Ducati ST2 : Amateur Restoration Take 2

[Hairsy]

Only very minor things today but couldn't manage to spend a whole day without doing something:

 

- Checked chain tension - something has clearly bedded in and it needed slightly tightening

- Checked torque on both axles and all brake calipers - all fine

- Ordered replacements for the tools that were missing from the original toolkit (the original bag and a couple of tools were there but some bits were missing)

- Front forks felt a bit firm so dropped the pre-load a little. Feels better now. Added a cable tie to stanchion so I can check travel after riding.

- Checked tyre pressures - tyre fitter had set them both too hard so dropped to factory spec (32/36 psi).

 

I'm afraid none of that felt picture-worthy!

 

Tomorrow I may see if I can get an MoT booked for later in the week ...

[Egon247]

9 hours ago, Hairsy said:

 

- Checked torque on both axles and all brake calipers - all fine

 

I was watching an old "dirty garage guy" YT vid the other day (his troll stuff gets a bit dull after a while) and he mentioned that he puts a blob of paint pen on bolts he's torqued up, so he knows he's done it, which I thought was a bloody good idea. That nagging doubt at the back of your mind gets to you after a while.

Might go and do mine when I'm in the man cave.

[Hairsy]

Sorted insurance this morning and so I've just taken the bike round the block for a pre MoT shakedown test. All seems as it should be. The only work when I got back was to slightly lower the gear and brake levers to my preference.

 

Too early to assess the bike. Only notable things are a little less front brake bite then my Z1000SX but more rear bite. The rear on the Z1000SX is terrible. 

 

I then called the local MoT guy to find he's off sick. Hopefully back tomorrow, in which case it might still be done this week.

[Simon Davey]

Yay, this is so cool. 

(I couldn't find a butch biker guy's way of saying that). 

Edited February 5 by Simon Davey

[Hairsy]

On 13/01/2025 at 17:44, Hairsy said:

I'm a little concerned about the speedo. The drive unit is working fine and the speedo cable is rotating at the speedo end when the wheel is spun. However the speedo itself doesn't seem to be reading anything. Maybe it's because the speedo starts at 10 mph and I'm not spinning it fast enough. But I'm not sure - no doubt I'll find out 

 

Forgot to mention - the speedo is working fine.

[Egon247]

I was having a think about this the other day, in that I've got new pads all round and will need to bed them in before the MOT, so might have to book one about 30 miles away.

 

I won't cross my fingers as I know the Ducati will pass with flying colours....

 

 

[Hairsy]

I decided yesterday that any owner is going to need to trickle charge the bike from time to time and currently that requires 20 minutes of fairing removal. So I fitted a cable directly from the battery to a connector for my Ctek charger under the seat.

 

It all worked fine but then I pondered my work yesterday evening and decided that I wasn't happy not fusing that cable. If the cable melted or got caught on something (either in day to day use or during an accident) then it could very easily earth itself. And then there would be a rather fast unimpeded dumping of electrons from the battery.

 

So today I took it all apart again and fitted an inline fuse at the battery so now I can sleep easy.

 

Except I can't - I've booked the MoT for tomorrow ...

Edited February 11 by Hairsy

[Simon Davey]

Good luck with the MOT, we're rooting for you.  

[Hairsy]

Well that was frustrating!

 

The bike shop was ever so complimentary about the bike - and then failed it.

 

The reason is that the headlamp unit that's fitted is for right hand drive. I didn't even think to check this but it's clear from the beam that it kicks up to the right, into the eye of oncoming traffic.

 

 

I've taken the headlight assembly out and it appears to be the original, with a manufacturing date that matches the bike. It's marked E3 which, having done a bit of research, means that it's for the Italian market. The V5 says its a UK model and the speedo is mph only which backs this up so I can only think that the factory simply ran out of the correct parts and chucked the wrong headlight on.

 

So I now need to try to source a correct headlamp unit. There's plenty advertised on eBay and they claim to be UK models - but if I'd sold mine before today then I'd have advertised it as a UK model too. So I've started the process of contacting sellers to ask them how sure they are that what they're selling is genuinely for the UK market.

 

As I say, very frustrating.

[billysugger]

Yes, be very careful about headlights.

I bought a brand  new replacement for my 500,as the lens was plastic and beginning to fog. Headlight came from a reputable dealer so you would expect it to be OK.

Err, sadly no. light was really good quality, being all metal, and fitted in place like a glove. I wired it all up, turned it on and the difference was blinding (excuse the pun).

It was then I noticed the glaringly obvious, the beam pattern was the wrong way round,like yours.

I took it all off, repacked ready to return then contacted the seller. The response?

It's CE marked so legal to use, so would not accept its return. I pointed out the CE mark just meant it was made in, and for, the European market where they ride on the wrong side of the road but no joy. Its still stuck on a shelf in my lock-up

[Hairsy]

Initial responses from breakers weren't promising - lots of assurance that headlights were from UK models but also confirmation that they were marked E3 (i.e. Italy).

 

So I got to thinking that this must be a common issue and there would be info online - but, no. I can't find anything.

 

So I decided to delve into the headlight in case I could see any way of resolving the problem myself.

 

The E3 marking to show it's made for Italy. And I suspect the arrow may also be clue to the side of the road that its intended to be used on.

 

Looking inside the headlight, you can see a piece of alloy (looks black in the picture) that is causing the beam to angle up to the right hand side.

 

 

So I removed the headlight unit from its plastic surround.

 

Then took the low beam projector off.

 

And split it to give me access to the bit of alloy that's creating the beam shape.

 

And then I just used some good old fashioned insulating tape to blank off the section that's letting the unwanted light through. I'm hoping that this will be a good enough way to blank the light but, at this stage, I'm just keen to see if the solution is along the right lines. I can always consider a more sophisticated solution later.

 

So I then put it all back together and tried it out - and its much improved. I wouldn't say it's perfect as the perfectly shaped alloy makes a more defined line than my insulating tape, but I'm really hopeful that it's good enough.

 

MoT retest is booked for the morning. The guy on the phone sounded sceptical that I'd fixed it this quickly!

 

 

 

 

[Punts]

If it's possible, leave the light off till you get to the test station.

There's an chance the heat from the bulb will distort/shrink the tape.

A permanent fix would be to make up a new deflector with the bias the other way.

 

[Hairsy]

48 minutes ago, Punts said:

If it's possible, leave the light off till you get to the test station.

There's an chance the heat from the bulb will distort/shrink the tape.

A permanent fix would be to make up a new deflector with the bias the other way.

 

 

Very good point - thank you.

 

There's a lot of curves to the deflector so making a replacement is probably beyond my skills. However, could possibly manufacture something out of a drinks can to replace my tape and then dremmel out the bias section to the other side.

 

The key thing for tomorrow is whether they agree it's better. If so then it will give me the motivation to pursue this solution.

[Hairsy]

So here's the before and after. Before was taken in the light and after in the dark but I'm hoping the kick to the right has diminished enough. I plan to re-do the modification with some aluminium at some point, and can always add more if need be, but I'm keen to have as much light as the MoT will allow me.

 

I'll find out what MoT guy thinks tomorrow ...

 

[billysugger]

Isn't there any way of creating a mirror image of your first pic? The reason being that's the pattern they look for in the MOT. you don't necessarily need the high beam side to match, but the low beam is critical

[Hairsy]

Yes, it's definitely possible. However the alloy piece that creates the shape of the beam is relatively complex - it's not a flat piece and it will need to be created pretty much perfectly to do its job. I'm concerned that I don't have the manufacturing skills for it. Of course you may be right and that could end up being what I need to do but I think / hope there are easier ways, retaining the current piece as the foundation and then customising it.

 

There's always the option of finding someone who does have the skills who can make me a mirror image of the part.

 

When I talked to the MoT guy about it, he said that the kick up to the right was the problem, not the lack of kick up to the left.

 

I believe that more modern headlights have a flat beam so that they can be used with only a direction adjustment.

 

I'm the first to admit that I could be wrong though - I'll find out tomorrow.

Edited February 12 by Hairsy

[billysugger]

That is why I said a mirror image. the low line on the left needs to be replicated as much as you can on the right

[billysugger]

Try here

 

https://ridershandbook.com/bikes-and-equipment/how-to-align-your-motorcycle-headlight-for-mot/

[Hairsy]

47 minutes ago, billysugger said:

Try here

 

https://ridershandbook.com/bikes-and-equipment/how-to-align-your-motorcycle-headlight-for-mot/

Thank you - that’s really helpful. 
 

It does confirm that there is no requirement for a kick up to the left. That gives me optimism that a solution is within my grasp, even if the current one doesn’t do the job. 
 

Of course I’ll be even happier if it does pass tomorrow, in which case I’ll make a better version of my current solution. 
 

The document also says that I could pass the MoT using a deflector made from a piece of tape but I want something more elegant than that. 

[billysugger]

The idea behind the kick up was just to illuminate hedges and other stuff at the nearside as well as the road, I'm not certain its a legal requirement like the  RHS

[V650]

Is there any kind of plastic deflector sticky on thing like you used to get for car headlights driving on the continent ?

Like these but for a bike 

 

Edited February 12 by V650

[Hairsy]

2 hours ago, billysugger said:

Try here

 

https://ridershandbook.com/bikes-and-equipment/how-to-align-your-motorcycle-headlight-for-mot/

 

Thank you - that's really helpful.

 

It confirms that there's no need for a kick up on the left so it will depend whether the tester is satisfied with how much I've reduced the kick up on the right. It could do with a little more than I've achieved so far and I'll aim to do that when I create a more permanent fix. To be frank, I'm just impatient to get the MoT sorted. And, also, tomorrow is my last opportunity to get a free retest as I can't get to the MoT place next week - so there's nothing to lose by trying.

 

And in response to V650, yes, it's possible to pass the MoT by applying stickers - but I'd really like to find a more elegant solution if I can.

[billysugger]

Someone may come along and put me right, but if you just mask the lens you end up with a daylight only MOT, meaning you could not ride after what is known as "lights on" which is when Street lights are turned on, not just when it's dark

[Hairsy]

5 minutes ago, billysugger said:

Someone may come along and put me right, but if you just mask the lens you end up with a daylight only MOT, meaning you could not ride after what is known as "lights on" which is when Street lights are turned on, not just when it's dark

 

The article you linked to says

 

If it kicks up to the right, or direct from the vertical zero percent line, then you can use a shroud or a mask to hide this. This should only be a temporary measure, but make sure it doesn’t cover too much of the headlight, as it’s at the MOT tester’s discretion as to whether it unduly reduces the light output from the unit.

[RideWithStyles]

I’m surprised it passed any previous mots.

id be fashion a small flat alu play to cover it it up, two tiny bolts to hold it in place.

If it was possible, like a naked bike I’d adjust the whole light assembly, tilt/rotate it to the left! 
 

Yeah modern LEDs have a flat wide beam to get round the problem so it’s shit no matter what country side of the road you have to ride on.

It’s fine for cars but down right dangerous for bikes! It has to tilt to turn the fing muppets

i know I had to bike one for four fooking years with it fixed without any stupid motors or gyros to correct it…..extra fooking super retarded EU barsturds.