My name is Chris Davies, and I am 44, and live in Christchurch, New Zealand. My 1990 906 was delivered from Napier in good shape. But the key arrived 24 hours later. That was a little frustrating, let me tell you! Here she is:





As you can easily see, my mid-life crisis is well underway. I'm enjoying it though, and I'm ordering the plate CRIS15 for the old '82 928. Think I might get P4S0 for the bike, while I'm at it.

Seeing as I hadn't ridden a bike since 1989, and on that occasion I was forced to jump over the top of the car which wrote off my Suzuki GSX-R400, I was feeling more than a little nervous about riding it for the first time. (Not even a scratch on me that time, unlike other hits I have taken over the years.)

Starting the thing proved surprisingly easy. And the sound of it through those Stay-in-Tunes! Wow - that is pretty special. My neighbours think so too. It's even louder than the 4.7 V8. It feels about as heavy as my old Kawasaki Ninja 900, and I recalled that it's most easy to drop a bike in first gear - and with twin-453cc-hand-grenades embedded under the fairing, I was worried I'd panic on the clutch or use too few revs, and bunny hop the thing into the pavement.

Fortunately there's a small park next to my house, with no traffic, so I spent about 20 minutes riding the thing slowly around the park getting used to actually being on 2 wheels again. It was fairly nerve-wracking, let me tell you, and after 20 minutes I was sweating like a pig, mostly from fear of dropping it, or forgetting something vital. Like braking.

However, it does seem, that once learned, you really *don't* forget how to ride a bike! What I had forgotten though is the sensations of riding one; the noise, the smells, and the wind. It really *DOES* connect you to the road like nothing else can. And of course, if you mess up it connects you with grass, concrete, metal and other vehicles too - so I am being spectacularly careful on this thing: every other road user is my mortal enemy.

I have a destroyed left ankle (Massive Potts fracture - Paragliding, not riding), which only allows me a small amount of flexion, so changing gears is not as easy as it should be, and I have found a false neutral between every single gear, already. It'll be better when I get my Alpinestar Tech 2s in the mail this coming week. I had thought I might need to modify the gear change to let me easily swap cogs, but that won't be the case, I'm sure.

The Paso is *very* different to the old inline 4s I used to ride in the 80s, and the V-twin is far more relaxing to ride, I think. Those 4-pot bikes used to scare me. Which I absolutely loved at the time, I must say. It was my view that I would never survive to turn 25, so I gave up on bikes after the last crash, thinking discretion was the better part of something or other. (I once completed the Christchurch-Queenstown run of 530 km in 3:27:00 including stops for gas on a GSXR-1100 back in 1988 -using over 100 litres of fuel. Yeah, I was called Mr. Nutzo McSchizoid back then.)

I haven't had it over 5,000 rpm yet, and I am taking it very very easily indeed; it was last registered in 2003, so the tyres are at least 8 years old. (I plan to re-VIN it on Monday after a brake thickness test, and I have Burt Munroed the tiny cracks in one sidewall of the rear tyre, with black boot polish. It looks good.) They feel pretty much rock solid, so the grip from them undoubtedly be almost nonexistent. Provided the polish trick works, I'll retyre the thing the following week with the Dunlop D250 180/60/16 and an as yet undecided 130/70/16 on the front. Looking at the existing clearances I will be very surprised if I have to do anything more than raise the front guard 6mm and turn the rear sprocket around, and relocate the front sprocket by the same increase in offset.

There are a few things wrong with the bike, maybe some someone can shed some light?

1) Clock doesn't work. Love that classic Italian electrics.

2) Front brake shudders. The discs were measured as flat by the Ducati guy in Napier. Perhaps a caliper retention issue? It's not major, and doesn't feel awful, but I would like it to be smooth. The shudder is not related to wheel speed.

3) There's a very slight movement (audible) from the top of the forks/head (I have no idea what that area is called) with the front brake engaged, rocking it back and forth. Could that be related to the shudder? I'll have it fixed when it's serviced this week.

4) The headlamp seems to be pointed straight at the sky, with low beam being far higher than a high beam should be. I had thought it might be the rear end too low, but my buddy who also has a 906 reckons the seat height is right, so I guess it's just falling out of alignment.

5) The clutch is rather odd. Which is, I take it "by design" and not a bug. I can pull away smoothly from idle using a very slow release, but it screeches a bit at times - which I take it is also "normal".

Anyway, the Paso still pulls the public's attention. I think I've done 45 klicks on the road, and already had more thumbs-ups and admiring looks from people than I think I had in all my years of riding riceburning revometers. I take it that people notice Ducatis a lot more than other bikes? Or is it particular to the PASO? I always thought the Paso was simply fabulous, and I almost can't believe I have these dreams parked in the garage. Well, not quite; the Lamborghini Countach LP400 will probably always remain a dream.

If I recall correctly, the Paso was so expensive in 1987, that I didn't even dream I'd ever own one. Instead I had a poster of the poor-man's Paso, the Honda VFR-750 :

Since the photos were taken I have polished it up using some very good carnauba spray wax, and Autosol on the pipes. It's come up pretty good for a 20 year old bike, even if I do say so. I'll post more pics when I've had the tyres done, and given a proper clean.

You'll undoubtedly see me here quite a bit; I seem to love buying exotic super-vehicles which suffer electrical issues, and have horrendous maintenance costs... So far I've spent 7 times what the Paso cost just maintaining the 928... I hope the new acquisition is cheaper.

So, greets all, from Christchurch, N.Z. - if there are any other Paso riders in town, I'd love to hear from you on 0210-69-58-69, or (03) 977-5513. Cheers.

Welcome aboard Chris from the flip side here in the England and as a further greeting any chance you could add a few pictures of the underside of that rear carrier you have on the bike and of the the way it attaches to the bike. Might as well get you properly involved

regards

Stiv

Hey Chris,

congratulations, nice example.

2 & 3 could be connected if the steering head bearings are no good anymore. It was reported from some other member shortly ago that his steering head bearings were totally dry with no grease at all and it was also a bike that had stood for a long time. So have them checked and eventually replaced.
Btw if you didn`t already, service the bike before riding it again. Change all fluids, filters, belts and check valve clearances etc.

Regarding cleaning and polishing the bike be careful I did that too when I got mine. In the afternoon I had an appointment at the Duc shop for a check and in the morning I crashed. Bad karma.

G.

btw handling will improve with new tires and fork oil. Regarding the screetching clutch noise keep an eye on the bearing of the secondary clutch piston in the clutch cover. If that seizes the complete piston will turn consuming the seal. You`ll note this when the clutch starts leaking fluid. Similar could be caused by a worn or broken clutch mushroom pin, but that`s rather rare. Remove the clutch cover and have a look. If you have to replace it check the P750 FAQs.

Congratulations
She seems a very nice bike, very well cared.
As Gerhard just told you, check if the basic maintenance has already been done and, if not, do it before you ride the bike again.
Your sensations, waiting and riding the bike for the first time, has been the same I had when I bought mine .
I hope you enjoy your new toy .
Ciao

Welcome!

Bike looks good condition... Seems that previous owner had put some clear protection film to side panels for soft bags? Not so bad idea to protect clearcoat..

G'day Chris
I recently have just also purchased a 907,[ now 2!], and the help from this list is nothing short of brilliant!
I too am very cautious, wear good gear OK!

It takes awhile to get all the bits together, lots of parts from the States will help, but as it comes together its well worth it.
My red bikes handling was 1000% improved with new tyres, [17s for a 907 - Meztler Roadtec Z6] just fitted the serviced forks and Wilbers shock , that in a very short night time 500m ride with no fairings, felt so much plusher. Still doing other bits untill I can go to my test bump road. The old rear was worn quite flat and it made it hard to turn compared to the new ones.

There must be something about 928s and Pasos.

I have an 87 S4 in Marine Blue Met/Linen. Looks like a twin to yours. I gather you are on the www.landsharkoz.com list as well, I visit sometimes, same name as here, blazing928.

welcome and enjoy the bike, its so much fun

are you sure they are staintunes ? look like Zorsts to me . That nut and screw on top of the muffler is a butterfly used to adjust back pressure ( and noise ) . I had a pair on a VFR and they were great . Nice bike . There are 3 paso's on trade me at the mo............ just looking Di ... honest
Hamish
Nelson NZ

Thanks for all your interest and advice - it is well appreciated!

As you know, I am a frail old man with strong memories of colliding with the planet and various solid objects at speed - so I have an exceedingly strong self-preservation instinct. I plan on living to at least the year 3000AD, so I'll be very careful. I got myself a Rev-It Off Track jacket, the AlpineStar Tech 2s, an AGV fibreglass helmet, and a pair of heavily armoured pants which my mother is modifying to prevent it shifting in an off. As I have learned in the past - the recipe for being pleasantly surprised is to hope for the best but to expect the worst!

The bike will go to Casbolts for a full service, including all items in the manual, plus a special look at the clutch and the front end/brakes. I'll replace all the belts, oil, filter, plugs, brake fluid and pads. Then tyres and chain shift.

Does anyone happen to know of any place superior to Casbolts in Christchurch? They're the official Ducati agents. However, I suspect there may be a better alternative. I found out the hard way that the franchisee is NOT the best option. That experiment cost me better than a grand at Archibalds with the 928, for a fault which I returned to faulty, and it took Autothority 8 minutes to locate and correct!

STIV: Your wish is my command - photos below. Damn, I had hoped it'd be 4 bolts to remove. Looks a lot more complicated! ACK!









G. I'll get Casbolts to check that and replace the fork oil - thanks for the heads-up. Is it true that a fork mod of drilling a 6mm hole (somewhere?) will improve the handling? I'll query Casbolts about that too.

FinnPaso - yeah, the bike arrived with short and long pack racks, a large pack, two soft saddle bags, the workshop manual, a spare front sprocket, some chain parts, a sheepskin for the seat and a tank bag too. I'm planning on removing the pack rack - I have one of the world's greatest GT cars, and don't intend riding long distances on it. So I'll get rid of the clear-coat too. I hope it'll come off without ruining the "DESMO" sticker.

Blazing 928 - I'm not a member of the OZ Shark thing, but I do hang out at the RoadFly 928 forum trying to help others with their 928. I've had mine for 4 over years so I've learned a lot about it. Mine is the 4.7 Euro S model, I've had the old "soft" spoiler removed and replaced it with the S4 rear wing and de-rusted and repainted the rear hatch at the same time. That old spoiler results in the rear hatch eventually disintegrating. Looks much better too. I never really liked the S4 rear end, and prefer the look of mine to the later models. I'd really like a GTS and to stick a Supercharger on it to wring 450+ BHP out of it. Maybe when my portfolio matures a bit more...

Mc Tool - you are correct indeed. They are "Zorsts" - my mistake. You mean to say I can twist those nuts to make her louder??? Whoa! I may have to investigate. As I told my (very understanding) wife, "I'm not very good at sneaking around anywhere am I?"

Where should I buy my 906 parts from? I know I get my 928 parts super-cheap from www.928gt.com and they;ve looked after me really well.

Yeah , If you loosen the nut ( used as a locking nut ) and use an allen key to rotate the shaft ... works just like a throttle shaft / butterfly . I think the idea was that you just fitted the mufflers and if the mixture leaned out to much you simply closed the butterfly a bit to increase back pressure , thus negating any gain made by fitting them in the first place........ they are made in chch you know
As far as casbolts I havnt had much to do with them , but if you have a good rapport with any bike shop , they should be able to sourse duc parts from eurobike ( who wont deal with the public ).
Andy at ducati spares in Dunners is a good guy ( spares@ducatispares.co.nz ) . Look under F A Q's on this site and there is a list of alternate parts ( oil / air filters belts and some switches + lots more ) a lot of which are available from repco or supercheap. If you can twiddle a spanner , with the help of others on this site , a book ,and there is a duc website ducatitech.com who has some really good guff on setting valves etc , you shouldnt need to send it anywhere for service , call me old fashioned but I think that if you ride it you should be able to fix it , with a little help if needed ,thats why you will never see me on one of them computerized jappers ,a, to quote Fred Gassit " Fuggin space rocket"

Thanks Mc Tool. From your name, I guess you twiddle a fair bit. I am competent with a spanner, and am fairly handy, but I have zero experience with motors and complicated equipment, so I will leave almost all bike maintenance to the professionals. I once owned a Titan 500 (Yeah, the evil triple thing) and managed to ruin it quite successfully due to taking on jobs I wasn't qualified to do. Plus, I have no equipment to properly service it myself, and setting myself up for it would (arguably) cost me more than I intend to spend on maintenance.

I do some non-critical work on my 928, (like fix seats and interior trim etc.) and I successfully managed to remove the pack rack from the bike last night (Without breaking anything, either!) and it looks a lot better for it, too. But I'm afraid I won't be doing anything complicated with the Paso. Think of me as a petrol head, minus the head.

I'll assemble a list of the work which needs done, call some bike shops today, and see how I get on. I'm fairly sure I can't pass the re-VIN without the front brake operating smoothly, and I suspect they're familiar with the boot polish trick... So I'll be spending around $1500 to get it up to standard, and working nicely, before having the bike retested and registered again.

Edit: OK, so I spoke to Graham at Zorsts and he told me how to adjust them. They were about 15 degrees away from fully open, so I immediately opened them right up, and ... DEAR SWEET MOTHER OF GOD! The Paso now sounds like Mars, God of War, gargling with nuclear weapons.

Chris
re 928 spares, i use 928international and 928motorsports a lot, both excellent.
Also for new parts etc email Roger Tyson at 928srus.com he is very well priced and offes outstanding service.

Over here for Ducati parts there is Eurobit in Melb and Gowanlochs in NSW for spares.

Many Many thanks Chris for those photo's perfect.

Enjoy your bike it looks the bees knees

regards

englishstiv

Chris , if you ever feel like comming to nelson I could show you how to do a basic tune up / check over,( check valves and belts , ballance carbs) . It only takes 2 coffees to do , and every owner should at least have a look inside .Having said that , I think you are wise to leave some tasks to the experts if you really think a T500 was a triple ,
Hamish

Oh yeah , those exhausts should be wide open , dont be shy , coz when peeps look to see what the noise is they will be impressed . Try riding it round a car park building