Sunday, 27 September 2020

Superlight Rearsets

So some stuff has been happening in the workshop. The Mk1 Ducati Superlight that I've owned for the last sixteen years, the one that every year since then I've said I'm going to restore, is finally in the process of getting restored.

I blew up the motor a couple of years back but manged to procure a write-off Multistrada 1000DS which donated its fuel injected motor to the cause. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but a little more research would have revealed that the there are two types of swingarm arrangement employed by Ducati, and the Superlight and the Multistrada are different in this respect.

It will take a bit of engineering, but I can modify the 1000DS motor to accept the Superlight Swingarm. But it's a bit like that old joke about a traveler asking a stranger for directions - I wouldn't start from here...

Anyway, the project is underway and the plan is to make the thing as light as possible, hopefully around 160kg, accentuate it's sweet handling and to make it comfortable and easy to ride. To this end I fabricated a set of footrest assemblies that are about 40 mm lower and almost a kilogram lighter than stock.

More to follow.

I made a nice bit! Trick carbon fibre gear shift rod with stainless Heim joints.

New footpegs. These are probably going to get knurled.

Work in progress on the levers.

Work in progress on the hangers.

The finished carbon shift rod weighs 13 grams.

All the parts ready for assembly.

Left hand footrest assembly in situ.

Right hand footrest assembly in situ. The hangers will be powdercoated gloss black. The other bits will be polished.

In the middle of all this, the power switch on the lathe packed in, which caused some consternation. This is the replacement.

Wiring the thing up also caused some consternation.

The workshop, finally tidy for the first time in four or five years.



Images Mercenary


#Ducati900SL #Mk1Superlight #DucatiSuperlight #FootrestAssemblies #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

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