My track ride for the last few years developed a a bad vibration at the last track session ... finally was able to tear it down. One rod bearing was absolutely knackered. Anyone use Ben Fox lately? His website seems kinda stale, wasn't sure if was still active? Would like to save the rod if possible. Likely just find a new crank.
Sorry to hear that man , that's one of my biggest fears is knowing at some point while riding on the track that the bottom end may not survive. Did this bike at anytime have a crash where it was running on its's side for any period of time?
It was a used engine to me, so dont know where it really came from. The right thing to do would have been a full tear down. But got jammed up on time etc.
hadn't thought of calling Mark ... just really need the cranked dealt with and rods reconditioned if possible. The challenge is that if I start getting towards a full on rebuild, a new bike may start to make more sense.
Quick update ... the recent virus events left me with a little less coin in the pocket for the possibility of a new bike ... So I sent the crank and rods to Ben Fox, they've been repaired (magnaflux, repair journal, nitride crank, resize rods, and refit with new bearings). I enquired of Ben what he set the rod bearing clearance to and he told me he aims for 0.0018 - 0.0025 inch. He also suggested I run Motul 300V 15/50 oil. He stated that he sees many rod journals that where damaged while using Mobil 1 (4T has been my norm), but has seen none with the Motul.
We lost our local Ducati dealer last year, so I've been ordering parts from Cross Country Ducati in New Jersey - they have the full parts catalog online and a decent ordering system. It did take a while for the parts (mostly seals and orings) to get here from Italy, but they arrived last week. Recommended if you need an online source.
While waiting for the crank assembly, I've checked and adjusted the end play on the transmission shafts and shift drum - they were at the far end of spec. Figured closer to middle would be better for track use.
Some final closure on the project. Finally got the shims I needed to get the crank to the correct preload.
Cut the valve seats with a Neway cutter .. had shop grind the valve faces.
The timing mark ended up being a bugger. Not the usual "two dots" on most of these gears I've seen. I wont say when I fully understood that the small mark above the keyway slot was not the correct mark ... grr
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