M750 Scrambler Project

[koko64]

Inspiration. Saw this E650 with 900 motor on elefantadventure site forum by ducpower shop. Obviously just fitted out before cosmetics.

unnamed by Tony Kokonis, on Flickr

The GC. Not bad style. A bit high and heavy for me.images (1) by Tony Kokonis, on Flickr

[Pinion]

I wish we had the elefant in the us. Tried hunting down one to do a build. Bits and pieces is all I could come across

[koko64]

It seems like you guys mainly got the later behemoth adventure models, although I know one member who had the dirt bike 650. A couple of members have the later Gran Canyon model.

I read on an Elefant forum that at one time the Cagiva Elefants were sold as Ducatis in the US. Pretty cool.

[Speeddog]

Yes, the giant ones, and Gran Canyons.

Very rare though, not common at all.

IMO far too big and heavy to go offroad.

[koko64]

Had an hour, so put it on with some nice stainless cap bolts. Thanks Marty, it is tidy now

Polished the wheel too. Not too bad.

20200430_135017 by Tony Kokonis, on Flickr

20200430_132402 by Tony Kokonis, on Flickr

[koko64]

20200430_135045 by Tony Kokonis, on Flickr

The polished rim and fresh hub cover with polished stainless bolts highlight how manky the paint is on the fork lowers. Guess I should polish them too.

[koko64]

Tidy hub cover and fresh fork covers

20200502_152503 by Tony Kokonis, on Flickr

[kopfjäger]

Looks really good. 

[koko64]

Thanks. 
A good cut 'n polish of the wheels, tank, frame and fork lowers has really lifted the bike. I applied creme polish to painted surfaces, metal polish to the mufflers and spray conditioner to the plastics. It was good to give the 21 year old bike some love. I note that the paint on the fuel cap has deteriorated so badly that it must be redone or buffed off completely. I really enjoy riding this old bike.

[koko64]

With lock down restrictions slightly eased here, I was able to test out the modified forks and Ohlins shock. The forks felt greatly improved on some local dirt roads, which had deteriorated due to recent heavy rains leaving ruts, corigations, pot holes, tree debris and piles of gravel. I did not initially realise that I was travelling 5 to 10 mph faster due to improved suspension feel and ride quality. Its no MX bike, but a good result considering its based on an inappropriate 888 Superbike chassis. The extra inch of fork travel and Ohlins shock made all the difference.

[koko64]

I went for the Pirelli MT60RS again. They are such a good rain tyre and periodic lockdowns mean riding whenever possible in any conditions. They are fine on dirt roads and a decent enough tarmac tyre.  Not great anywhere but ok most places.

[koko64]

GLW and I went shopping at our local farm outlet (away from crowds and shopping centres). It was good to support the local farmers with more direct shopping and stay away as much as possible from the big supermarket chains. We are on the very outer edge of the city where the vineyards, dairies, horse studs and orchards begin. It's beautiful country. We took the scrambler 750 and a back pack (souvenir from Ducati Firenze). While I have been able to tune the twin FCRs quite easily from 1/4-WOT throttle, the big issue has been tuning the idle-1/4 range on the road with very asymmetric manifolds. The angled manifold boots exacerbate the asymmetry of the manifolds giving uneven carburation. This has required some conceptual flexibility to give each carb what it wants at an intuitive level. Given the general synch and tune is very good and very smooth (confirmed by manometer, throttle response and plug colours), I had to give myself permission to tune the idle-1/4 range totally by ear and ride impression.  Old school tuning ensued forgetting the O2 tester, manometer, etc. We can get overly dependant on technology with carbs. The bike runs the smoothest below 1/4 throttle than it ever has which was really gratifying. The bike is so much fun.  

[Duck-Stew]

That’s awesome.  I’m so glad you’re pleased with the results!!

[koko64]

They are great carbs and truly transform the bike. It really gets me that Ducati didn't at least persist with Dellortos or at least try Mikuni TM38 carbs. Maybe it was due to emissions requirements that CV carbs came to the fore. I know Keihin FCR carbs well, but these beat up second hand items have caused me the most issues of any FCRs I've worked on.

Honestly, I got the off idle/low rpm tune perfect, (unless the rhs carb still clears some more then I'll have to go down a size on the pilot jet and adjust the ims again)

[greenmonster]

 

Or the CV’s were the easiest/simplest/cheapest option,
just order TDM setup...