it's a small world. 2 months ago I was snapping clutch rods and found the culprit to be a bad input shaft carrier bearing. Quotes to fix were in the $600 to $800 range, so I just put the bike away for the winter with the intention of tackling it myself in January or so. Always scanning CL for deals, came across a guy parting a 98 SSFE, a few emails exchanged and it turns out he not only knows my good friend Tim (PO of the bike) but he's the PO before Tim and a total Ducati nut. You wouldn't believe the Monster he's building, but that's another story. Anyway, we strike a deal so good I can't pass it up, and before you know it, he's delivering the motor last Saturday morning and helping Tim and me with the transfer. Really great guy. So now I have a 98 motor in my 93, which interestingly enough, was a lot like putting a 3.2 in a 74. It basically fits, but there's some wiring and other minor changes that need to be addressed, the good news is I now have a 3-phase alternator and regulator.
The swap also revealed 2 things:
1. Front 14 tooth gear was missing 4, FOUR teeth. We replaced with a 15.
2. The reason for the original motor's demise was (almost certainly) a missing clutch guide.
Getting that part and a regulator, and on the first press of the start button, the thing fired to life and runs better than the original motor. By a lot!
have driven around now in 35-45 degree weather and found that I have a very cold chin and cold fingers. Legs a little two.
Any recommendations on heated glove liners, or winter gloves? Can I use my ski gloves? What do I do about my chin? The super-heavy Furygan jacket, even without the liner and just a thermal T and wool shirt underneath was super toasty. Assuming clean roads, I plan on driving it all winter.
A few pics.
