Joe Popp's 1994 Ducati 900SS SP Blog

New left fairing installed

2009-11-20T09:33:00.002-05:00

My left fairing has been cracked since I bought the bike. I found a fairing on eBay some time ago and bought it for $250 which is quite a high price. I originally thought that the paint did not match my mine so I was holding off on installing it until I could get the bike painted. I decided to take a closer look. I rolled the bike out into the sun and compared the paint. I could not tell the difference! I asked a neighbor to see if he could tell the difference and he said "it looks exactly the same". It is a perfect match. I went ahead and installed the fairing. It will save me a lot of money not having to paint the bike.

New fairing installed. Perfect!

The fairing that came on the bike was cracked.

Fort Clinch Ride

2009-11-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

After taking so many trips south on A1A, I decided to head north. I scoped a map and saw a nice path up to Fort Clinch on A1A North. I headed out for the day and early in the ride I went over the amazing Dames Point Bridge. It is very high over the water and freaked me out a little bit to be honest. It was another chamber of commerce type of day and a great ride. I stopped at a little restaurant called Nicole's and had some great fried chicken. The only problem is that some of A1A is 35MPH along Fernandina Beach. I am not a speeder but I would like to go a little faster. A relaxing day and a good ride.

Large cannons guard the mouth of the St. Mary's River.

In the middle of Fort Clinch, Florida.

A long way down SR13

2009-11-13T15:00:00.000-05:00

I headed out today with the intent of doing a SR13 - SR16 - US1 loop but when I got to SR16 I decided to just keep going south on SR13. It was a nice payoff. SR13 follows the east bank of the St. John's river south. It was a beautiful day and perfect temperature for riding with a jacket. I got all the way down to Hastings and decided to turn around and come back. I stopped at at Riverdale park and found a nice public dock. A great ride on a great day.

My bike among the Spanish moss of Riverdale Park.

A long public dock at Riverdale park.

Homologation plate reinstalled

2009-11-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

I finally found the small rivets needed to reinstall my homlogation plate (the numbered plate on my triple clamp). I got them off of eBay and in case you need any thy are #2 u-drive screws that are 3/16" long. The smallest parts are hardest to find.

Homologation plate reinstalled.

2009-11-09T14:00:00.001-05:00

I decided to take longer and longer rides each time I go out on my bike. I thought a trip to Daytona made sense. I took US1 to St. Augustine and then picked up A1A and took that all the way down to Daytona. It was a beautiful ride and sections of A1A are right on the beach. One small snag is that the ocean mist gunks up your visor. I will be sure to bring some faceshield cleaner next time. A great relaxing day overall.

My grandfather used to take me fishing here in the '70s.

The great Daytona International Speedway.

Fenders restored

2009-11-03T11:31:00.001-05:00

My bike is slowly being transformed into a thing of beauty. After many coats of clear and a lot wet sanding I finally got the carbon fiber fenders refinished.

Front fender - looks great now.

Rear fender restored.

Before refinishing - any hope?

Nice ride down A1A

2009-10-18T11:10:00.000-04:00

My 900ss is finally getting up to snuff and I will begin taking longer and longer rides. I drove down the famous A1A today and had a great time just taking in the gorgeous weather. It reminded me of when I was young and living in Jacksonville. My friends and I would head out to Ponte Vedra beach and just sit in the sand and drink beer. Those were simple uncomplicated times...I took A1A all the way down to St. Augustine, stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for a coffee, and came back up US 1. A nice pleasant ride. Bike performed flawlessly!

Pit stop in South Ponte Vedra.

Perfect weather for a ride.

New Sargent Seat

2009-10-16T10:07:00.000-04:00

I got tired of my eyesore Corbin seat so I decided to update it with a new Sargent seat. It is a cool design in that it has a storage tube under the seat. I am staying in Jacksonville for about a year and Sargent is located right here so I figured I would buy the Sargent. I wanted to get the Corbin recovered but they ignored several of my emails so that gave me another reason to go Sargent. It was interesting looking in at the factory with all of the seats in progress.It was expensive but a much needed item.

New Sargent seat - looking good.

Gas tank sealing and other major work.

2009-10-06T15:37:00.001-04:00

Mileage: 9448
When I last changed my fuel filter I had noticed that my gas tank had rust inside. This is a common problem of the 900ss from this vintage. There is always a solution and I found one with the POR-15 Cycle Fuel Tank Repair Kit. They make a special gas tank kit that includes all of the chemicals you need to seal a gas tank. I went ahead and ordered it and before it arrived I read the instructions very carefully. Drying time for the sealant was 4 days so I decided I would do a bunch of other work.

I ordered a good assortment of other new parts. If my bike was going to be down I wanted to maximize the downtime by doing other needed work. I ordered RTP teflon coated stainless steel clutch and brake lines off of eBay, the discontinued Cycle Cat DBR2 handlebars (mine were bent) from Oncycles, ProGrip Superbike Model 780 grips and new fairing wellnuts from Desmotimes, and stainless steel fasteners from Desmoparts for all over the bike. I also got the triple clamp powder coated from East Coast Powder Coatings. I also got a used gold clutch master cylinder from Wounded Duc to match the gold brake master cylinder already installed.

Sealing the gas tank took all day. Putting the various chemicals in the tank and waiting between procedures was a long but needed process, but I wanted to be sure it was done right. The instructions said to wait at least 96 hours, but due to my triple clamp being at the powdercoater's I waited double that which reassured me that the sealant had set up properly. I wanted to ride badly but when the work was done it was all worth it. My bike is getting closer to perfect each day...

Work finished with new powdercoated triple clamp and grips.

New bars, lines, clutch master, and stainless hardware

This just won't do - change it all!

After a lot of work - Gas tank sealed and cured.

Common 900ss tank rust.

Staintune exhaust and chrome bolts

2009-09-28T07:03:00.001-04:00

Mileage: 9349
Okay so I am weak. I have been eyeballing a really trick Australian Staintune exhaust system that Wounded Duc had on their site for a while. It was used but in perfect shape. The price started at $750. When Mark at Wound Duc dropped it to $500 I couldn't resist and I bought it. The system sells for $1100 new so I figured what the heck. This is my third exhaust system but this is the keeper. It is not loud at all and sounds throatier than the stock. If I want it loud it has removable silencers that I can take out and terrorize the neighbors. All stainless steel and it looks wonderful.

I am also buying replacement bolts for the bike little by little. I got some hard to find chrome fairing bolts from Desmotimes.

The final exhaust system - I swear.

Fairing bolts - details make the bike.

Longish ride

2009-09-02T19:26:00.000-04:00

I went for my first extended ride today, well at least 70 miles. I drove from I-95 to Route 1 using International Golf Parkway. The road has nice canopy cover and the ride was so much fun. I can't wait to go for a really long stint.

A view from International Golf Parkway, Florida

Sticker removal

2009-08-29T18:31:00.000-04:00

I removed all of the after-market stickers the previous owner had on the bike. I really don't like stickers, I'll leave that to MotoGP star Valentino Rossi who has a pre-race ritual of putting stickers on his bike. I personally like a very stock look. It took a very long time to remove them all. If you are going to sell your bike - don't put stickers all over it!

De-stickered and looking better every day.

Cam belts - a big stretch

2009-08-28T18:24:00.000-04:00

Mileage: 9247
My bike had the original cam belts on it. Ducati recommends that they be changed every 6000 miles so I was a bout 3K overdue. I have read so many articles about changing these but it was not really as hard as every one stated. The only difficult part was getting the belts over the end plates. I later found out that most everybody removes these end plates the first time they change the belts. This would have saved me a bunch of time since I had to really push them over the end plates. Oh well, next time...

Good for another 6000 miles.

Fuel filter and filler neck gasket

2009-08-27T18:10:00.000-04:00

Mileage: 9247
I was worried that my tank might have debris in it so I decided to change the fuel filter. I pulled the fuel cap and inlet neck off and looked inside. Much to my dismay I saw a great deal of rust inside. This is quite common of Ducs of this vintage, I cleaned out all of the rust and it is clear that I must seal the inside of the tank. There is a company called POR-15 that sells a kit for just this very problem. I will do it as soon as I get the materials from the company.

Another common problem is that the gasket under the fuel inlet rots out. Mine of course was bad so I swapped it out. This is not as easy as it looks! The gasket needs to be stretched just right to make a nice seal. After a few tries I came up with a technique of getting the inlet almost all the way seated and then putting the gasket on from the top. It looks great but I will be taking it out again soon to do the tank sealing.

Didn't ride, just cranked her up to be sure she runs.

Inserting the fuel pump with a new filter. Ugh, rust...

New fuel inlet gasket - not as easy at it looks.

New kickstand

2009-08-26T17:56:00.001-04:00

Mileage: 9156
When I bought the bike it had this kickstand that was two pieces welded together. I decided to change this and found a clean used one a guy on the Ducati.ms forum. The forum has been such an awesome resource. The greatest thing is that the kickstand included a Nichols kickstand bolt so that the stand won't automatically retract when the weight is taken off of the stand. I was worried that somebody would sit on my bike while parked and not know the stand had folded up and it would drop on its side. This fixes that problem. Looks much nicer too.

Went for a longer ride and getting more comfortable with the bike. Really enjoying being a motorcyclist again.

New kickstand with a Nichols bolt.

Massive work ignition, brakes, battery, and more

2009-07-17T17:48:00.000-04:00

Mileage: 9121
Did massive work today on the Duc. I was in the garage for over 12 hours. My girlfriend is so sweet, she didn't bug me about spending so much time with the bike. I put on a bunch of new parts including, a battery, Ferodo organic brake pads all around, Dyna Coil ignition coils, plug wires, platinum plugs, Ducati paper air filter, and new starter wires. Everything went smoothly. Did a lot of cleaning along the way and that took the most time. The bike fired up quicker than ever. All of the new ignition parts, combined with a fresh battery and fat starter wires lead to instant fire up.

I took the bike for a slightly longer ride and it performed excellent. Slowly, it is turning into the bike I have dreamed about.

New coils and battery.

New wires - yes I know my head bolts are rusted!

New tires, chain, and sprockets

2009-07-16T17:21:00.000-04:00

Mileage: 9108
Man, this dang bike need everything. Although the tires on the bike had tread left there was dry rot on the side walls. I didn't lke the idea f the tire letting go at 75 miles per hour so I whipped out the Mastercard. I was going to fit Michelin Pilot Power CT2s but my sense got the better of me and I decided on a tire that lasts longer. At the last minute I changed my mind and chose the Michelin Pilot Road 2. I thought about the grippier Powers but I thought "I am really not going to be on the edge of the tire that much?" I read a bunch of reviews and a lot of people said the Road 2s are a great combination of grip, wet weather performance, and mileage so I went with them. I am happy with their performance so far.

The chain and sprockets were the ones that came with the bike and they had so much gunk on them. I removed the old ones and replaced them with the new parts I got from CA Cycleworks. The chain tool I bought worked great! Glad I spent the money on it. I installed the JT 15 tooth front and the JT 39 tooth rear and the new DID chain VM520 98 link x-ring chain and got much better take offs than the stock 15/37 gearing.

I only rode a few miles but the bike felt a lot better. It still had bad throttle response and sputtering. I will change more parts tomorrow!

Wheels off getting new tires.

New chain and sprockets with 2 added teeth on rear.

Stock exhaust installed

2009-07-15T17:15:00.003-04:00

Mileage: 9108
I finally got back to Florida where my bike is and fitted the stock exhaust. Once I new the correct order for the washers and the spacers it took all of three minutes. The bike is much quieter and the neighbors and my girlfriend love me. I love the look and even the sound of the D&D pipes but the bike is much quieter and I am not setting off car alarms any more!

Didn't ride today just swapped exhaust.

Not too snazzy looking, but nice and quiet.

Chain tool on the cheap

2009-07-07T14:50:00.001-04:00

I have been stressing about how to get my old chain off of the bike and get the new one on. I have read all kinds of stuff about making your own tools, using center punches and Dremel tools, but I really wanted a D.I.D. KM501E Chain Tool. They are over $100 and I am only going to change the chain every 8000 miles. I have been searching around for a while and finally came across a knock off on eBay. I was skeptical but I came across this article and the user gave it excellent reviews. I went ahead and ordered it for $45 shipped. I will report on on how good it is here.

When I worked in my father's muffler shop as a teen, he always said I should buy quality tools. Of course this is when he thought I might be a professional mechanic for the rest of my life. I am not a pro wrencher so I have changed my thoughts on this idea. If it's something I will use a lot, like wrenches, I will buy a good set, but a chain breaker/riveter? I will probably use this 3 times in my life so I figured I would save some money and get the knock off. Apologies to D.I.D. if you sponsor this site I will buy your tool. All of this being said, my father has been spotted at Harbor Freight more than once...

No more stressing about odd chain removal methods.

Exhausting exhaust

2009-07-04T17:31:00.004-04:00

Jeesh. It seems I suffer from the male disease of notreadingthedirectionsitis. The stock mufflers were too close because I had the spacer on the wrong side of the muffler bracket. I will try to refit the stock pipes when I return to Florida. I now have a factory service manual and a parts manual in PDF format so I can dig in and see how things are supposed to be. The manuals have very clear breakouts of where parts go and in what order.

I think refitting the stock exhaust will solve some of my problems. It seems that after the D&D cans were installed the carbs were never rejetted or adjusted properly resulting in poor idle and backfiring. I am going to start by getting the stock mufflers mounted and the returning the carbs to their stock settings.

Happy 4th everybody!

This is how the parts are ordered on the bracket.

Wounded Duc - Great Service!

2009-06-30T08:56:00.002-04:00

Mark Hattan over at Wounded Duc contacted me today and sincerely apologized for the missing pieces from the clutch slave. He told me to order new replacement parts from Evoluzione and he would refund the difference. This kind of old school service is very rare. Sure, people make mistakes, especially in the contorted universe of used parts, but it's the conscientious dealer that takes the time to rectify the problem and sees to it that his customers are satisfied. I am sure I will be needing more stuff him so it's great to know he takes pride in his company. A big thumbs up to Mark over at Wounded Duc!

Some of these small missing parts are now enroute.

First mechanical work and long ride

2009-06-27T09:43:00.000-04:00

I finally got back down to Florida to see my Ducati. I have been shipping parts to my parent's house and there was quite a pile when I got there. Basically everything I talked about ordering on this blog was stacked neatly in their guest room. I picked up the parts and loaded them into my girlfriend's Nissan Xterra.

I needed to register the bike and transfer my license to the state of Florida so my dad drove me and my girlfriend over to the St. Johns County DMV. It was an amazing place with no long lines and very organized. I went to get my license and they said I needed more ID than I had with me to transfer my NYC license. I was worried that I couldn't get a plate for my bike and my first ride would be thwarted. Strike 1...

Low and behold the gods of vehicle registration shined on me, and the agent told me I could register the bike as long as I had Florida insurance (I did). I would be able to ride the bike as long as I had my motorcycle endorsement on my current NYC license (I do). I got my tag and left the building excited. My first real ride will happen soon I thought - OK a hit!

I wanted to get to work but I had my class reunion mixer (1983) to go to that evening so the parts would have to wait. The reunion as fun yet somewhat melancholy for me. Everybody seemed to have nice families and great jobs, and here I was still figuring out what to do with my life now that I realized I will never be a rock star. I feel lucky though, as I have done a lot of great things in my life. I am also starting a new relationship with a great woman after a very tough divorce and losing touch with my step daughter. It was very bizarre seeing these people from high school, many of which I have not seen in 25 years.

I woke up very early on Saturday and headed to the garage. The bike looked great from a distance but up close were the signs of neglect and sitting in the hot Florida sun. I didn't have the oil yet for my oil change so I decided to fit any parts I could before heading over to Big Bike to get some Mobil 1 V-Twin oil.

I unboxed my Cycle Cat front stand that I got a killer deal on from oncycles.com and propped the bike up on it's front wheel. I have to admit it looked pretty cool as if it were in the paddock of some MotoGP race about to begin. I shook this fantasies of Mugello and Assen race tracks out of my head realizing I had work to do...

I started with the mufflers. As a teenager I had worked as a muffler installer and pipe fitter at my father's Meineke Muffler shop. We moved to Jacksonville in 1977 from New Jersey so my dad could pursue his dream to own his own shop. He was always a gear head as was my older brother John. We worked side by side for many years at that shop so anytime I do anything remotely related to exhaust work, I flash back to the days in the muffler shop. It was the location of many good times and hard times. It was where I learned to work with my hands and understand what it means to have a work ethic. My bands would even practice there after hours, blasting punk music as loud as we could in the cinder block building, undisturbed on University Boulevard on the Southside of Jax. I spent many an hour in that shop with my first bike, a 1980 Honda Hawk, polishing it and bolting on cafe racer style parts. I thought how strange it was to be changing a muffler in Jacksonville after all of these year - something I thought I would never do again...

The swap was incredibly easy for the mufflers. Just a hanger bracket to loosen and the thunderously loud D&D carbon fiber pipes slid right off. As a younger man I would have loved the racket these things produce but I am older, calmer, and certainly more peaceful than my angst filled youth. I slipped the factory pipes on that I purchased off of a forum member at Ducati.ms and slipped the bolt into the hanger. Easy right? Well hold on, the muffler was almost touching the swing arm. There was only 1/16" of clearance and that did not seem right. The bike was obviously involved in a left side crash. I knew this when I bought it, but did not know the extent of the damage. The hanger, which is also the bracket for the rear passenger peg, was bent and possibly the mounting points on the frame - or maybe both. I didn't feel good about this clearance and I did not have a pry bar to "adjust" the bracket and frame so I reinstalled the D&D carbon fiber can. Strike one again...

I cleaned up a little and headed over to Pep boys to pick up supplies. I got shop rags, screwdrivers, a bleeder bottle, brake fluid, oil catch pan, metric wrenches, degreaser, Goop hand cleaner, WD40, an oil filter wrench, and some other things. I then went to Big Bike and got some Mobil 1 Full Synthetic oil specifically engineered for V-Twins. This place is a chopper shop so I am sure the guy thinks I have some hog and not a Ducati. The oil is expensive with 4 quarts ringing up at a princely $60! But I want the engine to be as protected as possible, so it's worth it. I headed back to the house to resume the wrenching.

I noticed when I tried to move the bike the clutch would not engage. I knew the clutch slave cylinder was leaking, but I did not know how bad the damage was. I decided I would tackle the clutch slave replacement next. I originally ordered an upgraded piston for the stock slave, but I later saw a deal on an Evoluzione aluminum billet slave and purchased that. I pulled off the sprocket guard and I was horrified at what I saw. There was a mound of gunk around the counter-shaft sprocket. I scooped some of it out and set the cover aside. I will deal with that later, one step at a time. I unbolted the slave and pulled it away from the engine case and there was a great deal of leakage . I wiped it away the mess and went to install the new slave. I looked at my instructions and realized that Wounded Duc where I bought the used part from, did not send me all of the parts for the slave. There was no way to install it without these 2 rubber rings that should have come with it so I would have to wait on installing the part. Strike two...

It was a good thing I ordered the Evoluzione updated piston. I tapped the old slave on a piece of cardboard to get the old piston out and finally had to resort to using pliers to extract it. It was totally gunked up and ruined. I cleaned the slave housing thoroughly, lubed the new piston with some Castrol GTLMA brake fluid, and pressed it in. I bolted it back on the bike, filled the reservoir, and started to try and bleed it conventionally out the bottom bleeder valve. I was not getting any feel in the lever because there was so much air in the line, but I recalled reading about a trick on the Ducati.ms board. Instead of using the bleeder valve at the slave, the tip stated to just loosen the banjo bolt at the top by the master cylinder and let the air out. Once I did this, the lever tightened up and the clutch now worked. I pumped it up a few more times to be sure all of the bubbles were out. I was happy that I would be able to ride today and also ecstatic that I actually fixed something on the first vehicle I have owned in 9 years. Another hit!

I changed the oil next and that went smoothly. I pulled out the drain plug and examined it as the used black oil dumped into the oil pan. There were no metal shavings or engine chunks on the magnet of the plug so I felt good about that. I twisted off the oil filter with the new oil filter pliers and let it clunk into the oil pan. The oil was definitely used as it looked very black and worn. I filled the bike up with 3 quarts of the golden expensive lubricant and started the bike and let it cycle for a little while. I topped off the oil being sure it was just slightly below the maximum fill line on the sight glass on the side of the engine case. I bolted the fairings back on and cleaned the bike up a little with some spray wax. It was now ready for a spin. I took a few gulps of water and washed my hands.

There are moments in our lives we never forget and this was surely going to be one of them - my first real ride on a bike in over 17 years. I pulled on my Agostini helmet, cranked the bike, and wheeled out of the drive way. I turned onto San Jose Boulevard and gassed the bike, shifting well before the redline. I recalled the many rides on all of my previous bikes and remembered how great it was to be out on two wheels. I passed many landmarks of my youth. The movie theater in San Marco, and the now defunct club Applejacks where we used to sneak in under age and get drinks and watch blues. It was a great flood of emotion and I was stunned how life can come full circle. I never thought I would be riding a bike in Jacksonville again as I first did some 26 years ago, and yet here I am. The bike is in a bad state of tune and needs a ton of more work, but I take pleasure that I have a purpose. With the repairs and maintenance comes a zen like peace. I didn't go very far on my ride, probably 10 miles. But it was a beautiful beginning in the journey of being not only a motorcyclist but a happy person.

Is a front pit stand cool or what?

A little too close for comfort.

Pass the degreaser.

Phil Read Helmet scored!

2009-06-22T22:39:00.003-04:00

Okay, this is the helmet I wanted since I started looking for the Ducati to buy. I love checkerboard because of my punk rock roots and and I like 70's racers because I rode my first motorcycle in the 70's (In fact a Honda 70). The helmet is a Phil Read replica. Phil was a Yamaha and MV Agusta rider in the 70's. He was the last guy to win on 4 stroke bike (1974) until the advent of MotoGP in 2002! I am afraid this will have to complete my helmet collection as the coffers are low and I need real bike parts like tires! Don't ask me why, but for some reason I wanted Phil Read's helmet and Giacomo Agostini's helmet. Probably inspired by a picture I saw of the 2 of them battling it out on MV Agustas. Now I have both helmets. This now ends my helmet collecting - we now resume the regularly scheduled broadcast...

Ska anyone? My new cool Phil Read helmet...

My helmet collection inspiration. Read chasing Agostini.

Quiet Please!

2009-06-18T21:43:00.002-04:00

I guess if I were younger and I didn't build extremely loud guitar amplifiers, I would love the sound of the D&D pipes I got with the bike. They are VERY loud. They are carbon fiber and look cool, but beyond saving what's left of my own hearing, I also want to be considerate of the neighbors in the quaint neighborhood where I will be living for the next year. I was eyeing a set of stock mufflers on eBay but I didn't jump at the buy it now price and got sniped by somebody as I was trying to snipe myself! Once again the Ducati.ms forum to the rescue. Within a few hours of posting a "wanted to buy" for stock mufflers in the classified section, a very nice guy emailed a price for $140 shipped for a pair in great shape. I jumped on the offer. I realize I have been spending a lot of money on the bike but I am getting some nice deals from great people. By purchasing these pipes, my relationship with my girlfriend just got a few decibels better as she often starts the bike up for me when I am away!

I got a good deal on these stock pipes.

Chain and sprockets, and brake pads

2009-06-18T21:26:00.002-04:00

I am really going to get the 900ss road ready. I figured I need to go so I ordered a new set of chain and sprockets from CA Cycleworks. They had a great deal on a DID chain VM520 98 link x-ring chain. They ship fast and have great customer service. I emailed them twice today and they responded quickly both times. I also got a JT 15 tooth front sprocket and a JT 39 tooth rear sprocket. This is two more teeth on the rear than stock at the advice of many SS riders on the the Ducati.ms board. This will help with smoother take offs and using all of the gears. I may also go down to a 14 tooth on the front just to try it around the city. I will be doing some short tours so I will keep both on hand and switch as needed. Now that I know my bike will go, I need it to stop. I decided to get new brake pads all around. I have not even checked the ones on the bike but I will will feel better knowing I have new anchors on the old boat. I got Ferodo Platinum Brake pads for all calipers in the same order as the chain from CA Cycleworks. I need to get the rotors in shape with a 3M Scotch-Brite pad. They have rust in spots and I want to get them shiny. I am shipping all of this stuff to my parents house in Florida. They are probably getting crazy seeing this huge pile of stuff building up in their garage. I love you mom and dad...

A new chain and sprockets is always a good thing.