detail shots of my ducati

Lets start with the forks. When I acquired my bike, the dust seals said Marzocchi, so I assumed they were. Although VERY similar, the 38mm Marzocchi and 38mm Ceriani forks ARE different! Let me explain. Ceriani fork caps need a regular 28mm wrench, Marzocchi caps require an Allen wrench (this is the easiest way to tell the difference). For Ceriani forks, the calipers are mounted behind the fork legs with bolts threaded into them (through the fork legs). Marzocchi mounts the calipers so the bolts go through the caliper and thread into the fork leg. They use the same size fork springs, oil seals and wipers. Now I know the difference - I have CERIANI!

The damper rod is above. When I took the forks apart, these were not assembled the same on each leg. The wide spacer on the left has an internal ID that changes. I decided the smaller ID was supposed to be towards the axle so I installed them that way. Also, the spring on the right has a smaller dia on one end and of course, the two forks were not assembled the same. I installed them towards the axle and after everything was cleaned up, used 210cc of MOTUL "med" fork fluid in each leg.

The steering bearings are something that I ALWAYS replace when I get a "new" bike (see the DUCATI Part Numbers page for specs). Once the front end was assembled, I didn't like the harsh ride so installed some progressive wound springs from Road & Race (Au) and made up a pair of 37mm long PVC spacers.

Above is the assembled and rebuilt front end. The forks were installed backwards back in '88 by the previous owner and I chose to keep it this way for the "coolness" factor. This was a common practice then as the result was a perceived lower center of gravity and easier turning, although the difference is considered negligible at best.

I installed a new AVON 110/80 AM22 Sprint Compound tire and rebuilt the "FO8" Brembo brake calipers, installing GALFER 013-G1532 "greens" (front and rear). I used MOTUL "Racing 600" fluid, added some SS lines and SS allen head bolts to finish things off. The front and rear rotors are the super unobtainium BREMBO O987C full floaters. I'd like to replace the buttons so if you have any ideas, please let me know!

The shocks are 13" KONI 7610P-1418 "Special D" #302. They are in brand new condition but because they have sat for more than 10 years, they leak and are very tight so the ride is HARSH! KONI does NOT service their products and will NOT sell parts to any of the suspension guys so I bought a pair new WORKS PERFORMANCE "Billet Trackers". [I'm a dealer now - eMail me if you need some WORKS shocks].

The wheels are EPM magnesium and when I got them apart, the bearings toast and one was a drop out item. IOW, one bearing had .005" clearance (This is BAD) so the wheel wobbled and wiggled. After cleaning up & powder coating the wheels, I used .006" shim stock to form a "sleeve" and pressed a new set of bearings into place. The tire is another AVON 130/70 AM23 "C21 Racing" compound.

While everything was apart on the back end, I noticed that the swing arm was "stuck" and refused to move! At first I thought that it was because of the shocks.... Unfortunately, it was the swing arm pivot shaft - the thing was frozen! In fact, one of the pins had been sheared nearly in half from someone forcing the issue in an attempt to tighten the chain! It took me quite awhile to get the whole assembly out, I sprayed it repeatedly with Liquid Wrench and after 4 days of this began gently tapping with a brass punch and out it came!

Upon inspection, the brass bushings seemed fine but the shaft was tore up. I took it to a machinist and made a new one and used a similar sized drill bit shank to make a new pin. The eccentrics were tore up, but they filed down easy enough - the eccentric bore in the frame was a mess so I used a die grinder and "flap wheel" to smoothe everything out. After messing with everything for an hour, the swing arm was back in place and working as designed. Notice the deep grooves in my case by the piece of tape - this is what my CASE SAVER product prevents. NOTE: The shims have to be EXACTLY aligned, get someone to help you when you put everything back together - it is a real PITA.

6/02: The bike is still way to harsh so I have just made 32.5mm spacers and replaced the med wt. MOTUL with 195cc's of Dextron III ATF, hopefully this will cure the ultra stiff front end. I will post the result once I get everything else I am currently doing to get her ready for display at the DUCATI MUSEUM at Laguna Seca done and take her out for a ride.