DesmoDog

Some days I wish I hadn't sold this bike. I owned it for 17 years and put about 7500 miles on it. It was the worst streetbike I've ever owned but when the time was right it was awesome. I sold it and kept my 851, some days I think I sold the wrong bike.

In the USA that's the only color they came in. It was also the reason I had Larry find me a yellow 996 instead of buying the red one they had in stock.

Ducati Superlight, 900SS/SL. When this bike hit the showroom I spent half an hour staring at it and running the numbers in my head. I was still paying off my 907ie and couldn't handle two payments. I should have sold the 907 but didn't. Oh well... it was a one year only model in the USA. Had I known that, I may have sprung for it. I've owned three 900ss's since then. I'm considering building a tribute bike with the same body work but different details (944cc, FCRs, Ohlins shock, differnt wheels, etc) or even selling my 851 and buying a real one. Could very well be my favorite street going Ducati...

I've been to the same wall but can't find pictures now. It was a day trip while we were in Scotland. I tried to rent a Jeep but they didn't have any, so I told them to give me whatever they had sitting around. This thing didn't work so well off road. Stayed with some friends at some quaint little place out in the woods.

Wheels? I wouldn't even think about trying to annodize anything that large, at home. It's been a while since I've looked into it but from the little I recall, getting a decent result would be next to impossible for a newbie home user, and the set up wouldn't be cheap either. Just getting them clean enough for it to work to begin with would be a challenge. What I'm trying to say is, Earache gets things right every so often and this is one of those times. Have them powder coated if you must but annodizing wheels at home? Forgetaboutit.

It's a .mov file. Quicktime plays it. Try right click and download. Or I can sum it up for ya'll; Or here it is in mp4 format http://teamyikes.com/851/ChinaSyndrome.mp4 Early on in the process you could see arcing inside the case, after the case split open of course. The good news is, these batteries are usually Lithium IRON as opposed to Lithium ION, which means they don't have the same tendancy to burst into actual flames when they fail. I didn't know the difference at the time so watching it progress was oh so wonderfully suspenseful as I waited for the flames. I was pretty sure it was going to burn down on the side of the road, but it didn't. So here's what happened as I understand it. The regulator failed, and the voltage to the battery reached somewhere around 60 (according to the manufacturer, that's what it'd take to overpower the built in protection, which they have since increased). When the voltage gets too high in a lithium battery, it starts to plate it's internals. Eventually it shorts itself out internally and then it's China Syndrome time. There's not a damn thing you can do until all the smoke leakes out. In my case the bike stalled, then started again, then died for good. Stopped on the side of the road, removed the seat to get to the tool kit, and noticed a small wisp of smoke. What the??? Small wisp became massive amounts accompanied by a horrible stench. A seriously nasty chemical smell that stuck to everything even after the event. Peaking under the fairing (while holding my breath) I saw arcing inside the case. After replacing the regulator and battery, I ended up having to replace the ECU, a bulb or two, and a relay. There is some sort of device in the ECU that is supposed to protect against over voltage. The component unsoldered itself and was rattling around in the ECU's case. Old school Ducati regulators suck. Don't run a lithium battery without a MOSFET regulator. Just don't do it. PS: The tool kit included with a 1991 Ducati 851 is missing one tool that is required to remove the fairing. You've been warned. That fastener was omitted when the faring was reinstalled by the way.

The aftermath of putting a lithium battery in an old school bike, and the old school regulator rejecting it. http://teamyikes.com/851/EarthX.mov This is near the end of the ordeal. Trust me, the smoke was a LOT worse earlier in the show. And the smell. Oh my god... PS. The bike now has a mosfet regulator, and another lithium battery. What can I say, I'm stubborn.

That snow (Jones Pass) is over 12,450 feet up... depends on which website yyou believe. Here's a picture Earache took at the top of the pass a few years ago with no snow. This was taken when I had a rental out there. Nothing parties like rental!

I was playing around with video software a little more and came up with somethign that shows the beginning of a ride yesterday. Basically from Earache's house to the interstate entrance ramp. The first couple minutes are the run from his house to Central City. they have been edited... the last few minutes are a look at some of Central City, Colorado, for those of you who like that sort of thing. I got tired of trying to filter out wind noise and don't have suitable music on my laptop to put over it, so I suggest viewing it at little or no volume... http://teamyikes.com/Guzzi/CentralCity.mp4

Yep, Ducati stopped using dry clutches on streetbikes about 15 years ago... but I thought they also stopped doing slipper clutches when they went to throttle by wire. No need for a slipper clutch if you can crack the throttle plates a touch under decel.

As mentioned the first day of riding yesterday was pretty tame, I was trying out a camera set up and getting a feel for the bike as I haven't ridden it much this year and never at this altitude. After the ride I tried to figure out how to use video and audio software. Excuse the music but the camera just picked up wind noise. I can't upload this to YouTube or Facebook because of the music but here's a little video. The camera wasn't on when the local Ferrari club came by. Isn't that always how it works? http://teamyikes.com/Guzzi/Colorado1.mp4 That'd be @Earache leading the way.

You forgot to mention the memory card we found! Or the one I lost about 20 minutes before we found it again... I'm pretty sure I'm already looking for it in the rear shot of the bike. Yes, the shock is mounted on the side, not all that uncommon these days. And by that I mean Ducati does it too and they're the only other brand I know anything about, so it's common in my world. No idea if the Japanese do it on anything? I'd be surprised if they didn't. I'm not sure a handgun is all that useful around here? I'd be willing to bet most landowners have long guns and probably big scopes. You'd never hear the shot...

Well far be it from me to argue with a Brit about cars that handle like shopping trolleys (You guys were certainly experts at that back in the day) but the GT350 did win the SCCA national B-Production championship in 1965. Though to be fair that would have been the R version vs the H version I've shown above. Other cars in BP included the E-type Jag and the Sunbeam Tiger. Again for the kids at the back of the room. Best. Mustang. Ever.

A couple years ago a company that does vintage car/bike/boat insurance did a photoshoot that included me and my 851. This is a shot at the end of the day, excuse the helmet hair. Not that it looks much better pre-helmet. There are no pictures of me looking stylish around a motorcycle I'm afraid...

Let's get something straight. THIS is the best Mustang. Ever. Carry on.

The fooking Pacer made me laugh... Hopefully it's laughing with the owner and not at the owner...

I've been kinda sorta looking for a vintage Vespa to restore as a retirement project. They're pretty scarce in these parts though.

What's "chain lube"?

Please! Our involvement was the main reason the forum took off so fast! In fact I'm dismayed we did not receive some of the money from the sale! Ok maybe not. But that's not the only forum I've been on that has died shortly after being sold.

When I Was in Korea we went in to a Ducati shop in Seoul. Found out that you can't ride motorcycles on the highway in Korea, and that the Ducati shop supposedly wasn't allowed to sell T-shirts with the shop name and "Ducati" on them. WTF? How can that be true? In any case they didn't have any. I told them if they did, they'd sell at least one to every English speaking person who came in. "Ducati Seoul" right? I'd have bought multiples. That said, I don't have an Ducati Detroit swag other than trackday posters... hmm....

When I Was in Korea we went in to a Ducati shop in Seoul. Found out that you can't ride motorcycles on the highway in Korea, and that the Ducati shop supposedly wasn't allowed to sell T-shirts with the shop name and "Ducati" on them. WTF? How can that be true? In any case they didn't have any. I told them if they did, they'd sell at least one to every English speaking person who came in. "Ducati Seoul" right? I'd have bought multiples. That said, I don't have an Ducati Detroit swag other than trackday posters... hmm....

Sounds like you got your Sena or whatever you have working? Or does Phil just talk to himself? ? I haven't even finished installing mine yet, let alone figured out how to use it...

A guy at work is fond of "you cum gurgling bug fucker". I doubt it's old but it cracks me up.

You can do it! No, really, I've seen it. Eeewwwwww......

Have you tried turning it off and back on again?