Motorcycling, like life, always likes to make things just that little bit harder than they need to be. This morning I set about returning my Ducati back to 'street settings' thats is to say, refit the better body work and remove the R&G clutch cover, which although an excellent piece of protective equipment, allows my clutch to cook when riding in London. I think this was also the cause of the pressure plate bearing seizing. Anyway, so I took the track body work off and cleaned the bike using some Autoglym stuff, which really is rather good and set about fitting my new carbon mudguard and belly pan that arrived a few weeks ago. The mudguard fitted beautifully, but this wasnt really the case with the belly pan. Sadly, like with many aftermarket bits of bodywork, I had to 'modify' them a little to ensure a good fit. This basically meant widening the holes when the M5 rubber nuts sat and the holes that joined both parts of the pan together. Using a sanding drill bit, this took ages as I didn't want to go too far. Its not like you can glue back carbon fibre dust back on now is it. So after widening the holes just enough and convincing it to all go back together, this is the result.
The first photo is the bike striped down for cleaning, with the original mudguard removed, which is why it looks like its been front ended. As you can see the new part are a lovely satin finish carbon fibre, which really goes well with the gloss panels. This does mean I need/want to change the other plastic parts. If anybody wants to sponsor my bike, I'm happy to negotiate.
So, there I was just getting ready to finish to job and lube the chain and I found out I had run out of the stuff. What a tool! So as I don't really need any excuse to head out, I donned my kit and popped up the road.
When showing off the bike to Artur, he noticed a small pool of oil under the bike. WTF! What now? By the time I got home, the bike was leaking a lot, but the flow ceased when I turned the engine off. A quick removal of the side panel revealed oil leaking from one of the hoses leading to the oil cooler. So after waiting for the bike to cool, I broke out the spanners and simply tightened it all up. Sorted. All back together now, ready to ride back to work after my holiday.
So, there I was just getting ready to finish to job and lube the chain and I found out I had run out of the stuff. What a tool! So as I don't really need any excuse to head out, I donned my kit and popped up the road.
When showing off the bike to Artur, he noticed a small pool of oil under the bike. WTF! What now? By the time I got home, the bike was leaking a lot, but the flow ceased when I turned the engine off. A quick removal of the side panel revealed oil leaking from one of the hoses leading to the oil cooler. So after waiting for the bike to cool, I broke out the spanners and simply tightened it all up. Sorted. All back together now, ready to ride back to work after my holiday.
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