Project SS

239desmo

239desmo

Is it nearly bedtime?
Finding myself using an old bike because Ducati didn't (and still doesn't) make what I fancied I was left with either buying a Triumph/Guzzi or transforming a more modern Ducati into what I wanted.
With the number of projects ongoing I suspect there are a lot of us about!
The philosophy was get a belt motor in an "older" looking bike and if it blows up I can get another for £500 as opposed to £5000 for a bevel.
What really set me off was the stunning bike in Australia here.
The thing I liked was the simplicity and I just fell in love with the reverse cone megaphone.
It is of course using a bevel motor which although appealing defeated the purpose of the exercise.
I thought of using a bevel frame and modifying it to carry a belt motor but a combination of engineering skills I don't have (I now have someone locallly who could do this though) and working out how to deal with the drive on the other side etc meant I eventually gave up on that.
Now having been through the project I know it could be done though.
Derek was (and has been all the way through) fantastic finding scale drawings of frames etc to see how far we would need to go.
I then thought of a Baines Imola kit.
Link
Attraction was it was "off the shelf" and although far from cheap I just needed a donor bike and paint it in theory.
Downsides were firstly it turned out there was one had just arrived in the area from the South but more importantly I realised that whatever badge was on it it was never going to be a Ducati it was simply a Baines frame with a Ducati motor.
However on looking at the Baines I realised that the frame was largely a standard SS frame which was modified at the rear so that set me off thinking "why not just modify an existing SS and get bodywork for it"?
And that was the start of the process over 3 years ago.
 
First thing was find a "donor" bike and I quickly found a really sound 750SS on the doorstep.
OK it's not a 900 but then again being true to the roots of the project a 750 was more appropriate and had a wet clutch and was fast enough for what I wanted.
View attachment 6704




Bike minus bodywork.
 
239desmo said:
First thing was find a "donor" bike and I quickly found a really sound 750SS on the doorstep.
OK it's not a 900 but then again being true to the roots of the project a 750 was more appropriate and had a wet clutch and was fast enough for what I wanted.
View attachment 6704




Bike minus bodywork.
Click to expand...

If you find another close by give me a shout, I need a 750 or 900 for my next project!
 
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First modification was to chop the rear subframe and make up a "hoop" for the future seat unit to sit on.
I got a local engineering workshop to do this. Helps that the owner is into Italian bikes!

At the same time I had to get a mounting point made for the footrests as they went with the subframe. That made measuring interesting sitting on an imaginary seat leaning over an imaginary tank and holding a leg in position while he marked where my foot was sitting!
The rearsets in the picture were bought of fleabay but eventually decided they were not in keeping with the rest of the bike and I got some made as a one-off. I still have them if anyone is needing a set.
 
Here are a few photos of a TTF1 exhaust may be useful for making one for your bike, I think the easiest way would be to make a long cone and cut and twist accordingly to suit your frame and keep it tucked away.Or are you going for the short stubby look? Also a copy of a drawing that someone altered to make a SS frame like a TT, are you going for the Imola look or the older SS?

Sam
 
sam said:
Here are a few photos of a TTF1 exhaust may be useful for making one for your bike, I think the easiest way would be to make a long cone and cut and twist accordingly to suit your frame and keep it tucked away.Or are you going for the short stubby look? Also a copy of a drawing that someone altered to make a SS frame like a TT, are you going for the Imola look or the older SS?

Sam
Click to expand...
Like that exhaust Sam!
This was actually the bike 3 years ago (we don't all work as fast as you!!:o)

I was originally going to go for a 2 into one high level with exhaust coming out under the seat but lack of space meant I went for 2 high level exhausts.
I wanted the reverse cone look so I found that I could get them "off the shelf" and then had to get the headers made.

I swithered on the Imola tank or an SS and decided on the Imola look as an SS tank was going to look odd on the width of that frame.

The major hold up was getting on the waiting list for John Williams at The Tank Shop to make up the tank, seat unit, fairing and mudguard.
That was approx 18 months in total. I had heard varing reports on him and his work but I have to say the guy is a genius at what he does and my impression is that he doesn't need to do it and until the mood takes him you could wait forever.
Will try and get a couple of piccies of the bodywork loosely attached next.
 
Bodywork loosely attached. Fairing sitting too low at this point.

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Because of the way the bike was now looking I started changing my thoughts on the overall look I would go for.
Initially I was thinking "pretty maybe a bit feminine" but when I saw the tank in the flesh (pictures don't give the real story) I thought "aggressive/endurance racer" look was the way.
 
Instrumentation figured next.
Thought the standard clocks were not in keeping with the project and went on the hunt for something that would look more the part.
Always liked the big white faced Veglia single clocks and settled on the Motogadget one.
Not cheap but if I am going to have it staring back at me every time I ride the bike I had to be happy with it.
Picture again with it tacked in place.

View attachment 6750
 
I like, I like a lot love a classic look. Ogri eat your heart out! (that will get some of the bairns thinking what's he on about) There is a Guy in Fort William with a mandrel bender I have had 1mm stainless bent up to 60mm in dia by him for an exhaust that I was building for my Autocross buggy. Looks like you have a friendly engineering shop close by could be an option if you take the centreline measurements through the bends from the original it will give you a good starting point for the headers then route them where you want.What about a screen for the fairing?
 
I got the exhaust made up with cut and shut rather than bending as I couldn't find anyone locally to do it.
There is someone now in Stafford doing it. If you have details for the bloke in Fort William that would be handy for my next project!
Jobs left to get the bike on the road are fit/cut screen (supplied by The Tank Shop) adjust controls to ensure not fouling tank on full lock and hook up fuel tank to the vacuum pump.
 
Hope whoever welded the exhaust did not get too much penetration the problem with that is it creates an" EDDY" in the flow of the gasses if you look at a rock in the river you will see what I mean by looking at the flow of water around it. Have you got the silencer/ MEGAPHONE sorted out yet? I think this is the guy that has the mandrel bender cant find his details in my exhaust folder.

Highland Tubular Products
Fort William
01397 701116
Unit 21B, Fort William, Inverness Shire, PH33 6PR
 
Guy who made it has a very good reputation and welds just about anything.
I don't have a balance pipe but outright performance was never the goal.
Bike has a very distinctive "beat" off it now as a combination of the reverse cone megas and no balance pipe. The baffles were "altered" (cough) before it went on the Dyno to help the breathing you understand.;)
 
What I thought a year ago was the final "dry build" but because I changed my mind on swingarm and mainly wheels it wasn't!

Rearsets made.
Back pot exhaust goes off on a mystery tour to get a similar length to front.
Sink tail light into the seat unit to get a flush look to the back and tidy it up.
Fairing brackets made which was a very fiddly job.

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Hi Iain,

I wanted an Imola style tank but it sort of morphed into what it is now because on the bevel you have a single spar to sit on whereas this had to be built around the trellis.
Inially I wasn't sure if I liked it or not but it has grown on me if for no other reason everything else on the bike has been made as a one off as well.
Apparently it holds 20 litres but I think I will need a stop long before I empty the tank!!

And thanks with your help with the exhaust ideas/photos etc! How is your project?
 
Hi when you said cut and shut I thought you were referring to straight lengths of pipe cut at an angle and welded to form a rad but can see you have used bends and then had welded.


I have not been near my project for a couple of weeks as the kids are on holiday it was Lauder common riding a few weeks ago the kids involved in that with the fancy dress and sports days.

I had also promised to take them camping so went up to the Hermitage then over to Aberfeldy and camped the night at Grantully,headed over to Kenmore and down to Killin. Spent a day at Blair drummond Safari (managed to get a puncture in the lion compound) then back home last night.
 
Just as I was about to start to strip the bike for powdercoating etc I decided that I would relent and buy spoked wheels rather than the alloys.
Ended up I got a pair from a Sport Classic but the next sentence makes it sound like a piece of cake but it wasn't.
Spindles are a different size (25mm as oppossed to 17 &20mm) and I got round that by different bearings which gave me correct ID and OD but were about 2mm too wide so that involved machining the hubs but then the calipers fouled the spokes so they were machined and when I bought new discs (yes why didn't I buy them an THEN fit the calipers??) I had to adjust/grind the calipers all over again!
Bike was then stripped.
At this point I felt I had gone backwards about a year!:confused:

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Frame went off to Glasgow for powdercoating and Walter kindly collected it and brought it to the club AGM this year.

I also decided that I would change tack on the swingarm and instead of the almost new alloy one I would clean and powdercoat a steel one.
 
239desmo said:
View attachment 6781

Frame went off to Glasgow for powdercoating and Walter kindly collected it and brought it to the club AGM this year.

I also decided that I would change tack on the swingarm and instead of the almost new alloy one I would clean and powdercoat a steel one.
Click to expand...

Looks a wee bit heavy on the powder coating!:lol2: nice touch with the laced rims!:cool:
 
Sent forks down to Reactive Suspension in York to get them re-anodised and re-sprung and binned the oil cooler.
Spring was powdercoated as well.

Butler was given the night off from polishing the horse brasses and set to work in the garage doing something productive!:D (Million thanks for your help!!)

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