Ducati 1000 DS custom build

[motomartin11]

Ah yes... the wheel and Swancoat! The cafe at Quatt was a loss... However, the Danery pub just up the road has opened a car and bike themed cafe which is very good. However, I have been going to Pool Hall cafe at Alveley which is superb! nice to sit there in the sunshine, overlooking the big lake, its probably my cafe of choice!

Oh yes that was it the - Swancoat. Used to go occasionally to one of the pubs at Alverley - the Squirrel maybe. Haven't seen the Pool Hall cafe though. Years ago there used to be a bike club one night on the week at another pub heading back towards Shatterford. Last time i went past it was a care home IIRC.

Sorry to highjack your thread ................I may give the Danery a try some time.

 

[Mark64]

Really looking forward to this, I thoroughly enjoy all your builds, I was considering a Buell years ago until a mate rode one and told me the gearbox was beyond agricultural, a compromise too far for me, I'm very interested to find out your thoughts.

 

[buzzer]

First job has been to address the plastic tank… While it’s not too bad, its already showing signs of bubbling due to the ethanol in the fuel… I hate plastic tanks, so it has to go. Plan was to make an alloy under tank and then make a fiberglass seat and tank cover. However, I had an old Ducati Monster tank that was rotted out on the bottom so I got Arnie the angle grinder out and cut it up… just to see! I was really pleased with the shape and how it fitted! It did of course mean that I would lose that nice Buell filler cap, so instead of using the Ducati one, I made a conversion ring to take the Buell one, it worked a treat.

I made a new bottom for the tank out of some 1.2mm mild steel, and TIG brazed some mounting lugs on, and also a plinth for the fuel tap. This didn’t go well and I got some leaks (good job I pressure tested before putting the bottom in!) The reason was due to my TIG settings… you need both pre AND post gas with braze and you need to flood the weld area with gas before you arc up. The tap plinth brazed on much better. I did mill some shoulders to make it easier as its 10mm thick.

Rather than leave a hard welded edge I planished a 90 degree curve on the edges and then recessed the bottom in.

Next the seat… I quite like the back shape, but not the triangle that hangs down… I decided to use the existing seat as a pattern and make a new one out of fiberglass. The original seat is actually quite valuable so I was keen to keep it nice. I covered it in cling film before covering that with 3″ wide sticky foil tape. It's very thin and moulds to shape, and does a good job of following the contours, its actually fantastic stuff and very sticky! To make the things line up to the new tank I used builders foam, which once dry, I cut to shape with a bread knife. Be a few days before the resin and mat arrives!

 

[buzzer]

The seat unit is now in shape, next job is to make the actual seat… Not cut it to the end shape yet, still pondering! I must work on my photoshop skills!

 

[stopintime]

I must work on my photoshop skills!

Please don't. You have enough skills :biggrin:

C and D are out.

A was in the race until I imagined how the rear light/license plate will balance the visual (on it's own) over weight of the "race number", below seat area on B. So, B it is :thumbsup:

 

[utopia]

I also think that the "race number" area is a bit visually overweight and doesn't blend well with the lines of the tank.
To my eye the curves of C and D are wrong but they do lighten the visual load.
Have you considered more of a concave curve to the leading edge (and maybe also the trailing edge but to a lesser extent) ?
If you did that to the curves of A, the lines and weighting might start to look right.

I agree that the lines of the cut down monster tank look very nice indeed.

But of course, a two dimensional pic will never tell the full story.
It probably needs a few mugs of tea and a mooch around from different angles.
In the past I have covered the parts in question in masking tape and then drawn proposed cut lines on that with a sharpie pen. Changes of mind are thus easily accommodated via a fresh layer of tape. Its worked well for me.
"A good coat of looking at" is an expression which always makes me grin.

 

[buzzer]

I also think that the "race number" area is a bit visually overweight and doesn't blend well with the lines of the tank.
To my eye the curves of C and D are wrong but they do lighten the visual load.
Have you considered more of a concave curve to the leading edge (and maybe also the trailing edge but to a lesser extent) ?
If you did that to the curves of A, the lines and weighting might start to look right.

I agree that the lines of the cut down monster tank look very nice indeed.

But of course, a two dimensional pic will never tell the full story.
It probably needs a few mugs of tea and a mooch around from different angles.
In the past I have covered the parts in question in masking tape and then drawn proposed cut lines on that with a sharpie pen. Changes of mind are thus easily accommodated via a fresh layer of tape. Its worked well for me.
"A good coat of looking at" is an expression which always makes me grin.

wise words there....

Still undecided on the seat shape but that can wait… for now I have also made the seat base. I bonded in some alloy plates for the rivinuts to secure into. It fits rather well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P5jEA18BSI

 

[buzzer]

One thing I have often regretted is not fitting a steering damper… they are difficult to retro fit so I decided to fit one to this bike… This entailed making a lug which I wanted to be a tight fit on the frame…I didn’t have a 30mm cutter, So I used a fly cutter adjusted to size!

 

[buzzer]

Two jobs in the last few days… Collect the headlight brackets from the water jet cutter, and make an engine cradle so I can lift the frame off easily. I love going to the water jet place, always an interesting visit! Today they were cutting 100mm titanium plate!

 

[Mr Gazza]

they could have got all 4 out of that billet!.. And slitted the clamp.

 

[buzzer]

they could have got all 4 out of that billet!.. And slitted the clamp.

I didn't slit the clamp as I wanted to be sure it was a nice fit on the stanchion... without a slit I could hold it in the chuck and take a skim out... as it was it was bang on :mand:

well it didn’t take long to get it all apart! Engine out and on the bench… frame welded and off to the shot blasters… I have to say the frame is exceptionally nice, the welding is superb, and its very light... dare I say a lot better quality than Ducati!... I have always had my frames powder coated at a company I have used for years… Last year they let me down badley, lots of broken promises, and in the end I went and collected an unfinished frame. I decided to have it media blasted and do it myself… That worked out well so I have done the same this time. It was back today from the blasters and it's an excellent job. *I will be etch priming it, undercoat, then 2k Clear over base

One of the common problems with the sportster engine is leaking cylinder base gaskets, this one had sighs of a slight leak so for the cost of a set of gaskets I decided to replace them… Pistons are very big! its all like new in there as you would expect for 5000 miles. While I looked a the bike, one thing was bugging me… that straight case line on the engine… so I modified the casing slightly…I like it… many won't!

 

[utopia]

The case looks much better after your modification .. though I can't quite understand its original shape in three dimensions.
From what I can see of the modified case it looks like the bits you've trimmed off were serving no purpose anyway.

 

[buzzer]

The case looks much better after your modification .. though I can't quite understand its original shape in three dimensions.
From what I can see of the modified case it looks like the bits you've trimmed off were serving no purpose anyway.

they just hide the oil pump, and on the sportster it butts up against another cover...

The engine is all back together now… its a BIG old lump! I also finished the frame as the weather looks like it will turn too cold next week to do it under the gazebo.

I etch primed it, a coat of 2K primer, them base silver and 2K clear. I don’t think i will go back to powder coat…

 

[buzzer]

The seat is back from the trimmer, and as usual it’s a superb job! The weather has turned cold which meant I had to resort to drying the smaller painted parts in the oven… Good job she is OK with it these day, although the line had been drawn on the dishwasher!

I debated on taking the parts in to the platers, they did a great job last time BUT they did lose a few items, luckily nothing of importance. Not wanting that to happen this time I decided to do it myself again and got out my plating kit which I have been using for years… still great results! They say the devil is in the detail, I see so many builds spoiled due to dull and rusty plated items…

 

[buzzer]

Going together nicely… I do need to slow down! However I made a big fxxxup the other day when I took the rear shocker apart… I forgot they work opposite to normal so when I undid the adjuster nut, I was actually applying more tension onto the. it came off the threads and I realised I would never be able to get it back on… rookie error. I had to cut the outer shroud off. I hope to rescue it as a new one is mega expensive… will post pictures in a few days! but for now here it is going together.

 

[buzzer]

Well I pondered about the shocker… The reason I took it apart was I wanted to expose the spring, but it just didn’t trigger that it works the exact opposite to normal! I looked around and liked the design of the Ohlins one and decided to copy the idea. Back to the water jet cutter to have some plates cut, and I turned them down in the lathe. I drained the oil out and put some in a small bottle with a funnel type top… I timmed how long it took to drain out… then tried some 10 grade oil… much slower… then tried 5 grade and it was the same time! Looks like its SAE 5 in there! Soon as it's on the road I will take it and get it nitrogen filled… but for now I have put some air in there.

 

[buzzer]

Break in the weather last few days and I was able to paint the wheels… Etch primed, undercoat, and then clear over silver base. I don’t think I will ever go back to powder coat as the 2K finish is FAR better! One tip I picked up many years ago is if you are creating paint lines, (rims are only partially painted) use proper lining tape, not masking tape as that tends to slightly bleed under. Also, don’t wait until the paint is fully cured before removing the masking or you risk pulling paint off.

I also stripped the brakes down and cleaned and re-assembled them… all good in there, the pistons were perfect

 

[buzzer]

couple of milling jobs in the last few days… Firstly, I will be using an aftermarket speedo so I needed to have a pickup… I made a small bracket to bolt onto the calliper bracket, and fitted some magnets out of the speedo kit to the disc. Second job was actually quite challenging due to the multiple angles…. the original owner had cut the rear footrest mounting off… He hadn’t made a bad job but it didn’t look right, and was not that rigid, so I made a new bracket to also incorporate a side stand stop. this is the first time I have used the tilting head on the milling machine, worked a treat!

 

[buzzer]

As I have got older (a lot older!) I prefer a more upright and less stretch riding position… The bars on this bike I really like as they are the 28mm fatbars, but they are a bit low, and too far forward. Hence I made some risers which will also support the speedo when I get around to mounting it. So back to the water jet cutters to have the risers, rear number plate backing and support bracket cut! While I was there the owner let me have a look in the scrap bin… She said to help myself to anything I wanted! She said she has never seen anyone so excited about some scrap metal!

I have also made a new ignition cover, and electro etched it with the Buell Logo… I couldn’t resist doing a wine glass as well…. When our friends come round I will put his wine in it, he hates Harley and says that the Buell is just a Harley in drag!

 

[walkingpictures]

As I have got older (a lot older!) I prefer a more upright and less stretch riding position… The bars on this bike I really like as they are the 28mm fatbars, but they are a bit low, and too far forward. Hence I made some risers which will also support the speedo when I get around to mounting it. So back to the water jet cutters to have the risers, rear number plate backing and support bracket cut! While I was there the owner let me have a look in the scrap bin… She said to help myself to anything I wanted! She said she has never seen anyone so excited about some scrap metal!

I have also made a new ignition cover, and electro etched it with the Buell Logo… I couldn’t resist doing a wine glass as well…. When our friends come round I will put his wine in it, he hates Harley and says that the Buell is just a Harley in drag!

Some lovely work there Tony