Although I was lucky enough to buy another garage down the road, I´ve still got some problem with garage space.
Looking for a solution since the Lola will have to be moved out of the current workshop.
Hi Marcus
Could we take a peek under the covers at some point? I am a massive Ducati fan - have owned them since my first 851, bought in 1992 (when they were quite the rarity).
I replaced the 851 with an 888
I then bought a 916, which I collected in April 1996, and its running-in occurred during a trip to Le Mans for the 24-hour motorcycle race. I still have this bike, and recently completed a total nut & bolt restoration...this is how bad it had got:-
It had been sitting in a mate's (damp!!) garage...I was so ashamed I took it apart, installed all new bearings into the cases
Shimmed the end-float on all the shafts
Painted it
Rebuilt the heads (from a 916SP)
Degreed the cams using offset Woodruff keys
Back in the frame
Done
While I was building the 916 and needed something else to ride, I flew to the Netherlands (from UK) and rode back on an 851 I'd bought. Set off from Zwolle at noon one day, and was back home 24 hours and 1000km later...on a 23-year-old Ducati! There's a lot more to this story, involving an overnight stop in Amsterdam, strong Dutch beer, oversleeping, a faulty debit card, a hurried overseas bank transfer, a missed Rotterdam ferry and massive detour through Belgium and northern France to the Channel Tunnel...where I turned up unannounced. There were some tough questions about why I hadn't booked, and why I'd flown to the Netherlands and was returned via road...think they thought I was smuggling drugs or diamonds or something!
I had a rough idea how to get to Europoort / Rotterdam from Zwolle, but the detour needed maps or a Sat-Nav, and I had neither. But I did have a pen and paper:-
The following year I made the same trip, and bought a 996
This time I'd paid up-front, so no debit card problems, and a shorter route
Deserted dancefloor, pint of Stella and motorcycle race boots....what could go wrong?
My new bike on the ferry
I think that'll do for this (pic-heavy) post.