Chapter 7
The end is getting nearer as the bike is back from the wiring shop, so it off the 944 and back on to the 888.
We left off in Chapter 6, where my time was being spent, bearing in mind that the project 888 was playing away from home up North, modifying even further, the Lucky beakfant 944.
Since Andy Cadney, also a 944cc convert and much reported mudslinger, wants to see more of the details relating to the rear tanks and exhaust modification…..here they are….
The tanks were sourced via Alex Fischer(German), the well-known elefant web star who’s site first introduced engine modified elefants to me………check out www.alexfischer.de
I spoke with Alex for approx 2years but eventually met him though Paul K (South Africian) of www.elefantriders.com whilst in Italy at the elefant treffen 2003, and I met Paul through Warren Murray (Australian) of www.elefantman.com fame………...phew!
These websites are a veritable mine of information and deserve your serious attention for tips etc! But beware they can lead to some strange behaviour !!
Alex Fischer knew of a chap in the East (Germany), who was selling off his old Desert/Rallye gear and he kindly acted as translator, as the guy, Sebastian, really only spoke Russian! I did try and I really liked Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy but I do know that it is better to leave some things to the experts!
BACK TO THE 888 BUILD UP
Which brings me on to my next misadventure, the wiring had to be sub contracted out, the only time that I have done this, as I have a general distrust for people promising things they can not deliver!
But true to their word SS Tuning got everything finished, albeit over a far longer period of time than quoted, however the bike would still not fire up!
The ECU was to blame, what had been sold as a P8 to SS Tuning was actually a P7 and it wouldn’t work. No matter where we searched we could not find a second hand one.
Roy at Italsport offered their help and they were even prepared to use their contacts at the Ducati Factory to source a discounted new one at approx £400 which was just a little under the £1143 plus vat quoted by one enterprising dealer!
Then….a stroke of luck, as someone had mentioned a certain parts man in the Midlands of England, and after a few hours of trying to source his phone number…BINGO….he has two P8 units and although he stated, that he wants to keep one, he will consider selling the other to me!
Almost there…
During the price negotiations …..he asks “What 888 model do you race?”… I simply reply that the only thing that races is ….my pulse after watching Dana Sculley in the X Files! To which he replies “That P8 is for Ducati racers only” and no amount of my money will let him sell it to me!
“What!”.........Where does this guy get off ………and what colour is the friggin' sky in his world!
Shame on you ….Mr J** C***uso….call yourself a Ducati parts specialist!
Ebay was fired up into action and low and behold after 1 or 2 tries, a P8 appeared with a current price of £105 with only three hours to go! I placed my bid of a max £175 and left the office for the night hoping that I had managed to secure the P8 after almost 4weeks of searching.
The following day, I discovered that the ebay listed P8 had been stolen from me, I had been out-bid by some spotty, sad, unadventurous type that lived at home with his mother, kept a canary, longed for a hamster, but thought that they, might be too demanding, couldn’t sleep without a light on, washed his face with a frigging flannel, didn’t really know what a P8 was, but, was sure that it would come in handy, and who’s idea of a really good time, involved Samantha and her 4 single gloved sisters…………..what on earth is the world coming to!!
COME ON!!!
I am trying to build a bike, here, for pity sake!!
GET A GRIP!!!
Why can’t these people be rounded up and kept with everyone else that wears matching “mother and son” knitwear or pretends to be a parts specialist, who buy “Readers Offers” from the free papers and who favour pulling on a Kagool, over a night out getting slaughtered on Stella and finishing with a snack that covers all the important food groups ..a Doner Kebab!
When things go wrong, they really go wrong and the phone call from SS Tuning stated that it “probably would be better, if you could find the mid section of a 888 wiring loom, bearing in mind that your searching ebay, anyway!”…………aaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!
Ebay an international source of worldwide crap!!
Over the coming weeks I became an ebayer, Surfing and learning about Bids, Trojan Bids, Negative Feedback,…everything…..if it had P8 written on it, I bought it….I also managed to pick up a Kagool….not in my size, but, I am sure it will come in handy!
Jesus….I even bought my Xmas presents on it!!
The P8 collection above stands testament to the total insanity that surrounds my existence and also the kindness of some people to share their knowledge with those that are looking.
Niel Spalding of Sigma Performance in Kent, heard about my woes and offered this advice that the P8 from Audi, Fiat, Ferrari, Lancia and Ford are ALL the same, as are the Laverda, MotoGuzzi, and Ducati. It is only the eprom etc that needed to match the engines.
So gentlemen, find yourself an injected model and off you jolly well go!
The most expensive new item was well over £1100 and the cheapest was from Roy at Italsport at approx £420 with the Ebay used items ranging from £485, Ford Cosworth down to £165 for a Laverda item. I even picked up a Fiat item for £30, looked inside and wwwaaahhhaaayyy…buy me a Stella or eight and I’ll tell which one it is.
The 888 mid section wiring loom was harder to find and took in excess of 16 weeks, you could say “why don’t you make one?” but, wiring has ALWAYS bothered me, where as it is second nature to people like Paul K, I reckon that it is because you can not see where everything going!
The wiring was finished by SS Tuning and everything worked except the fuel pump! They simply ran out of time and with their race bike scheduled for testing in Spain prior to the race season proper, I wanted to get the bike back onto my timetable, and not theirs.
Undaunted I collected the bike from Nottinghan and set about the re-manufacture of the bodywork and seat(s)
I had already positioned the P8 ecu behind the seat, and after studying the new 1200GS from BMW.
I decided to mimic the GS look of two seats but use the rear one as a dummy cover to hide the ECU unit. Whilst all the electrics utilized the space of the old glove compartment on the left hand side panel.
Which meant that this left hand side panel with the lockable door, had to be stretched and glassed in order to cover the ignition modules etc. Whilst the right hand side panel had to be stretched backwards as the exhaust and end can were in a different position due to the subframe height cock up, as described before! Remember the top lug welding error?
This cock up meant that the exhaust was the same height off of the ground as before but it sat 28 mm lower when taken in relationship to the seat! The new side panel had to be made from two standard ones and then glassed and filled in order to get the look.
A rear rack was donated by Gary Birdsey …a fellow EAB list member who is currently thinking of different shades of YELLOW to which he can subject/spray his 650 fant ….he had purchased a CCM rack and was trying to utilize it prior to an email conversation where I sent him a 900 rack to try on his fant and he sent me the CCM unit.
Well that is about that….
So what doesn’t fit?
$$ The new seat has to be cut down ala Eddie Lawson Style
$$ The Eibach Spring was just too damn hard and a standard 888 one fits!
$$ Errrrrr…that is all !!
At least the mistakes are getting less and less. In reallity, both of the above modifactions are personal preferences and not mechanical re-thinks! Although the spring was a major surprise as I calculated the rate myself after studying the suspension tables in a book!
I guess that is what is called weight denial.
However a replacement Ohlins/K-Tech unit was bought on ebay for £10, so it was not all that bad!!
As for the seat, again this came down to the same cockup…. ie.. the subframe alterations, therefore rendering the seat just too damn high.
So from the month of March 2005, see you later, as the bodywork has now got to go to the paint shop and they, Tony, my mate who came to Italy in 2004 and the Isle of Wight 2005, want 4 weeks to make sure that PINK is the right colour!!
Whilst I have got to trace the fuel pump problem before everything is re-united in one big push.
Gavin 944 and 888 with an ebay score of 53 and a blue star!!
PS A Kagool....a pull on waterproof jacket and hood favoured by hillwalkers/usually made in a BRIGHT colour!!
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Chapter Index
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