Thunderbike Race Prep Video 11 - Ducati 748 Fitting the Cylinders and Setting Squish

[@stephenbrown40]

Thank you for all your videos. Ive just bought myself a Ducati 748 and will soon be getting a 998 when the right one pops up on EBay. Ive retired from racing and no longer work on bikes for a living anymore, so I thought it time to take the plunge into owning my dream bike and actually enjoying motorcycles as a hobby at long last!! The 916 style bikes are the single best looking bike ever producesd in my eyes, takes you back to a time when racing was "proper", the air horns, the thumping v-twins and the sweet smell of real race fuel they were allowed to use back then! Anyway I just wanted to say thanks, your videos have given me a real head start before i dive into the motor and will save me a huge amount of time pre planning the build half knowing what im letting myself in for. You still racing at Thundersport? If so ill definitely have a mooch over to a meeting for a watch. Cheers, Con

[@DesmoWerx]

Thanks Stephen, unfortunately made the decision not to race anymore. Good luck on the 998 hunt 👍😊

[@Vusseyv]

Well my 998 arrives in a few hours, and I have been watching loads of you vids. Really nicely produced. It seems so complex but you break it down into manageable chunks. You should do a class in person. I would pay for that.

[@DesmoWerx]

Have fun with the 998 Russ, a good choice 👍😎 Thanks for watching, glad they are of use to you

[@cherrybopbop]

As a life long Ducati fan I’ve always wanted to know the work involved in owning one. Your descriptions are brilliant. Great videos

[@DesmoWerx]

Thanks Jason

[@stuartkidd3624]

Great videos really helping me get my 916 back together, I am interested to know what sealant you use for the base gaskets. Thanks 👍

[@DesmoWerx]

Thanks for watching and glad the videos are of help. The sealant used is Threebond 1215, Ducati sell it as a part but its about £5 cheaper via most motor factors.

[@D33frmHawaii]

Amazing videos, on the testaretta engines. 👍👍

[@DesmoWerx]

Thank you very much!

[@duncanriding3030]

Hello Nellie, encouraged by your excellent channel 👍, I am re-building my engine top ends (with the crankcases in the frame). The one job in refitting the barrels that looks "entertaining" is installing the piston pin clips. Have you ever considered/tried replacing the OE wire retaining clips with proper internal circlips? With circlip pliers this job would be much, much easier ..... and we would all be much less likely to drop them into the crankcases.

[@DesmoWerx]

HI Duncan, not considered this type of modification, the channel is a circular grove so would not lend itself to most circlips as they are square profile. You can get tools to make fitting the piston clips easier but they are expensive if you are only doing this once.

[@duncanriding3030]

@@DesmoWerx Thank you, Nellie 👍. I had a practice on the workbench with the old piston/pin/clips. I was wondering why these pistons had a load of scratch marks on the faces above the pin bore ... after my first attempt - when the clip flew across the garage - I now know why 🙄. It is going to be 'entertaining' with less access - due to the crankcases being in the frame - but I am now prepared 🤞.

[@duncanriding3030]

​@@DesmoWerx Hello Nellie, Where can I get the barrel base shims of different thicknesses (0.3/0.4), please?

[@chrisbowman4487]

Great video wish I had the nerve to do that

[@DesmoWerx]

Its not that hard to do if you have basic mechanical skills and the right tools 😊

[@chrisbowman4487]

DesmoWerx I can do all the other work oil change valve adjustment swing arm ‘wheel and steering head bearing . Just got an 1990 gsxr 750 it’s been stood 12 years got it in bits and engine out bit nervous about stripping engine

[@turbonium100]

Great series, thanks for taking the time and effort to record it all.

[@DesmoWerx]

Thanks turbomiun100, glad you have enjoyed the series 👍

[@arturoreign6118]

i know im asking randomly but does anyone know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account? I stupidly lost the password. I love any help you can offer me.

[@bronsonvance1344]

@Arturo Reign instablaster :)

[@arturoreign6118]

@Bronson Vance Thanks for your reply. I found the site on google and im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Seems to take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.

[@arturoreign6118]

@Bronson Vance HOLY **** IT ACTUALLY WORKED! Literally got access to my ig account details within ~ 40 minutes by using the site. Had to pay 15$ but for sure worth the price :) Thank you so much you really help me out !

[@kennyharris7992]

Great video again, quite inspiring, they are now my main staple of visual entertainment and can’t wait to see if you do an air-cooled Motor, I’m hoping to restore my 96 750ss after some house renovation, these videos are giving me the impetus for that, cheers again. Kenny

[@DesmoWerx]

Thanks Kenny, will do an air cooled motor again some time. Just need to find more time lol

[@shanemartinson5006]

great video, love the fact you show doing the clearance checks.... I have one question though... the headbolt tool you are using, I was always taught that when you use something like that with a torque wrench you have the tool at 90 degrees to the shaft as to not give a false reading of torque and possibly over torqueing because of the fulcrum point change... making the torque wrench longer so to say, or did you already have that accounted for, or is that something I was taught wrong

[@DesmoWerx]

Hi Shane, You are not wrong, and I should have explained that with the adaptor type tool I use. I actually set the torque wrench to 43nm for the final setting as the adaptor adds roughly 9nm to the wrench when used straight on. Its negated if you use at 90 degrees but it does not give much room to use the wrench properly due to the recessed stud and nut arrangement. I still forget that when I am doing these videos I take a lot for granted in the work I do lol The ducati tool itself is a direct extension via a C shape so is a direct reading but it is a pain to use. I will point that out in a future video, might pay me to start putting some workshop basics rather than assuming everyone knows how to use the tools :) I was thinking the other day that I should remind people to only use a calibrated torque wrench as well otherwise they wont know the margin of error

[@shanemartinson5006]

Thank you sir, yeah I was just wondering cause I'm in the process of getting all the tools I need to do all the maintenance on mine myself, all my previous experience is on Japanese inline 4's, which was a while ago. These Ducati's got a few tools I still need to get, found them all, just getting them whenever I can...with my previous comment I was just making sure the info I learned back then was still true. Thanks for the info, and love your vids

[@Glennn1000]

@@DesmoWerx where did you get the adapter tool you used please

[@gideonalden4544]

Hello Nellie! First of all, thanks for all of the GREAT content you've shared! I'm a long time motorcyclist (with a long history of wrenching on my own machines), but I just picked up my first Ducati: a 1999 996 Biposto! Your videos are certainly helping ease my mind about Ducati ownership & maintenance! I've a quick question though... Where are you getting the cylinder base gaskets of varying thicknesses (for setting the squish)? I've not been able to find anything other than the stock 0.6mm thickness gaskets!

[@DesmoWerx]

Hi Gideon, thanks for watching and nice to hear you are now a fellow Ducati Owner 👍😎 I get my various thickness base gaskets from Athena in Italy. Look under the racing models 996RS etc for the relevant sized gaskets for your capacity of engine. they sell from 0.2mm up to .6mm

[@gideonalden4544]

@@DesmoWerx, thanks much for your reply! With your advice, I went back into Athena's catalog, and found their racing gaskets for my 996... I'll be certain to use that knowledge later this winter, as I strip down & rebuild my engine! 😎🤙

[@DesmoWerx]

@@gideonalden4544 glad to help 😎

[@jaccopaauw1630]

You could even do without a base gasket and just use threebond if that's what's needed to get the squish you're aiming for. BTW: I aim for 0.9 mm of squish with my carrillo rods

[@ducaduke]

Please adopt me and work on my Ducati dad!!!😂😂

[@DesmoWerx]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Desmo4268]

Awesome videos , who do you recommend for buying Ducati parts and rebuild kits etc ? Do you direct to Ducati?

[@DesmoWerx]

Hi Kyle, I tend to use Ducati for parts in other peoples engines and a mix of Ducati & OEM equivalent parts on my own builds.

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaa4151]

Are the cylinder studs plenty dtrong for higher power?, I know the 900ss jobbies are very weak..thanks

[@DesmoWerx]

They are plenty strong enough for this level of power. The full factory RS race bikes had stronger studs but were running almost 170bhp on the later Desmoquattro engine bikes before the move to the teststretta engine.

[@kennethlindblom8423]

Hi, have seen your movies that are really good, helps me very well. I am assembling a 748 engine, I have a question, can I use TreeBond TB1215 for cylinder foot gasket?

[@DesmoWerx]

Hi Kenneth, I have used it without issue, I believe it is the same as the Ducati 3 Bond just not in OEM packaging

[@kristianlindblom5600]

DesmoWerx Thanks👍

[@trevor1200]

Ciao Nellie, great video!

[@DesmoWerx]

👍

[@ShelbyMustang505]

Hi - really helpful here for me as I have just done an 853 conversion on my race 748 and very helpful to see how you measure squish. Also you said you going to fit an oil cooler which I want to do as well. My 748 has the oil lines going to the heads which I will obvious incorporate with the cooler setup - wouldn't it already have the relief valve installed inside the filter? Which vid do you show this? Last question, do you run a slipper clutch? thanks

[@DesmoWerx]

Hi Clive & Nicole, my filter was missing as I went between the case change dates when building the engine. i.e. pressure relief used to be part of block then moved to oil pump body. This will not be an issue for you unless you are changing the cases or pump. The oil filter housing should have a flap relief a well. Will have to look through videos to refer back to it. Yes I run a slipper clutch, you need to when racing to get the best out of the bike. :)

[@ShelbyMustang505]

@@DesmoWerx thanks for the info. what slipper clutch dis you fit - Sigma?

[@DesmoWerx]

@@ShelbyMustang505 I use a Ducabike clutch currently. To be honest from experience there is very little between the different makes, just how much money they cost.

[@raymondburriss7179]

Thanks for the videos. I have done my initial squish reading but I don’t have used head gaskets. Is this an issue? My first squish is high with two consistent measurements of 1.35 intake and 1.24 exhaust on both the V&H cylinders with 0.4 mm cylinder gasket.

[@DesmoWerx]

How did you build the heads up to get your measurements without Gaskets? Sounds like you could get away with 0.2mm cylinder gaskets - that would put you at a 1.1 mm squish which is good.

[@raymondburriss7179]

DesmoWerx so the build up is 0.4 cylinder gasket and a new head gasket. (I don’t have a used gasket as this is a completely new build) I used solder to do my squish and torqued them down to spec. My 916Racing manual states 0.95 - 1.05 clearance. I will have to have a 0.2 gasket made as they are no longer available. I about to take one more reading just to make sure but the initial was fairly the same on both cylinders.

[@DesmoWerx]

Athena still sell the O.2 mm gaskets (You can buy direct from their website) I think they are actually listed under the 916 Shame you had to use a new head gasket, are you using new ones for the final build?

[@raymondburriss7179]

DesmoWerx yes, I only have one set of head gaskets. I will look at Athena for the cylinder gaskets. I did find a pair in Germany but the guy won’t sell to the US.

[@andylaw2542]

Hi, I’m rebuilding my 888 engine, what squish could you recommend with my Pankl titanium rods?

[@DesmoWerx]

HI Andy, personally I always aim for 1mm on the Desmo 4V engines irrespective of the rod material. I understand that some race engines with titanium rods are built tighter but I always prefer to play safe and build for reliability.

[@benjaminberglihn6903]

Hi, have you had any issues with oil leak from the channel coming up from the block on vertical rear righthand side? I ended up plugging it with an M4 grubscrew.

[@DesmoWerx]

No, but on earlier bikes there was a little o-ring in the channel to seal it. Without this seal the oil will leak under running pressure.

[@nickfletcher506]

Great work and diligence in your explanations. I've liked, shared and subscribed. Do you race at Cadwell Park? If so when is your next meeting.

[@DesmoWerx]

Thanks Nick, Really glad you like the videos, I am raing at Cadwell this year, hopefully I will be out for the round at the end of April

[@nickfletcher506]

@@DesmoWerx 👍🏻

[@alexanderjunger2354]

Great videos! What make are those head gaskets?

[@DesmoWerx]

Hi Alexander, they are from a Athena head gasket/top end set. Almost the same as the OEM gaskets.

[@alexanderjunger2354]

@@DesmoWerx Interesting, thanks! Read somewhere those tend to leak. Yours have that blue sealant stuff though, maybe a newer iteration.

[@DesmoWerx]

@@alexanderjunger2354 I have used them for over 7 years without any issues :)

[@nuppy.9117]

there was no point setting your piston ring gaps 120' apart if after fitting your piston in its cylinder your going to spin it around to the correct orientation... where are the gaps now??? also I would have say not to put them on the thrust face

[@DesmoWerx]

Hi Neil, Yes the rings move once in use and may not remain 120' apart, but as you should know its good engineering practice to misalign the gaps during a build. Only a bike with piston ring pins, such as most two strokes, will keep the rings in the same place and that's to prevent snagging hazards on ports etc. As the Ducati has three rings they are placed 120' apart at build, check out most build manuals and they will propose an orientation of the rings at build. Some manufacturers only have minor deviations such as 15', others 180' out per ring, some even have specific locations for each ring. As for the thrust face you are correct, its a point I will mention in a future build as the rings are marked with a top face for orientation, perhaps I assume most people will see that and understand what top is.

[@nuppy.9117]

@@DesmoWerx no I ment you spun the piston as it was not in correctly but as it was not the final build up I dare say it was done again

[@DesmoWerx]

Hi Neil, I understand, yes I would have corrected it before the final assembly, hard to put everything in the video as it would be hours long 🤣 there is a lot I do off camera after the basic explanation, but its a task that I should point out/show everyone in the next reassembly. Unfortunately I am an engine builder not a video producer so I do make a lot of assumptions of understanding in my build, its trying to get across everything that goes through your head as you build the engine.

[@DesmoWerx]

Also I re-read your original comment and I interpreted wrong the first time. Apologies I see what you were asking about now. That was only to get the piston ready for squish measurement, not full build.

[@nuppy.9117]

@@DesmoWerx yeah I get that. Your doing a great job keep it up