Registration and Shakedown
I decided that the bike was in good enough shape to try to get it registered pretty much as it arrived. Although my plans were always to strip and rebuild it, I thought it would be a good idea to run it for a few months, sort out the obvious ‘show stoppers’ and make a list of what needed doing, and just as importantly, what didn’t.
To get the bike on the road legally, I needed to import it
correctly into
Until I get time to rewrite this properly, here’s some extracts from my notes over the last year.
5th
November 04. Looks like I’ll be trying for an MOT next Saturday, so have
ordered some new tyres (I think the current Metzeler front was put on for the
ride to
Other
things needing sorting for the MOT? I’ve ordered a front mudguard from Brancato
Engineering and it needs a couple of light bulbs. The headlight only works on
beam and the brake light isn’t working at all (hope it’s the bulb!). Oh, and
I’ll need a chain. Must count the links so I can buy one. Sprox are OK. Other
than that it’s a case of hoping the man doesn’t think it’s too loud. I do, but
I’d really like to leave it that way. Guess I’ll try to make the brakes work a
bit as well!
8th/11.
Did a little work over the weekend. Swapped the headers for the exhaust on
Friday. The ‘Harris’ one tightened up OK without jumping threads… good news.
Bought a new chain and handlebar grips on Saturday. The grips went on OK, but
didn’t seem much point in putting the chain on when the wheels have to come out
for tyres. So… I ripped the wheels out. They’re both disgusting, and there
didn’t seem much point in putting tyres on before they get sorted out.
Dropped
them into Bathwick on Saturday lunchtime to get the tyres ripped off. Guy says
‘why don’t you get them done next door’ and points over the fence. Factory next
door is ‘Dymag Racing Wheels’… (don’t
you wish you lived in
Dropped
in there at lunchtime, the finish on their wheels is absolutely outstanding.
Couldn’t resist it and left them there to powder coat. The service includes
blast cleaning and dye penetrant crack detection, which can’t be a bad idea
even on FPS wheels.
I
was going to have them done in black, but they had a gold finish there so
beautiful they’re going back to the original gold. I have a funny feeling this
may set the tone for the whole rebuild… Oh… that wasn’t what I was going to do
at all!
They’re
prepared to do all my other powder coating, providing I stay out of racing
season… ideal for winter rebuilds then.
16th
November
Got
a bit further. MOT didn’t happen on Saturday… wheels came back with tyres the
wrong way round, and it took me too long to sort it out. The ‘Dymag’ wheels
look stunning, with gold disk carriers not the original black.
The
Brancato mudguard arrived and wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. It’s fitted,
but fouls the brake pipes a bit. It’s actually for an earlier SS, which
probably would have had different brake pipes. Anyway, it’s on and looks OK…
much better than no mudguard.
I
discovered a couple of nights ago that the pumps aren’t working in the carbs,
which explains why I can’t start it… no way of flooding it. I guess I should
whip them off and clean out the circuits, but I haven’t found the inclination
yet. They probably also need some bigger main jets. Currently a 135 in the
front (and 140 rear?) which is standard for Silentiums. Conti jetting is 152 F
& 155 R. Don’t know what should be in there with the 2 into 1, but Conti
jetting sounds like a closer starting point than original.
22nd
November
Chain!
Aaaaargh! Bought a 520 chain, had it cut to 104 links, took it home… doesn’t
fit, should be a 530! Of course they don’t want it back, it’s cut too short.
Bought a 530, 104 links. Right length, but supplied with a rivet link. Can’t
fit a rivet link as I need to remove the chain to get the wheel out. Back to
Chain
sorted a few days later and fairing back on. Book the MOT and out on the road
Saturday morning to drop the bike off in
The
bike sat in the garage unloved over Christmas, and I finally got around to
pulling the carbs off around the end of January… 2 months to get around to 30
minutes work. I decided they probably needed more specialist attention than I
would be able to give, and sent them off to JRS in
Last
step then in putting it on the road is to prove its age. I’m struggling with
that one. The DVLA needs a proof of first registration, but the current
registration says 1985… which is when Henry re-registered it after I crashed
it. I really want to lose that little bit of information! I’ve tried writing to
Ducati UK, joining DOCGB, writing to Ducati SA, emailing Richard Knowles, who
ran Ducati in SA for years after Continental Cycles went bust, and have even
emailed the factory. I’m still waiting for several replies, but as yet have no
proof of age. I could no doubt get a Q plate (undefined import), or even a B
plate (85), but I really want a correct X or Y (82) age related plate.
Found
a contact at the factory, but they’ve lost the records from the eighties, and
could only send me a data sheet to say that it’s a MH900, homologated in 1980.
The letter is, however, formatted in such a way as to allow me to write my own!
Meanwhile, another gent, Brian Fox at Italian Vintage Motorcycles, has offered
to send me a letter for £15. I’ve sent him the money, and await the letter!
So
the carbs came back, and I spent a happy hour fighting with the throttle
cables. Eventually relearned the trick, and got it all back together. Also
fitted fuel filters to stop crap from tank getting into nice clean carbs. I’ll
take them off once I’ve used a couple of tanks full, but in the meantime it
should help.
So
all back together, key on, two pumps on the throttle and kick. Fired straight
up… on one cylinder! So the problem wasn’t the carbs, then. Waaaah!
Spent
the next Saturday pulling off all the bodywork (why does it look SO much nicer
without it??) and going through the ignition system. The Rita system has been
fitted since I had the bike last, so I didn't know anything about it. I do now.
Although it has two separate coils, it only has one rotor, with two lobes, and
one pickup... so works on a 'lost spark' system, firing both pots
simultaneously. That was convenient, as I could just swap the plug leads over.
Bike continued to run on back pot only.... so not the ignition system.
Then swapped the plugs over, and couldn't start the damn thing at all... (yes I
did put the tank back on!). I think it was probably flooded by this stage, and
I ran out of time.
Got a bit fed up and went in for lunch... took the first bite and the doorbell
rings. Open it to find old guy with beard. Introduces himself as 'Ian', says
'got one of these?' and hands me an old factory SS/MHR workshop manual! He's
just moved in about three doors down the road, and sold his SS a few months
back. He now rides a Guzzi G5 with sidecar but I didn't throw him out. Says he
has some other stuff around when he unpacks including a bag of shims.... Claims
he owned the SS so long he learned to shim the heads on the bike. Seeing as
I've only ever watched it done once on the bench, and by no expert, he could be
a very useful bloke to know!
I
think I’ll pull the front head at the weekend if it’s not too damn cold, and
get it checked over. If it needs anything doing to it, I’ll get the Darmah head
set up properly, and swap it… the current head has two broken fins.
So
what’ve I done recently… nuthin’. Sold my Triumph and bought a Yammy Fazer for
a bit of contrast, but the Ducati remains in the garage.
Actually,
I’ve done two important things. I’ve arranged for it to go to Brancato on the
9th April. After which I shall no doubt be a lot poorer, but the
bike will run and be streetable at last. Well it will if it gets a number plate
and a tax disc, which is the other thing I’ve been doing. I spent yesterday
afternoon in a queue at the DVLA local office in
Brian
Fox came through with a letter saying it was a 1982 model. Unfortunately they
have to send an examiner to check the numbers, after which I should have a V5,
tax disc, number plate, and all that goes with it. Everything seemed OK, he
didn’t complain about anything, so should be relatively plain sailing, so long
as the vehicle inspector doesn’t decide it’s his job to redo the MOT.
All
being well, Brancato and the DVLA should have their acts together in a couple
of weeks, and I could have a going Ducati by mid April.
Monday 11th April
Friday, the DVLA man dropped in at home, said everything was fine,
and that he’d put the papers through on Tuesday. I should have a registration
by the end of the week.
Saturday I took the bike in a van to Brancato, as after about 6 weeks I hadn't
found the time to get back to it.
'Does it start?' he says....
'Should do' says I, and gives it a boot.... MHR co-operates and fires up on one
cylinder.... the bloody front one!
'Plug!' says
'I'm sure you'll find it's a little more than that'... says Tony.
'Change the f£$^&^%*% rear plug!' says I...
We do, and it fires straight up on two.... carbs a mile off, but nothing that
couldn't be fixed in ten minutes. On more than half throttle it sounds
fantastic!
Anyway, I've left it with him to check clearances, change valve guide oil
seals, and set it up nicely. With a rolling road, and all the tools he can do
it all better than I can.
Real nice to hear the old girl fire up on two again... I've just been itching
all weekend to go and finish the job, and the bike’s 70 miles away... I somehow
wish I'd just put the thing back in the van.
If Tony B gets his act together I should be
able to fetch it and ride it legally home one evening late next week... can't
wait.
Also can’t believe it’s been off the road for 5 months because of a
stuffed plug. Oh, well, it was hardly riding weather anyway!
Friday… Aha, news. Two great bits of news.
Tony B phoned me last night. Not too much wrong with the Ducati, and all sorted
by Saturday. He’s checked the compression (150 psi, both pots, can’t be bad)
and leakdown (none). He’s adjusting 3 of the 8 shims (not bad) and found a
spare damaged rocker shaft shim in the head (what?). He also says that 3 of the
4 valve guides are non standard, and have no seals, so he can’t replace them.
Just spoken to Steve… he knows nothing about it, although did seem to vaguely
remember there were no guide seals.
The
Rita seems to be OK, but there are now no more spares available, so just as
well. If and when it packs up, it’s time to order a complete new system…ouch.
Other
than that he’s replacing carb rubbers and balancing carbs, replacing clutch
cable and battery (including new tray and strap), adding a few new stainless
bolts where the old ones were corroded, changing the oil again (Silkolene 40W,
for the first time ever…and last if I have anything to do with it), and
generally setting it up for me to ride home on Saturday!
The
other good bit of news is: the registration came through yesterday. A ‘correct’
‘X-on-the-end’ plate (actually it should’ve been a Y, but I like X better!)
makes it an early 82 model. Neat. I’ve already been to Halfords and had a plate
made (not the best, but then there’s still lots to do before it’s pristine!)
and it will go with me along with the tax disc to make the bike LEGAL (yes,
really!) on Saturday… Wheee.
Ride
home from
Monday:
Wow.
The bike was just about ready for me when I arrived at Brancato on Saturday
following a bus, train and taxi trip; we just had to fit the new number plate.
Fired up and warmed a bit, the beastie sat there ticking over gently shaking
the ground. Amazing.
Riding
it away, the brakes weren’t working too well, but everything else seemed OK and
I really enjoyed the 70 mile ride despite the cold.
Coming
through
The
brakes started working somewhere on the way home. A mixture of the EBC pads
that I pinched out of the Darmah bedding in and me getting used to the feel (or
lack of it) at the lever. Anyway, they’re now fine and haul the bike down just
the way I remember, if not better. I just hope those sintered pads aren’t
destroying my unobtanium brake discs.
Caught
Hugh out on his new Buell 1000 on Saturday evening, out towards Christian
Malford. Had a good blast back to Lyneham… the Duc was holding him easily on
acceleration, and happily following him through the corners on a road he knows
like the back of his hand. Ha, ha. Came back via Calne and Lacock. Magic ride.
I lurve this bike!
I
don’t know what it is, but this bike is just me. Every time I have ridden a
bevel SS or MHR, I’ve just loved it. They always seem to me to be a fantastic
blend of the right kind of power in a stable chassis which just seem to do what
I want it to. It has, I decided, the makings of my perfect bike. This is why I’ve wanted it back for 20 years. I
was shocked though to find that, after 20 years, it still makes me feel that
way. While I’m sure a modern Ducati would do everything better, this one is
just fine for me. It’s raw, brutal and hard, with no concession to practicality
or comfort, but it is just fantastic. So…
I’m
going to sort it out and keep it forever.. I just have to decide exactly how I
want it. To that end, I will ride it pretty much as it is, with and without the
fairing, through the summer and make a modification plan of things I want
changed, and a snags list of things that need fixing.
Tuesday.
Rode
it to work this morning. Oil just about warmed up and the gearbox started
working by the time I got to Melksham. Clutch was a bit draggy first thing.
It’s the first time I’ve ever has monograde 40W oil in it… and I’m not terribly
impressed. Nothing major, but why bother with it?
The
ride in was uneventful, an odd spit through the carbs but nothing major. The
motor seems nicely balanced and responsive in traffic… much better than I
remember. I expect that would be the less restrictive breathing and more
accurate ignition.
Started
it in the car park at lunchtime… apparently there was a mass exodus from the
projects office to look out the window to find out what it was!
Wednesday.
Took it out for a twenty mile blast last night… absolute magic. This bike was
made for empty British A & B roads. Took it in to work again today. Quite a
bad mid throttle misfire occurred once or twice coming through town. It’s a lot
worse than what I noticed as a little transitional flat spot yesterday… if
something’s dying, it’s doing it pretty quickly, I’ll keep an eye on it.
Spoke
too soon… it got so bad on the way home it would hardly pull above 3000. I
bought new plugs and swapped them… no difference. A long chat with Tony B. on
Thursday suggests that the coils are probably gone. But I’ll pull the tank and
check everything else before I buy new coils… they’re £40 a pair.
A
week later… Haha… Not coils. It was a bloomin’ fuse rattling around in the
awful fusebox. I fixed it by bending the blades and the problem went away. Came
back a little over the weekend. I took the seat off again, and attacked it with
some emery cloth. All clean now, and no big problems, but that fusebox has got
to go.
Coming
into work this morning, the Duke ate another front plug. Learning fast, I checked
the plug before anything else. Fixed again. But this raises the question of why
it’s fouling plugs. Both carbs should be set up similarly (in fact the rear one
is richer, in theory) but the front plug is black whereas the rear one is a
nice tawny colour. The general suspicion is that it’s to do with the oil
burning, and no oil seals on the valve guides. Obviously the front head is
suffering much worse than the back one… which means if I’m being cheapskate, it
will be a lot easier to fix. The front head comes off a
Think
I’d better strip the rear head, and get them off for fixing.
Last
night… plug (old one out of rear cylinder) fouled in 3 miles. Last night I
fitted B6HS plugs… a grade hotter than recommended. Today I’ve done 20+ miles
and it’s OK… checked it after 10… sooty, but better. I suspect too much
burbling around on the overrun will cause it to foul again, it’s not happy at
low revs, stumbling and missing just a bit.
The
more I’m experiencing hassles and poor running, the more I want it to be really
nice. I’m sure it has the potential to be a really good, everyday road bike,
which, set up properly, will be as fast on the road as anything. It IS a fast
road bike already, just a little bit too hairy-arsed. Nothing wrong with a bit
of that, but it is, I’m sure, capable of being a bit more civilised. Actually
civilised is the wrong word… I just want it to work right through the rev
range, not cough and splutter at half throttle. Point is, this rebuild I’m
discussing can’t be purely cosmetic, it has to sort out the mechanical issues
of rough running etc., as well. No reason to suspect anything below the
pistons, but I think a proper top end rebuild is in order. The carbs have been
done, and the compression’s OK, so then only ignition and exhaust to consider.
Ignition should be no problem, providing the wiring and coils are OK… and the
exhaust should be sorted by a pair of Conti’s finest. Or maybe a different two
into one.
Snag
list.
Issues
that need sorting out, sooner or later.
Already
fixed by Tony Brancato:
·
Intake manifold gaskets
·
Valve shimming, Ignition timing
·
Carbs synched
·
Oil change
·
New
·
Fuel taps (R, left has arrived, needs fitting)
·
Clutch cable
·
Clutch rollers
Noted
by Tony Brancato:
·
Fork stanchions pitted (he’s cleaned them up to remove any sharp edges)
·
Fairing mounting: lower brackets missing.
·
Engine smoking, probably needs valve guides and seals
·
Speedo drive unit damaged (fixed 20/5/05)
·
Worn pins on rear brake caliper
·
Fuel tank rusty inside.(fixed July 05)
And
by me
·
Speedo under reads by 40%, could do with MPH face as well. (fixed,
above)
·
Worn brake and gearchange linkages
·
Rough running, fouling plug on front cylinder.
Monday 16/5/05… motor sorted!
‘Dyna’ twin output coil arrived from PDQ. Cobbled it together on Saturday morning, I’ll make it a new bracket later.
Motor fired first kick and hasn’t missed a beat since…. It’s gorgeous… creamy power all the way through the rev range… almost ticks over… I’m sure the carbs need resetting now.
PVL coils very deep in bin…
Clutch is slipping now though!
Having got it all back together on Saturday, I attacked it again on Sunday and ripped off the fairing and all the associated bracketry, and the rear indicators. I still need to lose the big fairing/headlight bracket at the front, but need some bits for that. It’s great to ride without it… must be 15kg lighter to start with.
Speedo cable failed while I was out… then cut its way through the outer and severed it 20cm from the hub. It then whirled around and ripped the edge off my newly powdercoated brake disc carrier… wah!
The drive unit has destroyed itself… and finally revealed the secret of why it doesn’t work properly… it’s a 23/11 ratio, not a 25/9… Must have come with the Pantah wheel… although not right for a Pantah either… it’s off a GT750/Sport with a 19” wheel, and reads 33% under… makes sense.
Got it into my head that I wanted to lose the fairing permanently. Ordered headlight brackets from Mdina…
Wednesday: Parts arrived, and I took a day’s leave. Only got onto the bike about 3pm, but did three hours work. Quite a big job… remove instruments, idiot lights, top yoke, clip-ons, choke handle thing… and finally the big fairing bracket. Then fit the headlight brackets over the forks, clip ons back on, yoke back on… etc.
The instruments are now attached to a Darmah steel bracket, which is ugly, heavy, and didn’t have any attachments for the idiot lights ‘cus the Darmah attached them to the handlebar clamps…
The Darmah bracket stuck the instruments up in the air, which looked horrible, so I bent it. Now it looks worse. Not sure what I’m going to do now… except take it all off again and fit an SS fairing. It is rideable; the idiot light thing is wedged solidly between the clocks… but looks like crap.
Had a chat with John at Mdina while I was playing… Contis, the man says, work better than everything else. That seems unanimous, so I guess I’ll have to have a set of those as well. Another £400 to spend sometime. Plus rechroming the headers and crossovers.
21/5/05… got around to replacing the speedo drive and cable. All went together easy enough and the speedo now works right. Have seen 100mph on the clock once or twice since, but taking quite a while to get there and doesn’t want to pull much more… there must be more to come in there somewhere, on this gearing it should pull straight up to 120…round about 8000 in top. Must buy some Contis, I reckon this pipe must be very restrictive… Valves, compression, ignition, timing and carbs should all be good… what else can it be??? I suppose the aerodynamics aren’t helping, but it can’t be that much better with the fairing on… a Darmah would do 115 surely, even on 32mm carbs. The MHR was reputed to be a 140mph bike… and would do 200kph on a pretty much everyday basis when it was young. Maybe I should give it a long blast down the motorway before I complain too much.
Had the bike out with Huw on his Buell again over the weekend… he thinks I’m a bit of a nutter… nice to know the old beast still has it (and the bike’s quite good too). The point of the story being that I really don’t need a faster bike, or a better handling bike… this one is OK, especially once it’s well sorted. If it’s fast enough to stay in front of a modern Buell, and be thought a nutter, then it’s obviously still too fast, just like it was in 1982. Admittedly that makes anything faster than a 750 Monster totally flippin’ insane, but so be it.
Things still to sort (performancewise):
Front Forks (need repainting as well as stanchions, oil, seals, springs).
Rear Shocks (just replace)
Brakes (rebuild everything…and repaint… stainless bolts)
Exhaust (rechrome headers, crossover, & new Contis)
Heads (rebuild Darmah heads)
Went out for a run last night, and one of the best of the ‘Hailwood bits’ on my bike failed for the second or third time in its life… the fuel tank is mashed on the steering head and now leaking petrol. It’s obviously got a lot worse since the last fill up… filled it last night on my way out and the whole bike stank of petrol immediately. Now so do my gloves, jacket, helmet… nice. There’s a crack by the front and petrol actually squirts out of it if you lay on the tank…
Latest news: It’s been off the road for nearly two weeks
now. The tank, which has been fixed more than once before, was removed and
emptied, washed out and cleaned as well as possible. I then spent a day or two
asking around for someone to braze it up for me. I was given a contact at Arrow
Radiators, just round the corner from work. I dropped it in with them on Monday
last week (
Now those of you who’ve been taking notes will remember that I wrote this bike off in 1984. At that time the tank was a complete write off, and dealer wanted a fortune for a new one (about 10% of the price of a new MHR for an unpainted tank!). I was working at an aircraft company at the time, in the test department. We had a superb sheet metal worker. He took the tank, cut a small hole in the bottom, and beat it back to shape with a ‘dolly’ on a stick. Consequently the metal is not exactly straight, and there was a thin film of filler in there to get the shape right. This had now all came off, and now needs doing again.
I filled all the obvious holes, rubbed them down nice and flat, and gave it a coat of primer… rubbish. There are bumps and hollows all over the place. So far I’ve added some more filler in the obvious low points and bought the primer for about another 6 coats! The same night I gave it another rub down and primer coat and it came out almost smooth. One more rub down and two more coats of primer and she’s looking good.
Placed it on the bike on Sunday, and it seems the old problem with the yoke touching the tank is maybe now worse as they welded a small pate over the front edge. I’ll have to work at getting it very carefully positioned as far back as possible and hope it works.
The notes pretty much end there… I bought an ST4 and used that for a week or two while I was sorting it out, and then fell off it and broke a rib… twit. I haven’t ridden the Hailwood since; by the time the rib had healed the winter had well and truly arrived.
Anyway, I’d learned enough. I knew what was wrong, what needed fixing, and what to do with most of it. The bike sat unloved for a couple of months, then on an unusually sunny day for the end of January, I wheeled it into the newly cleaned out shed, and ripped it to pieces…