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DB2 rebuild: Here we go again!
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welshlamb



Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 592
Location: South Wales , Nr. Abergavenny

PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:57 am    Post subject: DB2 rebuild: Here we go again! Reply with quote

My entry to Bimota ownership was a DB2SR that I bought from Germany and re commissioned.



With help and guidance from 2Bims and others on this forum the work progressed and I managed to share my highs and lows of the process here. http://www.bimotaforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=4462&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=105. It was a beautiful bike (even more so in hindsight) and I had one good summer (or whatever it we have in UK) of use after completion. Unfortunately I was then made redundant at a time in my life when it seems to have morphed all too easily into premature retirement.

In a bit of a kneejerk reaction I felt I should sell the bike. Whatever regrets I had were softened by the knowledge it had gone to a good home with some other Italian lovelies to talk to. It is also being treated to some further mods and TLC and no doubt this summer (if allowed!) it will be strutting the highways and drawing admiring looks.

but....eventually with a Bimota shaped hole in the garage I succumbed and took pity on an early DB2 (half faired) that was on sale at Centrepoint bike dismantlers (sorry sales!) In Qld Australia.





As is obvious from the photos, not actually a complete bike (we are talking Centrepoint Rolling Eyes ) but I've always liked the idea of a HF to show of the classic Ducati engine and decided that as 'retirement' looked to have overtaken me I should have a 'retirement' project (or at least another one!)

With lockdown etc I thought I might share with forumists some of the rebuild and issues I've encountered (and continue to) along the way. Hopefully at some point there will be a picture of the finished bike.

As the project has ben underway for several months (mainly research and parts sourcing) this wont be a strict build 'diary' but I hope theres will be something of interest and perhaps new in it.

Well thats a start made ... more content to follow .. what can go wrong Wink
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2bims



Joined: 03 Apr 2010
Posts: 7289

PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good to see some pictures....and look forward to seeing the process....and hopefully progress
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brian



Joined: 22 Aug 2011
Posts: 3769
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looking forward to this thread welshlamb! Good to hear that your new DB2 is coming along.

Your description of Centrepoint is fairly accurate. I bought a DB4 from them which was less complete than your DB2. I knew what I was buying though as my plan was to simply use it as a spare parts stash for my other DB4
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hindsight



Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Posts: 126
Location: Central Scotland

PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:52 am    Post subject: Re: DB2 rebuild: Here we go again! Reply with quote

welshlamb wrote:
It is also being treated to some further mods and TLC and no doubt this summer (if allowed!) it will be strutting the highways and drawing admiring looks.


Indeed.. it's now running on 944 with new cams and exhaust, and as the winter project transitions into a lockdown project I'm now also working on a cunning plan to allow the ECU to be monitored and tuned more easily.

Looking forward to following your story Ralph..
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2bims



Joined: 03 Apr 2010
Posts: 7289

PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh Hello Hindsight....>So...you've kept the fuel injection system on it then?....Managed to get out on it? PRe lockdown that is...thoughts on riding?
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welshlamb



Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 592
Location: South Wales , Nr. Abergavenny

PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reality Dawns. Reply with quote

Well after some negotiations with Centrepoint (why advertise 'best offer' then refuse to budge below the posted price?) they actually were pretty quick in crating and despatching.



Some weeks later I scuttled to Southampton to take delivery of my crate (I used a friend's warehouse so I could unpack there and bring the bike back in a van... cheers Kevin).

Soon unpacked


The good parts were still there, aftermarket exhaust from headers back wards and the Mikuni TDMR 40 carbs









even the full key set


and some miniature Vegimites.. (don't you just love those aussies!!)


However a quick once over showed that along with missing items (seat unit and fairing (incl indicators and mirrors) petrol tank, chain, throttle assy and reg/rectifier there were signs of worse than hoped for corrosion. I think Japanese bikes can be either beautiful or to be frank worse than those in Europe in this respect. I think the fact that many bikes in Japan are kept outside in cortyards (garages a rare luxury for many) and that they have coastal cities with some very humid summers and wet winters doesnt help. You also see a few horrendous bikes on Yahoo.jp that I can only assume were caught in the great Tsunami of 2011 (although not suggesting that with this bike.
In contrast the front end around the headstock was liberally lubricated and looks like blown seals on one/both steering damper/forks.

But look at the exhaust and fasteners. Mmmmm!



and frame paint seemed very faded


as did the rear shock (probably performance and cosmetics!)



..... and as for the rear sprocket!!!



I'm pretty sure I knew what had caused that but for now it was time to tidy up the warehouse and van the bike back to sunny Monmouth!
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brian



Joined: 22 Aug 2011
Posts: 3769
Location: Australia

PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 2:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like it might have had the wrong pitch chain on it at some point.

I hope you’re going to completely strip the bike or at least check every bolt etc. I saw this bike at Centrepoint when I was there, I remember it as I asked if they would sell the Mikuni flatslides.
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'99 DB4 #104, '96 SB6 #1165, '94 DB2 J #652, '99 DB4 #088, '08 VTX1800, '93 ZXR750R M1, '95 ZXR750, '95 ZXR750 Race Bike, '94 CBR400rr NC29 Race Bike, '94 CB250, '49 BSA C10 250, '61 BSA A10 650, '89 ZXR750, '91 Ducati 851
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welshlamb



Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 592
Location: South Wales , Nr. Abergavenny

PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

brian wrote:

I hope you’re going to completely strip the bike or at least check every bolt etc.


Oh Yes. Literally a full nut and bolt resto on the way plus some upgrades including engine. All will become clear!!
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hindsight



Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Posts: 126
Location: Central Scotland

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

2bims wrote:
Oh Hello Hindsight....>So...you've kept the fuel injection system on it then?....Managed to get out on it? PRe lockdown that is...thoughts on riding?


Hi Steve -

There was never a point that it wasn't staying - I very much prefer to work on EFI than Carb systems.

The bodywork is still at the paintshop, in lockdown, so no opportunity to ride at the moment unfortunately.

However - the engine is running just fine on the 944 kit (but I'm aware that the fueling could do with a bit of a tweak), and although I've been in touch with the fella in Germany who last tuned the bike (22 years ago), getting a new chip hasn't been possible yet.. though I've got a new plan involving a new, self-built/opensource ECU. If/when I get the prototype working, I'll probably post a fuller story..

Mike
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welshlamb



Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 592
Location: South Wales , Nr. Abergavenny

PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is the very likely reason for the sprocket damage!





There are only two of the five cush drive pins still operating (sort of). Two have sheared and one is 'missing' altogether. As there is no way for it to escape I can only assume that the 'missing' pin was also sheared and in the dismantling of the bike for shipment to Centrepoint in Aus (or their 'rebuild' LOL!) it went walkies.

OUCH!!

This was a known issue with the originally fitted pins which only had an M10 thread into the wheel, clearly not up to the V-Twins Torque delivery! (although this is the worst I've heard of) The factory I believe changed to M12 and finally M14 threads in the course of production. Fingers crossed I could source some of the upgraded parts (also replacing the rock-hard, aged rubbers at the same time!) and that the wheel itself could be rescued.
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Jonny B Bad



Joined: 05 Dec 2009
Posts: 555
Location: NE London

PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:50 am    Post subject: Sprocket damage Reply with quote

I caught my Oscams early and just re-coiled the holes in the wheel and re-used the original pins. I’ve had 30 ensuing years without issue. It wasn’t that the pins weren’t up to the job, but they couldn’t be adequately tightened in the ally wheel.
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2bims



Joined: 03 Apr 2010
Posts: 7289

PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:04 am    Post subject: Re: Sprocket damage Reply with quote

Jonny B Bad wrote:
I caught my Oscams early and just re-coiled the holes in the wheel and re-used the original pins. I’ve had 30 ensuing years without issue. It wasn’t that the pins weren’t up to the job, but they couldn’t be adequately tightened in the ally wheel.


Is that on a db or sb or by bimota??...same wheels used on all 3 but I've only seen issues on the db series.....mine had one sheared bolt....but no head of the bolt on there....so dome muppet saw the issue...and thought....naaahhhhhh.....4 bomts is fine....ill6jyst remove the head anyway to scare the next new owner.....then he'll check through the whole bike when he finds this....and I did...
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welshlamb



Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 592
Location: South Wales , Nr. Abergavenny

PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, I managed to get the wheel repaired at a local shop run by a long retired ex speedway racer/engineer. Mainly busy with classic and vintage car stuff.. Workshop a collection of old lathes, milling machines, swarf and shelves upon shelves of well thumbed manuals and data books. He doesn't advertise and nothing outside his unit to indicate... took me two attempts to find him!

I think he only took pity on me because he likes bikes! Says he prefers to stay hidden as he's got more than enough work to do and 'old stuff' never takes less time than customer thinks it should!

Anyway after 90 mins of charged work I had a wheel back with broken bits extracted and M14 THREADS IN PLACE! Very reasonable since he had to extract the sheared pins and then make a tool to centre the drilling and tapping. One thread was touch and go due to previous damage but I managed to screw in a new M14 'test pin' to all threads before taking the wheel home and packing it off to the powder coaters.



The cush drive pins with M14 threads!!
how to diagnose laptop keyboard problems


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Last edited by welshlamb on Mon Apr 20, 2020 1:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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welshlamb



Joined: 09 Mar 2011
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Location: South Wales , Nr. Abergavenny

PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:32 pm    Post subject: Oner step forward Reply with quote

Of course at the moment its very difficult for anyone with a project using outside resources (ie about 99% of projects !) Either the supplier is closed or one of their sub-suppliers/subcons is closed. Currently I have suspension, frame parts and an engine 'in limbo' at suppliers and bits I cant send out even if I want to. Ah well better times will come and at least there are no event deadlnes to work to and last minure dashes to IOM TT or Spa Classic! Next year methinks!

Anyway nice to report the small successes as they are.!!

Rear shock.... was in a SHOCKING state! (please excuse)



and then after a full rebuild and refinishing



oops! and now with some new cable-tidy/spiral wrap!



The forks are also in for a rebuild but when I picked up the rear shock (4 days before the big lockdown) the forks were still at a subcon who had just gone into self isolation. Very happy with the rear shock so hopefully good things do come to those that wait.
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Last edited by welshlamb on Tue Apr 28, 2020 9:19 am; edited 2 times in total
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welshlamb



Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 592
Location: South Wales , Nr. Abergavenny

PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 1:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The rear caliper needed servicing so looking at seal kit as a minimum. I never seem to have much luck with pistons and seized bleed nipples (painful!)...its also very hard to get the original gold finish back to a nice state once grubby and ingrained. (The caliper was worse than the photo suggests)



I could have bought a new P32B caliper (£70-£110) but the newer ones dont have the 'Brembo' script on them (just the logo as per the pic below) and I wanted to keep the looks original.



In the end I went for a full service/recondition by Powerhouse (advertise kits and rebuild services on EBay and elsewhere) £78 and returned in 10 days from me posting. Very pleased with the results.







another piece for the 'clean shelf' ready for the rebuild!
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