Ducati 998 basket case project

Triumph too if I'm not mistaken
https://www.sportbiketrackgear.com/...5-100mm-radial-m4-monobloc-front-caliper-kit/


BTW, nice work here....I love these types of resurrection threads

 

You're right. Triumph does use 100mm spacing as well, but only on the 'R' models with Brembo M4 calipers. The standard forks have 108mm caliper bolt spacing. Either way, M4s are expensive used from any of the Ducati/Triumphs. The KTM RC8 used to have them as well, and they're cheaper on the used market, if you can manage to find them.

I wasn't ready to shell out another $700 to STG for calipers when the BMW's units would do. I must've made 8 order with STG in the last 60 days.

 

Thanks I enjoyed this thread! Damn you have some perseverance! I built a 996 out of parts for track days, but of course I knew the motor was good and I had unlimited access to the parts bin at MotoCorse so I was able to hunt down all the little bits.

As I was reading I was talking to the screen. You were talking 1098 engines and I'm like "But the top injector won't clear the frame crossmember!" Then when you bought the forks I'm like "But those triples won't work! And the rotors are different spacing!"

What do you plan to run for an ECU? Were these the chip style ECU's like the 996 had? I thought the 999 was newer / different stuff. You did the right thing going with the '05 motor, that one was the best.

When I built my 848/air cooled hybrid, I almost went with the 996 frame because I just loved that style of bike. But they produced so many 848/1098 bikes that the parts were everywhere, the previous gen 996/998 parts were more scarce and more expensive, as you've found out. Hope to see it on track soon!

 

I almost bought a leftover 2004 998 FE in '05...but 21,999 was too rich for me. Hope this works out, always loved the 996R/998R!!

 

I plan on running the factory ECU, at least for now. The engine/electronics are remaining stock until I get it running and dialed in chassis wise. Perhaps then I'll look at engine upgrades/ecu upgrades etc. The bike came with a full termi 54mm system that needed some repair and the correct 996R Termi ECM. I'm going to dyno it shortly just to see how poor the tune is. Hopefully it doesn't cost me more money in that department just yet.

The 998 uses the 59M ECU. Functionally the same as the later 5AM ECU, but the maps are not interchangeable.

The abundance of 848/1098 definitely makes them an attractive build. It also benefits me however, because these Ducatis are like legos. Most things from 996-1198 are pretty interchangeable. The forks, triples, brakes, swingarms, engines, hubs, wheels etc would all swap over with relative ease. I looked for months for some old school FG43s and axial 65mm Brembos, but came up empty handed. Finding FGRT800s and radials was MUCH easier and cheaper.

 

I couldn’t get the stock brake reservoir to fit in any workable fashion. STG to the rescue with a Brembo reservoir. Not having a proper bracket, I resorted to drilling and tapping the top triple. This is common practice in the 916 world, but it still hurt. A little lock wire for safety’s sake and the reservoir is mounted. Don’t use this as a template on how to lock wire - it ain’t pretty.

Going to bleed the clutch I found what I was expecting. I suspect this is 15 year old fluid as it was grossly black and filled with debris. Flushed with Motul 5.1 and ready for use again.


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I admire your work and determination. Great documentation as well. Many will learn from this thread.

 

I know I sure have...I am way too old to buy a basket case.


How many times has your wife said, "I told you so."?

 

The whole way through reading this I kept asking myself why he didn't buy a salvaged 1098s and hang some Sharkskins on it. Even 996/998 body if you love the look...I do (own a red 996S that I love). Guess not knowing the engine was nuked was the moment that part of the project went off on a tangent.
Job well done though. Hope it's a fun, fast track weapon after all your efforts.

 

I initially got this 'next gen 2' class in my head that is only legal for 2004 and earlier machines. I do like the 848, but have been spoiled after riding some with 1040cc kits. The big bikes have a nice shove that I really enjoy. If I could've found a 1098/1198 for near the price this pile-o-garbage was, I could've been persuaded for sure.

 

All Euro bikes do. Its nothing new. KTM, Aprilia, BMW, Husky, Ducati, ect

 

The new STACK oil pressure gauge arrived. The sending unit is much smaller than the previous one I tried, and approximately the same size as the OEM unit.
Old:
New:
Compared to OEM

The damn thing is 1/4 NPT though, not M10 as I thought. An adapter had to be used making the sending unit much longer than would be ideal. The unit mounting to the oil cooler hose was implemented by Ducati around 2010 because the previous position of mounting directly to the clutch cover was causing premature sensor failure due to heavy vibrations.

The problem with implementing this on a 998 is the ECU and regulator reside right where the sensor is trying to be. On the 848/1198 series bikes the ECU and regulator are on the opposite side leaving plenty of room for the sending unit. I tried orienting the sender in a variety of directions but it looks like upside down is the only fitting position. I don’t really see this causing an issue, but I’ve never seen a sender mounted inverted before. First time for everything.



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Admittedly I'm just eyeballing and too lazy to look up actual measurements, but couldn't you just throw the sensor in the lathe and machine it down to M10?

 

I'm sure you could, but I don't have a lathe to throw it in. I thought about running an M10 tap over it very briefly, but thought the NPT taper would give me trouble and I could end up ruining it. So I bailed and just used the adapter.

 

Having seen more than 1 piece of bodywork get burned or melted from a hot horizontal cylinder exhaust pipe, I thought it best to take precautions. DEI makes lots of great thermal barrier products. I chose their standard exhaust wrap. It was chosen because it’s been sitting in my garage for probably 5 years waiting for its calling. Additionally some thermal tape will go on the backside of the fairings for additional protection


I’d planned on holding off on tires until I could get the bike on a dyno, but my local dyno facility is booked up until after the next track day that Is planned as my ‘shakedown’ event. So the tires go on now and dyno checking/tuning will come later.


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Love these kinds of threads.

Keep it coming.....and good luck!

 

Nothing like the look of fresh slicks. Nice work, probably the most technical thread I’ve ever read on here!

 

To reiterate : When building a bike (or anything for that matter) have a plan. “While you’re in there” becomes a very slippery slope. ‘Future proofing’ always ends up costing 10x more than you thought it would.

As my shakedown track day approaches (4/20/19) I was going over some last minute checks on the Ducati. I noticed a little wet spot on my brand new front tire. Hmmm. Tracing the little dribble line it appears to be coming from the coolant reservoir.

The 916-998 radiator does not have a pressure cap, instead there’s a hose that runs to a plastic bottle with a pressure cap tucked away in the frame just behind the headstock. They’re very prone to cracking at the seams with repeated heat cycling and leaking. Stock used replacements are $30-50, but are almost guaranteed to fail without warning at some point. Luckily the aftermarket has stepped up and offered solutions. There’s a nice aluminum tig welded reservoir for approx $225.
Then I came to learn this reservoir (like the stock ones) prohibits the use of the ‘corse’ style larger airboxes that are common upgrades for these machines. I hadn’t planned on getting a fancy $1000 airbox, but you never know. No sense in ruling out that possibility now.

EVR, who makes the corse airbox, also makes carbon pressurized reservoir replacements. Also $225+. Ouch.

So I searched for a better solution. Ditch the stupid capless radiator altogether. When Ducati transitioned to the 999, they used a radiator with pressurizer cap. Presumably this was done to remove the reservoir and fit bigger airboxes. 999 radiators are $50-$100 on eBay. The inlet and outlets are almost identical - perfect.


My 998 radiator in silver and the 999 unit in black above. Before I bought it I found measurements of the mounting tabs - exactly the same as the 998. Loving this.

The 999 uses a really long vertical inlet requiring trimming of my old hoses to make fit. Not bad at all.

Sitting back proudly thinking how smart I was to do this instead of all those idiots that buy fancy $200 reservoirs, I decided to reinstall the airbox and inlet tubes that had to be removed to get the original reservoir out.

Fuck.


The right side air inlet tube tries to occupy the exact same space as the new proud radiator cap. All my dealership memories came rushing back of flushing cooling systems on 848s and 1198s. They use the same 999 setup and the fit is so tight you can’t even remove the radiator cap because it hits the underside of the air inlet tube. I had the same problem, only worse because my tube wouldn’t even fit.

At this point there’s no time to get another 998 style reservoir. I’d also need 998 rad hoses before the weekend because I’ve cut mine, because I’m a dumbass. Time to make this radiator fit.

I made this hideous little bracket (using the term ‘made’ very loosely here) to move the radiator forward about .5” to get clearance for the radiator cap.

On the right side where the cap is, the radiator mounts onto a stud coming from the frame, or it’s supposed to. Now it’s zip tied slightly farther forward and all is well again. There’s even still ample front tire clearance.

Also because I’m a dumbass I didn’t place my
Order for fairings in time to get them for this coming trackday. If you remember from the first post in this thread, all I’ve ever had was a tank, seat and nose fairing. All of which damaged in one way or another. The nose fairing was cracked from the corner to where the headlight would fit. I stitched it with zip ties. It’s embarrassing. The seat unit is just scuffed and ugly. I taped over where the headlights and taillights used to reside and now she’s ready to roll for the first time.

I have a set of 1098 armor bodies upstairs somewhere but didn’t really have time to attempt to fit it. But, using 1098 fitment forks means the front fender will go on without modification. So that will get attached before the wheels roll this weekend. The Triumph is also coming as I expect problems with the Ducati as this is the first time it’s been ridden in 2 years and after everything has been removed and reassembled at some point.


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Good stuff....

 

Great read, thanks for taking the time to post up for all of us