Restoring a Ducati 900SS - a Real Dream Bike

I have been without a project for a few weeks, and the opportunity to get my hand on a Ducati 900SS was hard to resist. Some motorcycles are just metal, plastic, oil, and electricity, but some, like the Ducati 900SS, represent more than the sum of their parts. The Ducati 900SS fulfills that role for me, the main reason it's now in my garage. Every time I look at the Ducati 900SS I see sunshine and quiet sweeping roads, hear a thundering V-twin and a rattling clutch. I just drift away into my perfect imagined ride. Dunno why it does that to me, but it manages to trigger memories of rides that I've probably never have with it.

As you can see from the pictures, the Ducati 900SS is in need of some serious engine rebuilding and the motorcycle will take some time to be back at its original glory.

The Ducati 900SS, if fully restored, will do a god job of beating its Superlight cousin on weight. Sadly it's a little down on power due to that engine not working perfectly. The Ducati engine need to be completely stripped out so we can seriously work on the engine of the old girl.

The original idea for the engine rebuild was to give it a complete refresh. This is something we do often, and what is recommended for motorcycles with a big numbers on the clock. The Ducati 900SS has clocked some hundred kilometers over 44,000 kilometers, and with little service history to speak of it seemed like a logical job to me. The desmodromic valve system is fairly robust, but very sensitive to being set up correctly, and the more it wears, the less efficient it gets.

The cylinder heads and cylinders need to be removed, stripped and cleaned. The pistons, barrels, and heads are de-coked. The valve guides get checked, and replaced it necessary. Then we need to clean and lap the valves and seats replace worn rockers, replace collets and stem seals, reassemble everything, and refit the heads with new gaskets. It's quite a lot of work, but if finished it's all worth it.