[martinc]

I am pleased really...a lot of things could have gone wrong with all this as I changed a gazillion parts and no leaks sprung from anywhere, no weird noises, nothing special so far. That engine was taken apart bar splitting the cases and everything was double checked and measured, repaired replaced and torqued back in place. It started very well for 4 months old fuel in the tank and its new starter transformed it too.The old starter was very loose and grindy on the bearings compared to the replacement one; might only be a question of changing the bearings and cleaning up the rotor,electric motors is 1 of my many specialties, we`ll see about that.

 

[martinc]

It lives

 

[martinc]

Fail. Had to push the heap some ways back to the shop....uphill....

Seems like a coil decided to give up the ghost on me, will assess the situ

I came up with an explanation: a guardian angel dont want me to ride this year

 

[martinc]

BOTH plugs are fouled to hell...probably from the couple static tests I did prior to try to ride it

 

[martinc]

Yeah, both indeed

 

[martinc]

Something went wrong somewhere and the front cam on the rear cylinder was like half a turn from where it should have been; belt tension still correct on top of that. So far no shredding on the belt either so I am puzzled on where I made a mistake that should cost me another head or worst (or maybe just valves)

I readjusted the cam where it should be and I have a small contact (from turning the crank, it turns well and pump air through the spark plugs holes but at some point there is a tiny spot where something contacts something then let go

 

[martinc]

I found something today; by reflecting a flashlight on the sprockets I found ''degreed'' on both cam sprocket plates...written with a pencil, barely visible otherwise

Could that changed things and throw off my 5 o'clock adjustment?

 

[34566]

Maybe it is time to bring it to a Ducati mechanic.

On the forums it is always a guessing game without pictures or a video.

 

[37832]

Speaking generally here (not specific to this repair thread):

I would say that even with pics or video, it is pretty hard to fix a bike (or car) by proxy unless all parties are on the same wavelength of basic skills and general communication style. Even then there are all those other senses that come into play when doing troubleshooting/repair.

Repair advice on a forum is more like a collection of experiential anecdotes that may or may not be accurate.

 

[martinc]

I am pretty aware of that

I use the pointers along with my limited knowledge in heads dept and the workshop manual;

I recon I went the easy way and lived on a prayer that it would be that easy to get it back on the road but heh

Still, doesnt explain why the cams didnt stayed on their settings; all that without messing a belt or its tension

 

[martinc]

Maybe it is time to bring it to a Ducati mechanic.

On the forums it is always a guessing game without pictures or a video.

Stealership went bankrupt this year (because of mainly, bad service, attitude helped by exclusivity and well, ripping people off) and the other option basically kept me off the streets for the last 2 years so....limited options here.

 

[martinc]

If I had bent valves, would I be able to turn the cams by hands? There is tension when you hit the springs but it can go over that still by hands

 

[martinc]

Anyways, I adjusted everything back this morning and I can turn the crank any amount of turns easily

Will attempt a start-up later

 

[martinc]

It starts, turns as it should besides a noise that dont bodes well

 

[EL Twin]

Intake cam is not running smoothly like the exhaust does. Can see the pulley jumping in the vid.
Sounds like it's clipping the valves.

Easy way to confirm if the cams are correct is to start with the horizontal cylinder in firing position (both cams in the _l_ _l_ position with piston at TDC) Then turn the crank 270 degrees in the normal direction of rotation (until the vertical piston is at TDC) and both cams on the vertical cylinder should be in the same _l_ _l_ position. If they are not as shown adjust so they are. As always, check by hand with plugs removed that there is no interference before cranking the engine.

Just to double check.... they ARE 1098 vertical cams you have installed? 1198 cams are installed in a different visual position because the slots are in a different location relative to the lobes.

 

[Rusty Helmholtz]

'07 1098 cams were cut slightly off and the cam lock tool does not put them in the correct location. They must be degreed to set correct timing. However, that is about a half tooth off and really only causes poor idle conditions.
There is a chance when someone degreed the cams they had the layshaft and cam shaft gears removed, aligned the shafts, and put the gears on setting the dots 120 degrees off of cam rotation. Apparently it's an old racer thing, and I've heard of it a number of times.

Personally on anything but an 07 1098, I don't even bother with the dots on the gears because they do not indicate if the cam is set properly.- I set the crank locking tool, and use the cam locking tools, loosen the 3 lock bolts on all the cam gears, set belt tension, then torque the bolts.

Also- I second checking that the cams are in the correct heads- Horizontal cams are marked OS for exhaust, OA for intake, vertical are VS for exhaust and VA for intake. They should also have part numbers engraved and you can check that they are for the correct engine. Lobe centers are slightly different, but the cams are set in base timing in relation to the crank with the same tools.

 

[martinc]

I bought a used pristine 2007 1098S low mileage complete head, everything was as described, not even wear on cams at all

I havent touched anything since that vid, its pointless as the season is just about over here anyways

I will study a bit more concerning resetting the cams sprockets to spec and God willing I should pinpoint where/what I failed to do

 

[Rusty Helmholtz]

Let me know if you want me to walk you through degreeing cams, and what tools you will need to do so. If you are in North America, I may even be able to source some tooling for you.

 

[martinc]

Hey Rusty, I'm about to remove the vertical head (yeah, took a 2 months vacay from that heap of metal) just to check if I bent a valve or something (clanking noise when running and running rough)

Not sure if I should start by degreeing the cams and then see what gives, anyways, I am pretty sure I will need advice on special tools to do that job properly sometimes after christmas, bike is in my shop and I got a ton of work ahead of me

 

[orionengnr]

Martin-
I have followed your journey, and every time it seems as if you have things sorted, something else comes up to bite you.

My serious condolences, and much respect. You have more patience than I...after a certain number of bites, I'd be trying something else.

Hope it all works out for you.

Best, Rich