Ducati ST2 : Amateur Restoration Take 2

[billysugger]

I don't know if anyone else has noticed it, but LEDs do not appear to have a visible beam, ie all you see is the focus point. If I turn my spots on they are very bright, but only at the point the light hits the ground, yet if I shine a normal bulbed torch on the same area it also illuminates the surrounding area between torch and road

[RideWithStyles]

Yes what ive/we’ve all been saying, The focus point is very narrow compared to filiment bulbs, which is the beam .

which is also why they are terrible for quoting an actual accurate lums and kelvin, unless you talking PROPER industrial bulbs.

 

case in point- most industries (and pet trade) still use fili bulbs for very accurate light reproduction (d65, tl84, cool white, warm white, uv etc), consistency, and no they don’t last years (shouldn’t do as they should be replaced after X time as they do degrade over time if), aint cheap and the bulbs dont come from b&q….one of the tools in my every day use.

same with tv monitors, the most accurate ones aint LEDs…the only thing most LEDs do are die not together inthough they are grouped together nor consistently.

 

Edited February 12 by RideWithStyles

[Hairsy]

10 hours ago, RideWithStyles said:

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.

 

It hasn't been on the road since MoTs went online. And I have tax discs for the first 2 years of its life but none after that. I have a suspicion that it's never been for an MoT before.

 

And, yes, my plan is to make a masking plate to replace the tape. I'm thinking beer can ...

Edited February 13 by Hairsy

[Hairsy]

Good news - MoT passed.

 

I'll do the permanent version of the headlight fix in a couple of weeks when I have time.

 

Almost there!

 

I'd like to enjoy the bike for a while but it will almost certainly be up for sale in the not too distant future. This thread is about as comprehensive an honest advert as you could get so if anyone's been following and thinks they might be interested then please feel free to drop me a PM - I can guarantee you a complete lack of pressure selling if you do have questions.

 

There's a few on Autotrader and the market seems to have settled on a standard asking price of £2,500 without panniers - and I do have panniers.

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-search?make=DUCATI&model=ST2&postcode=bh235bl&price-from=500&saved-search-id=8a42aba194e0a9c30194f0f7f06e2401

[Simon Davey]

That's good news on the MOT pass.

She is a beauty, if she wasn't so similar to my current bike I'd be tempted.

[RideWithStyles]

4 hours ago, Hairsy said:

 

It hasn't been on the road since MoTs went online. And I have tax discs for the first 2 years of its life but none after that. I have a suspicion that it's never been for an MoT before.

 

And, yes, my plan is to make a masking plate to replace the tape. I'm thinking beer can ...

Gov.org - mot checker - all you need is your plate. 
https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history
 

[RideWithStyles]

3 hours ago, Hairsy said:

Good news - MoT passed.

 

I'll do the permanent version of the headlight fix in a couple of weeks when I have time.

 

Almost there!

 

I'd like to enjoy the bike for a while but it will almost certainly be up for sale in the not too distant future. This thread is about as comprehensive an honest advert as you could get so if anyone's been following and thinks they might be interested then please feel free to drop me a PM - I can guarantee you a complete lack of pressure selling if you do have questions.

 

There's a few on Autotrader and the market seems to have settled on a standard asking price of £2,500 without panniers - and I do have panniers.

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-search?make=DUCATI&model=ST2&postcode=bh235bl&price-from=500&saved-search-id=8a42aba194e0a9c30194f0f7f06e2401

If I didn’t have the Suzuki I’d be very tempted. Its a peach.

[Hairsy]

Ever the impatient one, I decided that I'd like to end the day with everything done.

 

So, once again, headlight off and a Guinness Zero can has been put to good use.

 

Pictures are of the original, the test fix that got it through the MoT and then finally the permanent fix.

 

 

 

 

All now back together and I'll do the final beam alignment check when it gets dark.

[Simon Davey]

F*ck me! that's a decent job.

Edited February 13 by Simon Davey

[Hairsy]

A little extension to the project.

 

I took the bike out today for some fun in the sun. It delivered all the fun but when I returned I gave it a close inspection and saw some fluid seeping from the clutch hose.

 

With that in mind, I'm going to replace the clutch and front brake hoses with braided hoses. Although the brake hoses look fine, there's no way I can ride the bike (or sell it with a clear conscience) with brake hoses that are the same age as a clearly aged clutch hose. I've already upgraded the rear hose so this will give the bike a full set of new hoses.

 

Not sure this work is interesting / worthy of a detailed description but I'll update when its done.

 

First job is to motivate myself to remove all the fairings again!

[Hairsy]

And off we go again ...

 

 

[Simon Davey]

Keeping us entertained though

[Tinkicker]

Welcome to the wonderful world of motorcycle restoration....

[Hairsy]

A little shout out for motorcycleproducts.co.uk

 

When I ordered my HEL rear braided hose a few weeks ago, I was able to order it with gold banjo bolts. These look superb with the gold Ducati chassis.

 

When looking to order my new HEL clutch and brake hoses, I wanted to get the gold banjos again. I found that ordering the hoses direct from HEL was much more expensive than ordering them via 3rd parties. However, none of those 3rd parties offered the gold banjos on their websites.

 

I got in touch with some of those 3rd parties to see if they could get the gold fittings. I got "computer says no" responses from most but Arnie from motorcycleproducts.co.uk said he hadn't come across this before but it seemed the sort of thing that he might be able to help with. So he did some behind the scenes checking for me and found out that he could arrange it. The cost was a little more than his standard price but still less than ordering direct from HEL.

 

These days its quite rare to find someone who is (a) great value and (b) still wanting to deliver great service.

 

Hoses are now ordered ...

Edited March 3 by Hairsy

[Hairsy]

I know I've already given a little credit but let me just add that my custom made HEL hoses arrived through my front door only 40 hours after I ordered them. That's amazing. I have no affiliation with them but massive kudos again to motorcycleproducts.co.uk.

 

 

As I've always found with HEL hoses, they're made beautifully and come with new banjo bolts and crush washers. Really impressed.

 

Fitting them was pretty standard stuff. Ducati are big fans of the cable tie so plenty of those to cut off and then everything fitted as it should. Each hose had the right angle of fitting for its routing and it was all pretty simple.

 

I generally make a bit of a mess when I'm bleeding brakes single handed and I was true to form. However the bleeding went smoothly and everything is now functional and fairings are back in place. I'm really glad that I enquired to find the gold banjos. It's a tiny touch of customisation on what is, otherwise, a completely standard bike - and I'm allowing myself that personal touch. After all, braided hoses aren't standard anyway.

 

The other drift away from factory spec was that I opted for a race brake hose setup which has two hoses from the master cylinder, one going directly to each caliper. The standard setup goes to the right caliper and then passes over the front wheel to the left side. The race setup is cheaper (due to simpler fittings) and, in my experience, easier to bleed.

 

 

 

Looking at the pictures, the paint on the reservoir caps has been affected by the brake fluid so I'm just off to touch those up in a moment. And I reckon I can get the calipers a bit cleaner too!

 

Otherwise, hopefully, the bike is now done and I can enjoy her for a bit before selling. I've no intention of advertising just yet but if anyone might be interested in buying then drop me a message.

[Hairsy]

Just in the interests of documenting my whole journey, a little update.

 

Took the bike out in the glorious sunshine today and had a lovely little ride. I still find it slightly odd going from the silky smooth inline 4 of my Z1000SX onto the less smooth but oh so characterful L twin of this Ducati. I need to consciously keep the revs higher but, when I do, she really does pull impressively. Definitely puts a little smile on my face and there's more power than this slightly nervous middle aged man needs.

 

There were absolutely no problems today but I did find I needed a small adjustment. With the new braided clutch line that I fitted yesterday, the biting point of the clutch moved further out. The lack of give in the new hose means the clutch gets actuated earlier in the stroke of the lever. It was a nice easy adjustment though - popped the lever out, adjusted the adjusting screw and popped it back in. And it's now biting where I like it.

 

On the other side of the bars, the front brakes feel more 'solid' with the braided hoses - just as you'd expect.

 

The other noticeable thing today was that it was 12 degrees and I was still in my winter gear - wow was I hot!

[Hairsy]

The bike has become my daily but I'm under mounting pressure to create some garage space so the bike is advertised. I've toyed with the idea of it replacing my Z1000SX but I've just got a thing for the ultra smoothness of an inline 4.

 

If anyone is interested ... https://www.gumtree.com/p/ducati-motorbikes/ducati-st2-1998-low-mileage-restored-by-enthusiast-complete-with-factory-panniers/1494760515

[Simon Davey]

Sad to see in some ways, but you should be so proud as she's absolutely stunning in the sunshine. 

[Egon247]

naaw, hope it goes to a good home. It deserves it after all the love you've ploughed into it!