Well Brands went well, probably because I didn't take a motorcycle onto the track. I met up with a few guys off the Ducati forum and picked up a brand new right hand side fairing lower for the Ducati. To get it home I cable tied it to the grab handles of the Kawasaki, which must have looked a little weird, but it worked. In more fairing news, my tail section and new fairing panels are currently sitting in a DHL warehouse somewhere near Birmingham, awaiting their swift journey down the M1 or M40 to the big smoke. If they are really lucky they may even get to fly. The last time parts of my Ducati went flying was September last year when I spent the day with Rapid training.
On the way home I popped in on Mike and Artur to confirm the details of a forthcoming ride out and to order a few little bits and bobs. While there I talked through my water pump problem, not that one, the one on the Ducati, and Artur not only spoke me through what I needed to do, but he also lent me some gasket sealant which saved me having to drop forty quid on a tube of the stuff.
On the way home I popped in on Mike and Artur to confirm the details of a forthcoming ride out and to order a few little bits and bobs. While there I talked through my water pump problem, not that one, the one on the Ducati, and Artur not only spoke me through what I needed to do, but he also lent me some gasket sealant which saved me having to drop forty quid on a tube of the stuff.
I was really pleased with my work today. I had to drain all the coolant out of the engine, so I found a clean plastic tub which fitted the bill. After waiting about ten mins, I unscrewed the bolts and got my Thor leather mallet and proceeded to smack my Ducati. Yep, I was sitting in the garage, spanking the side of my Ducati with a flippin hammer. Thankfully the leather is softer than the metal, so the leather deforms but still directs the required force into the seal, which came free after a few choice strikes.
After removing the old sealant, drying and cleaning the surfaces, I spread a generous amount of the new sealant onto the back of the water pump cover and popped it back on. After loctiting and screwing the bolts down, I waited for 45mins for it to cure. Basically I went inside and watched an episode of Quantum Leap, anyway.... I refilled the coolant, fired the bike up and waited for the fan to kick in. It didn't leak, which I'm overly proud of. As I type, I'm waiting for the bike to cool before I top up the rest of the coolant and put the right ram air duct back on. Saying that, I'll probably do that when I get home after work tomorrow, because I'm comfy now and I've a cup of tea on the go.
After removing the old sealant, drying and cleaning the surfaces, I spread a generous amount of the new sealant onto the back of the water pump cover and popped it back on. After loctiting and screwing the bolts down, I waited for 45mins for it to cure. Basically I went inside and watched an episode of Quantum Leap, anyway.... I refilled the coolant, fired the bike up and waited for the fan to kick in. It didn't leak, which I'm overly proud of. As I type, I'm waiting for the bike to cool before I top up the rest of the coolant and put the right ram air duct back on. Saying that, I'll probably do that when I get home after work tomorrow, because I'm comfy now and I've a cup of tea on the go.
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