Ducati Valve Adjustment

[bblass]

IceCold4X4 took advantage of my weakness (that I'm weak) and sold me his Ducati 916. It's got an unknown service history so the first thing on the agenda is to change all the fluids and do a comprehensive service.

Couple of things on this give me pause. I have never messed with desmo valves before but they don't seem terribly complicated, just a few extra steps. The rocker inspection bit gives me some concern; minor pitting is ok but flaking isn't... bad rockers look to be a quick way to foul a motor. No pictures, just a description... New rockers are roughly the value of the bike.

Online I've read everything from "not that bad if you buy the tools and take your time" to *five wrenches out of five, best left to professionals*. I have absolutely no experience with Ducatis but surely outside of the valves the core concepts are the same.

I've ordered the cam lockers, belt tension tester and am about to order a shim kit. Are there any other specialty tools I'm overlooking that make this job easier? Any recommendations on a shim kit or someone on here who has one that would be interested in selling me a few and trading in the old ones? Anyone who's done it and willing to pass along the dark arts of duc maintenance to another in exchange for booze, steak and good karma?

[norton73]

Good source for parts and advice,
http://desmotimes.com/index.html

You can get the rockers resurfaced with stelllite if necessary. I'd suggest joining one of the Ducati forums and searching for answers there. Desmo valves aren't hard if you can add and subtract decimals and measure with a micrometer. 4 valves require rocker removal to adjust.

[kylepeterson]

That sounds like a great garage party.

I bet the difficulty has been blown way out of proportion by a few folks that think cams are scary pieces of unobtainium from mars.

It helps to have a grease board close by so you can look at it while measuring,  add up your current/desired clearance and stuff. Paper gets annoying, it's always tearing at the worst time, getting greasy, etc

Whatever you do, always assemble the cams /timingbelt with the engine always at top dead center on compressiont stroke. (That's a just joke for the guys that follow instructions without thinking about what it means) ;-)

[bblass]

I like the garage party idea! Will post up a time in Events once the shim kit comes in.

[Chitza]

I have a friend you need to meet. Stevo. He was evoStevo on BR 1.0 but hasn't rejoined us. I can hook you up through FB and invite him to your garage party if he is available. Great resource and knowledge on Ducati's.

[bblass]

That would be terrific, thank you Karla!

[Bama_Rider]

There is a special tool for turning the engine over.  You can use the rear wheel but the tool is easier and there are ones out there that aren't as pricey as the factory one.  I use a cell phone app to set belt tension.

[bblass]

I wound up getting a belt tension tester, funky ducati flywheel rotator contraption, some cam locks and a few other assorted recommended doo-dads but never got further than checking the belt tension. The belts were newish and in spec. Those wise in the ways of the desmo advised me to hold off a few thousand miles and do a top end refresh over the winter.   

[LawnmowerRG]

I'd you don't see me post up for this garage party text me and let me know it's going on and I will come help. I will look too. I'm 99% sure we have the shin kit for that one. I have messed with a few of these so I have some carnal knowledge of them. Andy and Steve have way more experience than I do though.
It's really to people because that don't understand what is going on and don't want to mess with stuff they don't have experience with.
Truth is that you just need to pay close attention and be precise.