirs. I’m thinking about doing the minimalist reservoir like you’ve seen on other customs.
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Having the masters on hand allowed me to start to fit the M-50 calipers I scored a while back. The problem I didn’t foresee was that the rotors from a hypermotard only have a 10mm offset while the 1098/848 forks call for a 15mm offset. The calipers hit the rotors.
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I pinged my mechanic and he said that a rotor spacer would be just fine rather than sourcing new rotors. I searched high and low for rotor spacers. I couldn’t find what I was looking for. So, I’d have to make what I wanted.
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The final result, a 5mm carbon fiber rotor spacer. Because why not?
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I decided a little while back that if I was going to have to source bolts for parts that they ought to be titanium. So, there ti mounting bolts for the front calipers and the rear hub pinch bolts. Again, why not?

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None of the ti hardware has been torqued as I didn’t want to introduce copper grease into the mix with surfaces that were going to need some kind of final coating or finish.

There has been a long list of stuff turning up at my door step.

A carbon fender from a Monster S4r…mounted with ti bolts…to save unsprung weight of course.
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A “silencer” lol.
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A carbon overflow reservoir.
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An M-button.
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And some race-type switches.
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I’ve hatched an idea for a place to mount some instrumentation in the cavity that previously housed the ignition. I made a mold of the steel tank and am working on a “plug” to make a mold so I can make a finished product from carbon.

Not at all exciting mold.
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Prototype in fiberglass. I still need to source instrumentation that will likely be a motoscope mini.
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More to come!

Thoughts?
 
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