I had a bit of a chuckle Dave, about your frustration with the 749 airbox removal. I went through the same issue with my 999. Maddening! Also, when tensioning the cam belts I have the bike on a rear stand with the trans in a high gear. This allows me to turn the engine several times by spinning the rear wheel and allowing the belts to settle where they want to go, checking the tension each time. I would also suggest changing the Fuji lock nuts that hold the eccentric adjuster. The 749/999's are wonderful bikes. Maybe if you take it to the track Dave, you may decide to keep it! Best wishes from upstate New York, U.S.A.
Nice walkthrough. The vertical cylinder valve cover is able to be removed without removing the entire airbox though. You can just pop it off the inlets which will allow you to wiggle it up enough to wiggle the cover off. Lots of wiggling with these bikes.....
Another Great Tutorial .. Very easy motorcycle to service ..Terblanche wanted it that way... you can tear it down, drain, remove the radiator in about 10 minutes ..it's that easy. Doing belts for the first time is frightening... once done no problem. Little different than pre testastretta model casing marks. Valves are simple also. I own a 999, same same. I had an FBF 102mm overbore kit, Pistal 13.5: 1 pistons, race spec crank balanced, etc .. 148.98HP/ 86 ft.lbs ... what a hoot. Testasretta is some kind of twin..amazing mill !! 749/999 canbus electrical system, dry clutch ..ease of maintenance great motorcycle to own !!!
Hello from New Zealand. I used to own a 749. My dream is to try and shoe horn a 1098 into a 749/999 if I ever find a couple of Donar bikes. Have seen it done. My only real concern would be finding away to keep the original dash. 749/999 dash is just a beautiful thing to see, that nice big tako gives it a little analogue appeal. Not a big fan of the digital LCD screen. The later colour screens are cool though. Any thoughts on if the 1098 wiring loom can be configured
Of course! There's an app for that! Sheesh! Thanks for the thorough, easy to follow explanation. 👍 I haven't owned a Ducati and dealing with the valves is one reason why - your tutorial makes it look doable, though.
LOL - this reminds me of the time I changed the air filter on my Hypermotard. "Put the kettle on dear, I'll be back in 20 minutes" I said as I sauntered out to my shed. TWO BLOODY DAYS LATER I got the damn thing finished. Every little single thing was a complete faff to get done, I am convinced all the Ducati engineers are sadists. I was going to change the timing belts myself but I knew that it would just break my spirit and I'd fall out of love with her, so I left it with a trusted mechanic, let him suffer instead!
Honestly if you trust your local Ducati mechanic , it’s far easier to go to work for the 2 days it will take plus some and earn the money then go pay the bill and ride home with a smile on your dial
Thanks Dave, nicely explained 👍 Perhaps I could fully service a 4 valve Ducati after all ? We had a 749 come in once, it was a really nice bike to ride and pretty comfortable, I'd have one over a 748.
Great tutorial video Dave, maybe at end of video series you could do a pre purchase/buyers pitfall guide to what commonly goes or can go wrong with this model Ducati.
So getting to the valves is a huge PITA and when you finally get there it doesn’t really matter, because unless you can get an entire phonebook in, Ducati says you’re good to go?
I think it's just an Italian thing because getting the top off my airbox on my Aprilia shiver was a PITA also, jap bikes are designed generally easier for working on for sure.
Iv got to be honest I was hoping the valve clearance would be out so I could see what's involved with pulling cams, and replacing shims. Never see it done. I understand the narrow head motors where less prone to going out of spec compared to the old desmoquattros
This Coming from a ducati work shop using a sharpening Stone to shave a small amount off a shim to get a more even clearance all around the motor, if it’s all apart taking a thou off an opening shim will give you a longer time between the next adjustment as the clearance range is only 3 thou , the adjustment range spec is 5 thou ,I found when doing a valve adjustment , you need the measuring tools and a micrometer to measure the removed shim because you may be able to move some shims into different valves in the engine that will/could reduce the number of shims needed to buy, and I used a small magnetic screwdriver to get the half rings off and I also found that I could pick up nearly 1 thou by just replacing the half rings with new ones also cost half as much as a closing shim
Awesome video. Coming from servicing Guzzis, Ducati's valve clearance check it is quite an ordeal. I recently purchased a Paso 906 and it seems harder than on this 4V engine.
Man... does that front cylinder rocker cover looks flaked and grimey. Dave, PLEASE clean it up a bit. Keep up the good work! Keeps me entertained in the winter.
I didn't see you put any paint masks on the new belts before putting them in. I thought the reason you were putting paint marks on the pully and belt was so that you place the old belt beside the new one and mark the new belt in the same place. Then you put the new belt in, lining up the paint on the crank and the cams and you're good to go.
Many make the mistake of checking the valve clearances to be within the specs listed on the airbox as these are no longer recommended. Also new cola nuts for the tensioners are a must.
Hi Dave, the only thing I can say after watching that is, you are a f@$#&*! genius. I got a headache just watching you. Merry Xmas to you and the guys, and keep up the good work.
Spot on Dave! Spin the belts a bit & re-check tension . Ducati man Dave! Only other thing I do is replace the tension roller nut with new ones. Did you happen to watch Brad Black the Bike Boy?
Thanks. This change of belts should be on par with a car belt if i would consider the length and the overall turning angles and the engine rpm, in an ideal world, of course ? and the amount of stretch from a hot engine? and the extra tention when opening a valve.
I've never changed a car cam belt! I can't stand working on cars and vans. The tension change on valve opening is minimal with desmo, no heavy springs to move
with the Desmo system... aren't you supposed to make sure the valves are closed up against the valve seats prior to checking the clearances? either via air in the cylinder or other means??
Some models have a light retaining spring which just helps seat the valve. But no need to seat it as the feeler gauge will do that. If it was hard against the seat, it would remove the clearance on the rocker
I'm a retired car mechanic, and although I've never worked on a bike engine with belt driven cams (my bikes are way too old for that), in car engines it's normal practice to replace tensioner and idler pulleys at the same time as belts. Do they not do that with Ducatis?
Belts are under A Lot less strain too, as no valve springs to compress. All be it, they do have light recoil springs to hold valves closed, necessary for starting as there would be no compression if relying on the cam gap to hold them closed
The Kola nuts should be replaced every time when changing new belts. Also the recommended valve clearance written on airbox is not what most experts recommend. The valve clearance in the Ducati performance books written by LT Schneider are what I used
why did another video when he took the old belt off he count the nubs and marked it then took the new belt and matched them? the way you did make more sense, just mark the cam pulley and slip the belt on
😁 now i know why daimler benz mercedes use a chain for ... this V construction does it have temperature problems overtaken to the rubber-belt ( bend the valve ) the idea to build this without "springs" is not bad but desmo-service is alot more
Unfortunately they route deep into the airbox. I could have got the pipes out of the way but thought it better to remove it all. Proper job even though it was a faff
Why would build clearances differ to service clearances? Pain in the arse to shim to the correct clearances is my guess so more of a get out clause than doing the job properly? Like your videos Dave but this one doesn't make sense - I mean service clearance tolerance is three times bigger than build clearance tolerance??
It's the first time I've come across the difference, as you say it's a bit of get out point, probably after customers complained about service costs! If it's good enough for Ducati to recommend though, it's good enough
@@obsession_engineering Is it definitely a factory recommendation? e.g Possible 0.006" difference between clearances of one pair of inlet valves on same cylinder??
When building the engine it’s easy to set them up , when in service having to pull it all apart for one valve is a waste of time if that one valve is close to the build spec tolerances much more cost affective when there are more to do when the cams do need to come out , also unless you are chasing hp a few thou ain’t going to make much difference ,
@@craigcourtney4209 Specifications determine whether a job needs doing, not degree of difficulty. The alleged maintenance specs can mean 0.006" difference between a pair of valves when the max factory clearance is only 0.008".
@@nortoncommandoupgradestrav2474 As someone else pointed out cost of ownership maybe the deciding factor to the choices made and if a manufacturer sets a build clearance spec , to an in service clearance spec that doesn’t effect the engine performance/damage to components/ crank case pressure manufactures have a spec that gives detail to its health , a new engine has a tolerance limit , the in service limit is set so no engine damage could be done, once that limit is reached repairs are needed to not damage components , the
Great video for Ducati newbie mechanics. Ducatis are different for sure thanks to Mr Taglioni, takes some learning. Many thanks!
Great video! Just picked up a Ducati and live on an island with no dealership! 😊
German - use belt tension tool
Italian - "twang" 😂
I had a bit of a chuckle Dave, about your frustration with the 749 airbox removal. I went through the same issue with my 999. Maddening!
Also, when tensioning the cam belts I have the bike on a rear stand with the trans in a high gear. This allows me to turn the engine several times by spinning the rear wheel and allowing the belts to settle where they want to go, checking the tension each time. I would also suggest changing the Fuji lock nuts that hold the eccentric adjuster. The 749/999's are wonderful bikes. Maybe if you take it to the track Dave, you may decide to keep it!
Best wishes from upstate New York, U.S.A.
Nice walkthrough. The vertical cylinder valve cover is able to be removed without removing the entire airbox though. You can just pop it off the inlets which will allow you to wiggle it up enough to wiggle the cover off. Lots of wiggling with these bikes.....
Another Great Tutorial .. Very easy motorcycle to service ..Terblanche wanted it that way... you can tear it down, drain, remove the radiator in about 10 minutes ..it's that easy. Doing belts for the first time is frightening... once done no problem. Little different than pre testastretta model casing marks. Valves are simple also. I own a 999, same same. I had an FBF 102mm overbore kit, Pistal 13.5: 1 pistons, race spec crank balanced, etc .. 148.98HP/ 86 ft.lbs ... what a hoot. Testasretta is some kind of twin..amazing mill !! 749/999 canbus electrical system, dry clutch ..ease of maintenance great motorcycle to own !!!
Sounds like you had some exciting mods 😁
Hello from New Zealand. I used to own a 749. My dream is to try and shoe horn a 1098 into a 749/999 if I ever find a couple of Donar bikes. Have seen it done. My only real concern would be finding away to keep the original dash. 749/999 dash is just a beautiful thing to see, that nice big tako gives it a little analogue appeal. Not a big fan of the digital LCD screen. The later colour screens are cool though. Any thoughts on if the 1098 wiring loom can be configured
Very nice to watch you do this on a cold Sunday morning.
Of course! There's an app for that! Sheesh! Thanks for the thorough, easy to follow explanation. 👍 I haven't owned a Ducati and dealing with the valves is one reason why - your tutorial makes it look doable, though.
LOL - this reminds me of the time I changed the air filter on my Hypermotard.
"Put the kettle on dear, I'll be back in 20 minutes" I said as I sauntered out to my shed.
TWO BLOODY DAYS LATER I got the damn thing finished. Every little single thing was a complete faff to get done, I am convinced all the Ducati engineers are sadists.
I was going to change the timing belts myself but I knew that it would just break my spirit and I'd fall out of love with her, so I left it with a trusted mechanic, let him suffer instead!
Bet your tea went cold too!! 😂
@@obsession_engineering I was on the beer by the time I was finished 😂
Honestly if you trust your local Ducati mechanic , it’s far easier to go to work for the 2 days it will take plus some and earn the money then go pay the bill and ride home with a smile on your dial
Can’t beat it when you ‘twang’ belt correctly😍🥰👌
Love it, the next Ducati vid to watch while I’m waiting for my breakfast to be delivered 😊
Thanks Dave, nicely explained 👍 Perhaps I could fully service a 4 valve Ducati after all ? We had a 749 come in once, it was a really nice bike to ride and pretty comfortable, I'd have one over a 748.
Man im so glad i came across your channel. Its wonderfull and immediately you are my favourite UA-camr. Thank you
Great tutorial video Dave, maybe at end of video series you could do a pre purchase/buyers pitfall guide to what commonly goes or can go wrong with this model Ducati.
Good idea!!
So getting to the valves is a huge PITA and when you finally get there it doesn’t really matter, because unless you can get an entire phonebook in, Ducati says you’re good to go?
Basically, yes!
But better to check before any problems pop up
I think it's just an Italian thing because getting the top off my airbox on my Aprilia shiver was a PITA also, jap bikes are designed generally easier for working on for sure.
@@daddy5225ever tried doing valve clearances on a Honda africa twin? Or even replacing the plugs. 😂
Iv got to be honest I was hoping the valve clearance would be out so I could see what's involved with pulling cams, and replacing shims.
Never see it done.
I understand the narrow head motors where less prone to going out of spec compared to the old desmoquattros
I was glad they were in 😁
This Coming from a ducati work shop using a sharpening Stone to shave a small amount off a shim to get a more even clearance all around the motor, if it’s all apart taking a thou off an opening shim will give you a longer time between the next adjustment as the clearance range is only 3 thou , the adjustment range spec is 5 thou ,I found when doing a valve adjustment , you need the measuring tools and a micrometer to measure the removed shim because you may be able to move some shims into different valves in the engine that will/could reduce the number of shims needed to buy, and I used a small magnetic screwdriver to get the half rings off and I also found that I could pick up nearly 1 thou by just replacing the half rings with new ones also cost half as much as a closing shim
Thanks Dave for sharing, very informative. Cheers!
Great video Dave, I've got to do clearances and belts on my 999 engine when I've finished repainting the engine due to the piss poor OEM paint finish.
Thanks for the mention mate 👍, I'm just getting more famous by the day 😂.
Awesome video. Coming from servicing Guzzis, Ducati's valve clearance check it is quite an ordeal. I recently purchased a Paso 906 and it seems harder than on this 4V engine.
Ah yes, and being a desmo engine, the paso is even more awkward for access. I don't envy you!
Man... does that front cylinder rocker cover looks flaked and grimey. Dave, PLEASE clean it up a bit. Keep up the good work! Keeps me entertained in the winter.
Don't worry, it gets some tlc!
Excellent video! Thank you! 🙂👍
awesome to watch, thanks for sharing
9:05 Looks like perforated belt between the cam gears?
I didn't see you put any paint masks on the new belts before putting them in. I thought the reason you were putting paint marks on the pully and belt was so that you place the old belt beside the new one and mark the new belt in the same place. Then you put the new belt in, lining up the paint on the crank and the cams and you're good to go.
If you've marked the crank and cams, there's no need to mark the belts
Many make the mistake of checking the valve clearances to be within the specs listed on the airbox as these are no longer recommended. Also new cola nuts for the tensioners are a must.
WTH are you calling a "cola nut"?
Hi Dave, the only thing I can say after watching that is, you are a f@$#&*! genius. I got a headache just watching you.
Merry Xmas to you and the guys, and keep up the good work.
I almost found it therapeutic... I say almost!!
brilliant video !
Just watched that airbox feat had my Sphinkter puckering and my Nutsack Aching
Brilliant video👍. Question the maintenance tolerance from 0.1 - 0.25 mm, does this also Applies to the 2 valve?
No idea on the 2 valve motors, but I'd assume they're different, especially if they're air cooled
Great video.
Brilliant!
Spot on Dave! Spin the belts a bit & re-check tension . Ducati man Dave! Only other thing I do is replace the tension roller nut with new ones. Did you happen to watch Brad Black the Bike Boy?
Never even heard of him 😂
@@obsession_engineering knows a thing or two about Ducati
Desmoworx is a good channel for Ducati teardowns.
Thanks. This change of belts should be on par with a car belt if i would consider the length and the overall turning angles and the engine rpm, in an ideal world, of course ? and the amount of stretch from a hot engine? and the extra tention when opening a valve.
I've never changed a car cam belt! I can't stand working on cars and vans.
The tension change on valve opening is minimal with desmo, no heavy springs to move
What app do you use for the timing tension twang cheers
so ...... its a bit 'faffy' to work on then? nicely done mate.
That was nicer to watch than do. 😂. Will you do a re grease the shock linkage vid too?
Yes, it's coming soon
with the Desmo system... aren't you supposed to make sure the valves are closed up against the valve seats prior to checking the clearances? either via air in the cylinder or other means??
Some models have a light retaining spring which just helps seat the valve. But no need to seat it as the feeler gauge will do that. If it was hard against the seat, it would remove the clearance on the rocker
I'm a retired car mechanic, and although I've never worked on a bike engine with belt driven cams (my bikes are way too old for that), in car engines it's normal practice to replace tensioner and idler pulleys at the same time as belts. Do they not do that with Ducatis?
It's not usually necessary to change them, especially as the belts are supposed to be done at much shorter intervals than cars.
Belts are under A Lot less strain too, as no valve springs to compress. All be it, they do have light recoil springs to hold valves closed, necessary for starting as there would be no compression if relying on the cam gap to hold them closed
The Kola nuts should be replaced every time when changing new belts. Also the recommended valve clearance written on airbox is not what most experts recommend. The valve clearance in the Ducati performance books written by LT Schneider are what I used
why did another video when he took the old belt off he count the nubs and marked it then took the new belt and matched them? the way you did make more sense, just mark the cam pulley and slip the belt on
I've seen the teeth marking system, seems unnecessary to me!
Got to love an Italian.
So interesting!!
Excellent 👌
Nut screws washer then bolts, says Dave....
😁 now i know why daimler benz mercedes use a chain for ... this V construction does it have temperature problems overtaken to the rubber-belt ( bend the valve )
the idea to build this without "springs" is not bad but desmo-service is alot more
😂😂 the guy who designed the air box
....and we still don't have a video showing how to adjust/shim the valve clearances.
I'm quite happy about that 🤣
There's a channel here, Brotheus. The guy goes through the adjustment on his 1098 step by step. Very similar process to the 999 series.
Gates Carbon Drive twang app by any chance?
It's just called belt tension!
Im always worried when a filter has "HiFlow" written on it.
It means its large micron and lets all the shit through.
Or its a different type of filter material that can flow more air without compromising filtration
The fact it survived the amount of beating from the other planes until its eventual crash was simply amazing
What’s easier
Finding a friend or working a Ducati.
Hey guys today we are working a Ducati
I'd like to say finding friends, but some days I'm not so sure 🤣
Could you have just removed those hoses that were in the way instead of removing the whole air box?
Unfortunately they route deep into the airbox. I could have got the pipes out of the way but thought it better to remove it all. Proper job even though it was a faff
I just bought a 749s and hopefully won’t need to remove the air box. Looks like a major pain.
Why would build clearances differ to service clearances? Pain in the arse to shim to the correct clearances is my guess so more of a get out clause than doing the job properly? Like your videos Dave but this one doesn't make sense - I mean service clearance tolerance is three times bigger than build clearance tolerance??
It's the first time I've come across the difference, as you say it's a bit of get out point, probably after customers complained about service costs! If it's good enough for Ducati to recommend though, it's good enough
@@obsession_engineering Is it definitely a factory recommendation? e.g Possible 0.006" difference between clearances of one pair of inlet valves on same cylinder??
When building the engine it’s easy to set them up , when in service having to pull it all apart for one valve is a waste of time if that one valve is close to the build spec tolerances much more cost affective when there are more to do when the cams do need to come out , also unless you are chasing hp a few thou ain’t going to make much difference ,
@@craigcourtney4209 Specifications determine whether a job needs doing, not degree of difficulty. The alleged maintenance specs can mean 0.006" difference between a pair of valves when the max factory clearance is only 0.008".
@@nortoncommandoupgradestrav2474 As someone else pointed out cost of ownership maybe the deciding factor to the choices made and if a manufacturer sets a build clearance spec , to an in service clearance spec that doesn’t effect the engine performance/damage to components/ crank case pressure manufactures have a spec that gives detail to its health , a new engine has a tolerance limit , the in service limit is set so no engine damage could be done, once that limit is reached repairs are needed to not damage components , the
You don’t need to remove the air box I didn’t
Ducati Valve clearances should be performed with the belts removed!
Can you explain why? As I can't see how the belt affects the clearance
Rather you than me 😬
Wow. What a faff!
Not quite as easy as the Japanese would have it 🤣
Why not put it in gear and spin the back wheel it’s as easy as 123 abc spin the back wheel
I normally do to be honest, but the crank access is pretty easy
Perhaps when it's all together you could make an out takes video with all the swearing.
You don’t need to remove the air box I didn’t
You don’t need to remove the air box I didn’t
Not necessary, but I wanted the fuel pipes out of the way for easier access, and never a bad idea to get inside and check the intakes