Testastretta Tinkering

[Mark64]

Hi Darren, I'm liking the changes you've made, the carbon rad covers look great, the clutch pressure plate was a horrible shade of pastel pink when I got the bike so I rattle can painted it rosso red, the clutch lever trunion (what a fabulous word) is adjustable, I fabricated one & fitted a locknut to it so as to allow further adjustment, the factory racing slave was great, much lighter action but it didn't have the same 'feel' as the standard one & I just wasn't happy with it, regarding the clutch case itself, a mate of mine has a milling machine so he cut the windows in it for me (I copied it from one of Yorkies projects) and I think it looks mint, all in all I'm made up with how you are looking after the bike but you really need to be riding it pal, that testasretta engine is an absolute gem and the BT016 tyres are awesome, have fun mate, that's what monsters are all about.
Adios amigo
Mark

[Darren69]

Hi Mark, Hope life is treating you well? I'm glad you like the upgrades, the tail tidy was a real hotch-potch of off cuts and scrap bits of thiin stainless sheets doubled over and riveted, dexion and some ally bits. I wasn't expecting too much from the Chinese part but it is really good for 30 quid. The only negative is the wires for the LED number plate light are so very thin I had to double them over and solder them before they could be crimped.

I just have to tidy up the wiring and a few other things then button it all up and then if the weather permits tomorrow I will take a ride out.

[Mark64]

Good lad, it won't disappoint, that bike always put a smile on my face, apologies for the tail chop bracket - it came adrift on my way to work one morning and smashed the rear number plate, I bodged it up to get home and then forgot all about it.
Have fun with it, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Darren69]

Well if there was ever sometihng that needed to be and looked so right on this bike then this is it



I've touched-up up the chipped tank paint and it looks ok if you don't look too close!

[Mark64]

Lovin it

[Darren69]

Well I did notice that the rubber grommet for the tank vent that fits between the cap and the tank, wasn't fitted correctly and squashed up so that was fixed, it may have been like that for a long while and causing a problem I don't know? Fixed. I also just noticed that the screws for the cap don't exactly line up evenly with the black stripe on the tank so I don't know what's going on there? Tank swell? Lol

[Mark64]

I never had a problem with the tank grommet on this bike (did have on my air-cooled one though) but I know the tank has swelled, I removed it and left it on the kiln roof for a few weeks in the winter when I worked at the brick factory but it made no difference, so I ended up slotting the holes on the tank hinge bracket to allow for the swelling.
Funny how we put up with so much sh*t from Ducati,like swelling tanks, bolts made of cheese, belts changed every 2 years, cams out to adjust valves, heavy clutch maintenance etc, etc, but it's all character right? If the same thing was true of a jap bike it'd be a crock of sh*t wouldn't it?

[Darren69]

Still a little bit of tinkering going on with the bike. I added a black timing cover:-



One caveat here; the o ring groove on these Chinese ones for some reason is 2mm so you will need a bigger o-ring as the groove on the original is only 1 mm. I am still at the experimental stage but I ordered a 3mm nitrile o-ring and so far it appears to be oil tight. Time will tell. Just didn;t know this when ordering and expected the original one to fit. / Oh well

[Darren69]

I'm not sure if the speedo calibration issue I'm facing is due to the fact that the complete wrong speedo was replaced eg euro KPH type or if there is some incompatibility with the earlier '03 spec speedo and the later '07 spec ECU on my bike. The sensor and rear disc appear to be the same.

However I came across the Healtech Speedo healer so I bought one and will see if it works ?



It's supposed to be able to recalibrate most speedo issues including KPH to MPH and any number of correction factors? Anyone used one before? I think it's probably most used on Jap bikes where the speedo sensor is on the gearbox end so final gear changes would affect the readings.
?

[Darren69]

The inner chain guard appears to be only held in place by 1 bolt, which is fine and appears to be correct spec but currently rubber mounted and very loose, so the whole thing just is too wobbly for my liking! I need to look into this some more.

Speed Healer has arrived so will try to fit that and sort wiring today.

[Mark64]

I'm pretty sure that the carbon chain guard nearest the swingarm pivot has 2 bolts, one horizontal in the side of the swingarm and a vertical one next to the shock

[Darren69]

Think ir is the same as this: -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313590237...IAAMXQLw1R5SZv

I can't see another bolt or bolt hole. I'll take it off and have a better look tomorrow.

[Mark64]

That's very similar, I think mine came from RSRm moto, looking at the ebay picture you can see the other bolt hole in the foreground

[Darren69]

Not much to update but I had noticed that one of the wire crimps to the mega thin Chinese number plate and rear light wires is a bit loose so will solder and fix as I have done for the others, solder and shirnk wrap.

I sourced some cheap clear indicator lens and frame plugs which update the bike to a more current period appearance in (I think) keeping with the overall look of the bike and appear to be ok but the quality of the plastic for the lens's is a bit sketchy and I managed to strip both rear ones out, so some another even cheaper ones were sourced (I originally figured the postage cost from Australia to be ok for a complete set of 4, but on reflection not so good since I only got 2 out or 4 good ones) Oh well, buy cheap, buy twice! . The internal connections on one were bad (not sure why just the one side) but I found out that the reflector can actually be removed and wires removed, the verdi green copper connections cleaned up, and result!

[Darren69]

Postie brought me these brand new Titax levers today so couldn't help seeing if they fitted ok.



There wasn't really anything wrong with the levers already fitted but I wanted less silver and more black and these were a bargain too good to refuse a cheeky bid! Not flip up like the others I had but I don't really think that is so important esp. given these are half an inch shorter that the short ones already on the bike.

The clutch sure feels heavier though, so I think that willl have to be the next tinkering job as I have a couple of bigger slaves in stock! Don't have an all black one though