Motorcyclists, Check In Here!

[res308]

On 3/30/2022 at 2:18 PM, gregintenn said:

I put some miles on it today. It is windy, but still very nice. I got over 48mpg on the last tank of gas. That’s pretty cool! I’m sure hoping to wear out a set of tires this year.

Refresh my memory on what you’re riding. I know you posted about it a while back but that’s been more than 5 minutes ago and I can’t remember what it was. 

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, res308 said:

Refresh my memory on what you’re riding. I know you posted about it a while back but that’s been more than 5 minutes ago and I can’t remember what it was. 

07 Fatboy.

[res308]

16 hours ago, gregintenn said:

07 Fatboy.

Ah, yeah. Good choice. 
I finally traded off that dad-gum rough riding Street Glide last week. Went to a Heritage. Now I ride down the road thinking “Ahhhhhh More Gooder!”

[Capbyrd]

Sunday morning I woke up and went to the range for the monthly 600 yard match.  When it was over, I came home and got the bike and rode before going to work for the night.  Was an amazing day all around.  I really missed my bike. 

[res308]

Funny how much they help and how much they mean to us. I’ve never cared what anybody rides as long as they ride. “Sittin’ on two’s” as someone put it. 

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, res308 said:

Funny how much they help and how much they mean to us. I’ve never cared what anybody rides as long as they ride. “Sittin’ on two’s” as someone put it. 

Naa… me neither. Heck! If they’re riding a mini bike, they’re having more fun than anybody else. Ridin’s ride’n far as I’m concerned. I’ve yet to ride any bike I didn’t like for one reason or another.

[gregintenn]

3 hours ago, Capbyrd said:

Sunday morning I woke up and went to the range for the monthly 600 yard match.  When it was over, I came home and got the bike and rode before going to work for the night.  Was an amazing day all around.  I really missed my bike. 

My kid’s Sportster was at the mechanic for a month wIting for a fuel petcock to come in. I thought we were going to have to take him to therapy or something.

[Darrell]

I just pulled the timing belts from my "new" (2004) Ducati 999. Imagine my surprise when half of the horizontal exhaust cam pulley came off with the belt!  Fortunately, they're easy to find. I knew going in that there would be surprises....

 

 

[gregintenn]

What on earth would cause this?^^^

[Darrell]

Even though they're expensive, Ducati has a reputation for the odd poor casting. I can think of nothing that would cause this failure apart from a part that is defective from the manufacturer. In this case I think the bike would have had a catastrophic failure had it run for 5 minutes longer.  I saw no sign of the crack before removing the belt, but once the belt tension was relieved the outside half just fell off. Whew!

[peejman]

16 hours ago, gregintenn said:

My kid’s Sportster was at the mechanic for a month wIting for a fuel petcock to come in. I thought we were going to have to take him to therapy or something.

PMS...   parked motorcycle syndrome. 

 

13 hours ago, Darrell said:

Even though they're expensive, Ducati has a reputation for the odd poor casting. I can think of nothing that would cause this failure apart from a part that is defective from the manufacturer. In this case I think the bike would have had a catastrophic failure had it run for 5 minutes longer.  I saw no sign of the crack before removing the belt, but once the belt tension was relieved the outside half just fell off. Whew!

Post up a pic of the fracture surface. From what I see in the other pic, it looks like it may have been cracked for a while. A cast pulley seems an odd choice, or perhaps it's MIM. 

[Darrell]

3 hours ago, peejman said:

A cast pulley seems an odd choice, or perhaps it's MIM. 

I defer to your greater knowledge. MIM never occurred to me, but Ducati has had problems with broken parts in the past. I pulled the rest of the pulley this morning. The fracture is pretty clean, and right along the diameter of the extended portion. Seems very likely that the part was defective. Here are the pics of the fracture:

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Darrell

[gregintenn]

JB Weld!

[peejman]

My best guess is it's MIM. 

The holes are too clean to be as-cast and it clearly isn't forged. The blue color pattern suggests they surface hardened the teeth. I'm not sure about the brown toward the center unless that's dirt or oil staining, though I don't think that's an oil wetted area?  Belt dust?

Maybe a fit mismatch and the bolt got over-tightened when installed and caused it to split. It doesn't appear to have spent any time running while cracked before it failed, it just popped all at once. 

Does a magnet stick to it?  Does it feel inordinately light for its size?  Being a race bike, shaving every ounce of rotating mass is high on the list. 

[Darrell]

31 minutes ago, peejman said:

Maybe a fit mismatch and the bolt got over-tightened when installed and caused it to split.

I don't think there was any kind of fit mismatch, as the part that bolts to the camshaft is undamaged. I think they just didn't have enough meat on that part of the pulley.  But you're right that there is no oil on that part of the bike. The strange part is that it didn't fail when running, but when I removed the belt. There's not a lot of tension on it, and with no valve springs there isn't a lot of torque exerted against the cams. Just a freaky thing, I guess.  The good news is that a replacement pulley is just $30 or so. Getting it properly degreed will be a PITA.

Edited April 6, 2022 by Darrell

[peejman]

43 minutes ago, Darrell said:

I don't think there was any kind of fit mismatch, as the part that bolts to the camshaft is undamaged. I think they just didn't have enough meat on that part of the pulley.  But you're right that there is no oil on that part of the bike. The strange part is that it didn't fail when running, but when I removed the belt. There's not a lot of tension on it, and with no valve springs there isn't a lot of torque exerted against the cams. Just a freaky thing, I guess.  The good news is that a replacement pulley is just $30 or so. Getting it properly degreed will be a PITA.

The low cost further makes me think MIM. Good luck with the rebuild. Setting cam timing on a desmo isn't high on my list of fun things to do on a Saturday. 

[Darrell]

18 hours ago, peejman said:

Setting cam timing on a desmo isn't high on my list of fun things to do on a Saturday. 

NOTHING to do with a Ducati valve train is a treat. By the way, the parts are magnetic.

Edited April 7, 2022 by Darrell

[Jackalope]

8 hours ago, Darrell said:

NOTHING to do with a Ducati valve train is a treat. By the way, they parts are magnetic.

At least you can get parts to repair it.  With the current world situation, I'm guessing it'll be hard to obtain parts for my Ural.  I have stocked up on some spares, but if anything major breaks it'll be interesting.

I've never seen a cam pulley break like that, it's truly remarkable.  Rode a friend's Ducati once, nice bike.

 

[Wdodd]

Hey Jackalope ...... Let’s see a picture or two of your Ural.

[Darrell]

I had to go to Murfreesboro yesterday, about 110 miles each way, so I rode my BMW and took Hwy 70. The area around Center Hill Lake is a hoot, and I had no traffic in front of me.

[gregintenn]

3 hours ago, Darrell said:

I had to go to Murfreesboro yesterday, about 110 miles each way, so I rode my BMW and took Hwy 70. The area around Center Hill Lake is a hoot, and I had no traffic in front of me.

You’re tougher than me! I rode a little while yesterday, then decided it wasn’t quite as warm on a bike as it was walking around the yard. Today was the first time I can recall mowing grass in the snow. I’m ready for spring.

[Jackalope]

On 4/7/2022 at 7:03 PM, Wdodd said:

Hey Jackalope ...... Let’s see a picture or two of your Ural.

 

[Jackalope]

Here's another view from the side.  It's nice being able to carry a spare wheel and extra fuel in style.  I originally purchased the Ural specifically so one of my dogs could ride with me.  And she does have a set of doggles for her eyes.  It's a good set-up for camping, because it's possible to carry so much gear.  Urals aren't very fast, maybe 60 mph on a good day, but having two wheel drive is helpful in mud and snow.  It also has a reverse gear.  The pipe  on the hood at the front of the sidecar is for mounting a machine gun, seriously.

[gregintenn]

Will the sanctions affect parts availability in the future for that Ural? Is there a dealer locally?

[Crowsniper]

I've got a 950 Yamaha V Star tourer and a Goldwing. Love them both. Outlook for tomorrow is 75 deg. Looks like a good day to ride.