Ducati Multistretta 1098S

[MrLongbeard]

Agree that belts shouldn't be exposed, just from a practical point if view it's bloody silly.

[millemille]

Agree that belts shouldn't be exposed, just from a practical point if view it's bloody silly.

Aye.

[weeksy]

We're happy that open clutch covers on 916s etc are superb though ?

[Gimlet]

They're superb to look at...

And don't crash.

[millemille]

I think your bike could be used as a textbook definition of scope creep

No scope creep I can see...

....I'm trying to achieve now exactly what I set out to do; produce a superbike engined 1st generation Multistrada that looks it was made by Ducati as a production bike.

The method of delivering that scope has become increasingly complicated.....increasingly, increasingly and increasingly complicated.

[millemille]

The damping of the steering...

With the bike on it's original 2V engine I had it set up the way I like it for steering but this meant the front end got a bit flighty when hard on the gas. It got a bit slappy when the front end was light and there were bumps in the road or the front wheel wasn't perfectly straight. With nigh on double the power I felt some form of steering damper was going to be essential if I didn't want to be flung off the bike.

There were a limited number of Ducati Performance branded steering damper kits sold for the original 1000DS 'strada. But I discounted using one of these, even if I could find one as they were long out of production, as it uses the handle bar clamps to mount the damper - 916 style across the front of the tank - and, unlike the 1000DS's solid mounted bars, the 1100S uses rubber mounted bars.

I had a look at trying to mount a more conventionally operated side mounted damper but there just wasn't the space available, particularly with my new huge radiator fitted. A rotary damper, like a Scotts or Ohlins, was also considered but would have needed a new top yoke with wider spaced bar clamps and I couldn't see how to create the mounting on the frame for the actuating arm.

However, I was up at Cornerspeed and whilst idly browsing the variety of machines in for work I noticed a very nice Monster 1200 that had a steering damper fitted in exactly the same manner as 1000DS kit AND it had rubber mounted bars. A quick chat with Nelly confirmed it was an official Ducati fitment so the Ducati Performance 1000DS damper was an option.

I posted on Multistrada.net, asking if anyone had one for sale or could point me in the right direction of one. Fuck me! You'd thought I'd have asked for directions to the granny's house as I wanted to rape her!

Got called every name under the sun, told I must have a problem with the bike/tyres/tyre pressure, was doing everything in my life wrong, was an abject failure etc. as the 'strada doesn't, no way no how, no sireee, not ever, need a steering damper. I tried to point out that I did know what I was doing and it was for a bike that was far from standard, to no avail. Apart from one member who said he had one, unused and never fitted, that he'd sell me.

Money duly changed hand and it arrived. The damper needed a service as it was full of air. The damper itself is made for Ducati by an Italian company called FG Gubellini (no, I'd never heard of them either...). I tried all the usual suspects in the UK, MCT/Ktech/Kais/100% etc., and none of them worked on them so I resigned myself to having to try and deal with FG Gubellini direct. Well, that was a pleasant surprise. Prompt reply to email enquiry, posted to Italy, email acknowledging arrival, email update on workshop investigation, invoice, receipt, despatch note and back 3 weeks later.

Because the 1100S has the previously mentioned rubber mounted bar clamps the bars are higher, in relation to the frame, so the damper is also when fitted...



...which pushes the whole set up backwards and it fouls the front of the petrol tank....



So it's a good job I'm hand making a custom aluminium tank that can be modified at the front to clear the steering damper isn't it?

Well, that's what I tell myself as I lie in bed at night, sobbing and unable to sleep, as I think about what the fuel tank has cost me in time, money and sanity....

[RSW46]

This is an awesome thread, can't wait to see what it looks like in the end! I haven't sat and read a whole thread like this for ages

You've inspired me to do the valve clearances on my KTM and change the back brake pads anyway haha.

[millemille]

More work on the tank, managed to squeeze in a few hours this afternoon.

The fucking thing was fighting back, so we tied it down. That'll learn the bastard.....



Trying to get the tank bottom lined up with the top and getting the corner piece fettled and in place, ready for welding. This is where we were at the start....



After lots of this...



And this....



And some controlled aggression when persuasion with hammers wasn't enough...



We end up with this...



...ready for welding on Thursday when we resume.

[crust]

Excellent thread

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Interesting post about ally tanks, and something I hadn't thought of, the GS1000 one I saw looked it was made out of quite thick ally (probably 5mm), tbh this put me off it as I though it looked a bit pants.

Paintworks is obvious - purple metalflake frame, everything else pink

[millemille]

Paintworks is obvious - purple metalflake frame, everything else pink

Winning!

[millemille]

Another few hours fettling and the top now fits the base perfectly.....







Before we went any further we did some checking of critical dimensions, comparing the new metal against the original plastic tank. Amazingly we've managed, despite not having any jigs, to be within +/- 1mm. Which is nice.

We then started work on the rear section....







Called it a day at half six. There's probably 30 or 40 more hours work to do to complete it, maybe another 3 or 4 weeks until completion.

[weeksy]

Another few hours fettling and the top now fits the base perfectly.....







Before we went any further we did some checking of critical dimensions, comparing the new metal against the original plastic tank. Amazingly we've managed, despite not having any jigs, to be within +/- 1mm. Which is nice.

We then started work on the rear section....







Called it a day at half six. There's probably 30 or 40 more hours work to do to complete it, maybe another 3 or 4 weeks until completion.

That's madness. In a good way, but madness.

[millemille]

That's madness. In a good way, but madness.

You've said it's madness a few times now, what makes you say that?

[kendo57]

With all your experience why did you not just make some custom steering damper brackets.

[millemille]

With all your experience why did you not just make some custom steering damper brackets.

Because someone else has already done all the hard design work to make sure the leverage ratios/travel/geometry was correct and it didn't add any complexity or cost to the tank to modify the front.....

[millemille]

Took the tank to the workshop and tried it, for the first time, on the bike and with the fairing panels it joins with...







The good news is the fit with the panels is absolutely bob on, the profiles and mounting holes line up as well the OEM tank...











The not so good news is that, even on a bike as "old" as this, CAD allowed the packaging to be very tight when the bike was originally designed and assembled. Because the aluminium tank is about 2mm bigger in all dimensions than the OEM tank - the thickness of the aluminium skin formed over the OEM tank is 1.5mm and it'll never be perfectly conformal with no air gap anywhere to the former - there are issues with the OEM brackets at the front and the top yoke kisses the tank on full lock and the steering damper bracket still fouls the tank. The last one is actually my fault, despite taking away material at the front of the OEM tank to clear the damper I forgot to allow for the thickness of the aluminium skin.

All solvable; new front mount brackets will be simple to knock up, some gentle hammer work with give the clearance around the top yoke and some modification to the steering damper bracket - cut and reweld the reaction arm at slightly different angle - should do the trick....

[millemille]

Knocked up a new front sprocket cover plate this morning....

[millemille]

And a set of Pistal high compression pistons are now winging their way to me from Switzerland. As soon as Nelly opens Cornerspeed up again the engine will be in for a service and he'll put the pistons and slipper clutch in at the same time...

[millemille]

Managed to get a few more hours in on the tank with Martin on Thursday, working on the rear section.

It's the most complex shaped part of the tank....



And is at stands now, in metal. There's 11 separate panels, plus a load of machined bosses and fittings that go into it...



After a promising start we hit problems, when we started tacking more of the panels together we couldn't get them to meet AND have the correct shape. Something wasn't right.

Because some of the bosses have been welded in already the panels won't fit back over the former as it was. So we called it a day and I took the former back to give it a seeing to with a variety of drills and cutting tools to chop out all of the parts where the bosses are so that the panels could be put back on the former and we could figure out what was going on.

With the panels on the former....



....the problems become obvious...







The man from ETTO has fucked up. Can't pretend to not be dissapointed, given how well the other panels have fitted, but it is what it is. I suspect what we're going to have to do is cut back the offending panels, as the gaps are too large to be filled with weld and too small to be filled with strips of metal, and weld in small infill pieces.

They wont' be visible when the bike is assembled and they're not in any particularly stressed/load bearing areas.