Wheels, swingarm and subframe back from paint.
![Wheel Tire Bicycle Crankset Vehicle]()
![Wheel Tire Automotive tire Locking hubs Tread]()
999s Restoration & Rebuild
Hi all, and welcome to curious visitors from Chromeheads also 
Thought I'd share my restoration work on the 999s. Once hailed as the 'ugly duckling', many buyers are now waking up to its timeless design. I was one of them, receiving this 2003 model with 987km in June 2020. I had little to no information to go on other than photos and the seller's word, and unfortunately the bike turned out to be a lemon, though not entirely the seller's fault - he probably just didn't know any better. I had hoped it was in good condition on the basis of the very low mileage, but that wasn't the case. Was a lot of back and forth on that sale.. Anyway, long story short, I eventually stuck with it and got a partial amount of my money back, allowing me to move forward.
Here's how she looked online -
![170901]()
![170902]()
![170903]()
Day of loading up for her journey -
![170904]()
And arrived 3 days later -
![170905]()
Bike was known to not start. While I wasn't looking to mod or enhance it in any way, it did need a lot of my attention. Here were the early stages of me diving in, slowly opening up the can of worms. End of diagnostics concluded -
Other areas to address -
![170907]()
![170908]()
![170909]()
![170910]()
Oil drain plug magnet, not too bad -
![170911]()
Thought I'd share my restoration work on the 999s. Once hailed as the 'ugly duckling', many buyers are now waking up to its timeless design. I was one of them, receiving this 2003 model with 987km in June 2020. I had little to no information to go on other than photos and the seller's word, and unfortunately the bike turned out to be a lemon, though not entirely the seller's fault - he probably just didn't know any better. I had hoped it was in good condition on the basis of the very low mileage, but that wasn't the case. Was a lot of back and forth on that sale.. Anyway, long story short, I eventually stuck with it and got a partial amount of my money back, allowing me to move forward.
Here's how she looked online -
Day of loading up for her journey -
And arrived 3 days later -
Bike was known to not start. While I wasn't looking to mod or enhance it in any way, it did need a lot of my attention. Here were the early stages of me diving in, slowly opening up the can of worms. End of diagnostics concluded -
- dead battery
- rusted spark plugs
- rusted vertical cylinder spark plug tunnel
- rusted horizontal cylinder intake valve + seat
- badly rusted fuel tank
- ruined fuel pump
- clogged injectors
- worn + rusted clutch disks, basked chewed, fractured spider spring
- evidence of crash on left side
- spoiled oil cooler
- degraded sound dampening material
- leaking fork seals
- expired stator unit
- aged upholstery + worn rubber components
- scratched/broken bodywork and carbon fibre components
- bent rear brake lever bolt
- once engine was running, coolant was found to be mixing into the oil - bad vertical head gasket
Other areas to address -
- air filters
- oil + coolant change
- timing belts
- brake + clutch bleed
- chain + sprocket set
- brake pads
- tyres
- valve adjustment
- upgraded earth + starter wiring
- exhaust manifold ceramic coat
Oil drain plug magnet, not too bad -
61 - 80 of 98 Posts
Had a bit of 'fun' with one of the screws for one of the air filter tubes as the brass insert was slightly damaged and I didn't realise until after I'd refitted the screw and of course it picked up the thread and spun in the plastic
Luckily I managed to fix it in situ without making a mess and JB Weld to the rescue, not the best design...
MRA air filters fitted at the same time. Sharp eyed viewers will note the near new 520 chain conversion which was already on the bike along with a Domino quick turn throttle. You can also see the Termignoni 54mm 'banana' system I found on Ebay for just over US$1K including freight from Ukraine to NZ which I didn't think was too bad, it wasn't in particularly good condition when I bought it so it took a lot of cleaning and polishing to get it into a reasonable state, I forgot to take pictures of it when I bought it and the Ebay pics have all gone apart from this one:
![Yellow Font Ingredient Metal Personal protective equipment]()
It was missing the heat shield on the 'banana' pipe and I couldn't find any original carbon ones so made one out of a bit of scrap stainless steel I had laying around, likewise the little dogbone bracket that mounts the banana section was missing so I made that out of a piece of aluminium plate.
The difference in size to the stock pipe is quite dramatic:
![Musical instrument Wind instrument Automotive exhaust Bicycle part Muffler]()
Had a local guy reflash a spare ECU I had with the correct tune for the exhaust and air filters plus removed the immobiliser and raised the rev limiter all for NZ$300 including return courier
Luckily I managed to fix it in situ without making a mess and JB Weld to the rescue, not the best design...
MRA air filters fitted at the same time. Sharp eyed viewers will note the near new 520 chain conversion which was already on the bike along with a Domino quick turn throttle. You can also see the Termignoni 54mm 'banana' system I found on Ebay for just over US$1K including freight from Ukraine to NZ which I didn't think was too bad, it wasn't in particularly good condition when I bought it so it took a lot of cleaning and polishing to get it into a reasonable state, I forgot to take pictures of it when I bought it and the Ebay pics have all gone apart from this one:
It was missing the heat shield on the 'banana' pipe and I couldn't find any original carbon ones so made one out of a bit of scrap stainless steel I had laying around, likewise the little dogbone bracket that mounts the banana section was missing so I made that out of a piece of aluminium plate.
The difference in size to the stock pipe is quite dramatic:
Had a local guy reflash a spare ECU I had with the correct tune for the exhaust and air filters plus removed the immobiliser and raised the rev limiter all for NZ$300 including return courier
New fuel lines and plastic tank fittings as the old hoses were pretty hard and the fittings had seen better days
![Purple Violet Gas Magenta Automotive wheel system]()
Tank/seat unit back from paint and reassembled, the original sound deadening had turned to dust and I was going to leave it off but then decided to go with some heat resistant sound deadening from the local car stereo shop, I'll use this on the side fairings as well as the original Ducati stuff doesn't seem to last or work that well.
![Light Tartan Textile Plaid Sleeve]()
Tank/seat unit back from paint and reassembled, the original sound deadening had turned to dust and I was going to leave it off but then decided to go with some heat resistant sound deadening from the local car stereo shop, I'll use this on the side fairings as well as the original Ducati stuff doesn't seem to last or work that well.
Time for an update in between festivities and being out riding on my other bikes!
![Bicycle Bicycles--Equipment and supplies Tire Wheel Land vehicle]()
![Wheel Tire Automotive tire Automotive lighting Motor vehicle]()
![Tire Wheel Bicycle tire Automotive tire Hood]()
Just seeing what the carbon fairings looked like. Better than on the yellow but still not too my tastes (and I love carbon!).
So these are off and will be up for sale soon.
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Automotive fuel system Vehicle]()
So these are off and will be up for sale soon.
Attachments
Pretty well done now, had a 30km +/- test ride and everything seems to be working fine, no leaks or anything obviously wrong 😅😊
😁
![Plant Wheel Automotive lighting Tire Tread]()
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Automotive fuel system Vehicle]()
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Plant Vehicle]()
![Tire Wheel Fuel tank Automotive fuel system Automotive tire]()
So, just waiting on the side panels to arrive plus the MRA tinted screen....might be time to start looking for some bling... 😄
😁
So, just waiting on the side panels to arrive plus the MRA tinted screen....might be time to start looking for some bling... 😄
Well, the actual tear down and rebuild was pretty quick...(probably closer to 2 months in reality) but the ordering of parts and ensuing wait was more like 6 months prior to commencing the job.
And, unlike you I was fortunate to have a low mileage bike in relatively good, running condition so it was quite straight forward as the 999 series are fairly simple with way fewer parts than a lot of the other models. Being in the motorcycle industry and having a bike mad car painter working next door to our business doesn't hurt either!
I've had project bikes before that were more like the series of nightmares you experienced so I know how that goes...
If my build was a MotoGP race, yours was a full LeMans 24hr race with only one rider!! 🤣
And rebuilding bikes is a bit of a hobby for me - here's some before and after pics of the previous two bikes I did. Funny thing was I bought them as a package deal and the initial idea was to use the black bike for spares, but as they were both very low mileage (6000km +/-) it seemed a shame not to rebuild both (rebuilding two at the same time is an interesting project... 😄 )
Hope those fairing panels show up soon, freight is a real nightmare these days!
Attachments
Finale!
Fairings finally arrived and once they'd been repaired and painted and then fitted, here is the result:
![Wheel Tire Fuel tank Plant Vehicle]()
![Tire Wheel Plant Automotive tail & brake light Vehicle]()
![Wheel Tire Fuel tank Vehicle Automotive fuel system]()
Pretty happy with the result of this little project, the bike rides like a dream.
And thanks to @edgar999s for providing the incentive to get it done!
Now to get a few miles on it before winter hits.
Fairings finally arrived and once they'd been repaired and painted and then fitted, here is the result:
Pretty happy with the result of this little project, the bike rides like a dream.
And thanks to @edgar999s for providing the incentive to get it done!
Now to get a few miles on it before winter hits.
Yaaaasss!!! Noice!!
Thanks mate, how's yours going after the big rebuild?Yaaaasss!!! Noice!!
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