M944SS build

[Rudemouthsky]

It's been drivin' me nuts waiting on my engine and front end to be completed...the hangups have been with the powder coater and Matris sending the wrong parts from Italy. So I figured I'd haul my old bike to the remote garage. The plan was to have it mostly intact and use it as a model of sorts to put my "M944(NOS)SS.



I really just wanted to remove the stuff I still prized like the Rizoma rearsets, but once the wrench started turning it got addictive...






Ooops...at least I technically started my build by putting SOMETHING on...








I actually feel extremely confident now about putting her together. Our bikes are pretty damn simple actually!

[thorn14]

YES! Finally!

Hopefully the "What Did Buck Naked Just Buy?" thread will now calm down as it has been replaced by this one... "What Did Buck Naked Just Build?"

[Rudemouthsky]

I haven't built anything yet...lol.

Spent all day wire brushing some misc hardware I don't wanna re buy such as the oil cooler fittings. ALL the nasty gold zinc plated crap Ducati had the nerve to put on our machines has been tossed or binned cuz I now have a huge assortment of stainless hardware I've been accumulating over the months.

As I was scrubbing the oil cooler fittings, seat lock plate,  kickstand mount and various spacers and odd bits that weren't replaced with new versions  it dawned on me that nobody you could ever hire, no matter how conscientious, could possibly put the kind of love into a motorcycle that you can. There's going to be love in every single nut and bolt of this bike. 

[oldndumb]

...............
As I was scrubbing the oil cooler fittings, seat lock plate,  kickstand mount and various spacers and odd bits that weren't replaced with new versions  it dawned on me that nobody you could ever hire, no matter how conscientious, could possibly put the kind of love into a motorcycle that you can. There's going to be love in every single nut and bolt of this bike. 

Ha! Someone else as anal as me. I can't ever bring myself to reassemble a bike without cleaning every last nut, bolt, and screw. That is, the ones which were not replaced with SS/Ti.     

[Rudemouthsky]

Pretty sure I can name all the hardware that's not new...AN fittings (although I suspect the Fren Tubo Hypermotard lines I'm ordering come with new ones...so scratch that) kickstand pivot, swingarm pivot, shock pivot...and axles. The only Ti I splurged on was for the front and rear axle bolts. I may use Ti for the chain adjusters as well. If it's an M6, M8, or M10 cap screw it's stainless. I had to buy a 15 bin organizer for my SS collection I'm pretty stoked 'bout that.

[thorn14]

Did you piece it all together or buy the SS screw/bolt kit? (Still time for the Ti bolt kit  )

[brad black]

i'm happy to be as anal at $1.75 per minute as your wallet allows.

hence i tend to not be so anal, lest customers feel like they're been stuck in a similar way.

[Rudemouthsky]

i'm happy to be as anal at $1.75 per minute as your wallet allows.

hence i tend to not be so anal, lest customers feel like they're been stuck in a similar way.

You might polish everything for $1.75 a minute, but you still wouldn't do it with LOVE.

Did you piece it all together or buy the SS screw/bolt kit? (Still time for the Ti bolt kit  )

Hell no dawg, for the price of those kits you can fill several tackle boxes with enough to do 3-4 bikes and still have bins full to fondle. I like scooping it up and letting it run through my fingers like Scrooge McDuck. Sweatshop stainless from eBay seller "Cool_Cheap_World". And anyone that wants to scoff at that is welcome to pay a middle man 10-20X more for the exact same thing from the exact same place.

I'm trying to avoid the titanium addiction...I think I'll be able to put the pipe down after the axle bolts...pretty sure.

[dark_duc]

As I was scrubbing the oil cooler fittings, seat lock plate,  kickstand mount and various spacers and odd bits that weren't replaced with new versions  it dawned on me that nobody you could ever hire, no matter how conscientious, could possibly put the kind of love into a motorcycle that you can. There's going to be love in every single nut and bolt of this bike. 

Looks like a blast!  Can't wait to see updates of the progress   

 

[Staggerlee]

(although I suspect the Fren Tubo Hypermotard lines I'm ordering come with new ones...so scratch that)

Mine did, but they are of the plated-crap variety; if you were hoping for stainless or aluminum, guess again.

[Rudemouthsky]

Mine did, but they are of the plated-crap variety; if you were hoping for stainless or aluminum, guess again.

Zinc plated? That's poop. After all the time I've spent removing that rubbish that came from the factory I sure as F don't need to put more on. I'll make my own.

[Rudemouthsky]

MMMMMmmmmmmm  Ti axle nuts

[koko64]

 
Light is right.
It's a joy watching you get carried away.

[Rudemouthsky]

Thanks for the support T.

My lowly mechanical skills and experience have struck again...the underslung rear caliper is a mod I wanted on this bike but the eBay bracket needed work. Hard to believe but the second pic is the result of over 2 hours of labor.





I thought Mothers would be enough since it's worked magic on other alloy parts, but this bracket laughed at it. So I hit it with a sanding disc on a Dremel which made it look awful, so I've been alternating between wet sanding with a sanding sponge, dry, polish with Mothers, buff, repeat. At this pace it'll look awesome in about 20 hours

I believe there's a hard coat clear anodize on it, I may try an oven cleaner bath then continue with the sanding and buffing. Afraid I'll just make a bigger mess tho. 

[thorn14]

Before powdercoating some parts recently I would bead blast the part to get rid of the coating, then spend an hour or two per part cleaning up casting marks and smoothing the part out. Unlike you however, I get impatient after hour two.