Hello friends! my name is James and i just purchased a 87 Paso
its in need of work, but i wanted a project. tore it down the instant it hit my garage.. carb off for cleaning and inspection, found a few things:
idle mixture screws had been over tightened slightly cracking the seat, upper gasket is junk, choke plate gasket falling out and like any old bike just full of
crud
after cleaning and a mock reassembly i got the bike idling somewhat smooth but the gasket is still leaking causing the engine to idle high for brief instances..
but idling at 1k is better than the 2.5k when i picked it up. i suspect one of the boots may have a crack, i couldn't find one but its in rough shape from saturation.
t-belts are cracked and need to be replaced of course new tires but other than that everything is working order

Excellent choice! Good timing on the purchase, prices are about to go through the roof. Seriously, an '87 Paso is a great ride!

James ( I don't believe Im saying this but ) put some new belts on it NOW , if one breaks it will #uck the whole engine , and that crack in the carb maybe a bit fatal too, someone else here had the same thing and I cant remember how it ended. If you want carb parts go to a weber specialist NOT a ducati one .....parts will be heaps cheaper
Hamish

Yeah I hear yah on the belts, the previous owner is lucky they didn't break on him. Be had been riding it all over in the condition it was in. On the carburetor, I had kind of came to the same conclusion that it's most likely junk. I will spend the 8 bucks and get some gaskets but it may never idle right with those cracks. With the belts, the bike is staying in pieces untill they arrive on my doorstep. I don't want to risk it.. I have it idling and such now but that is it.

Probably a good time to check valve clearance while waiting for parts.
Any good recommends on oil and spark plugs?

a bit of belt dressing spray and they are as new again
The engine likes Champion RA6HC plugs.
You can try to spray some carb or brake cleaner on one carb rubber boot at a time and see if the engine reacts to that. Then you`ll have the leak.
While talking about rubber parts put new brake lines on your buying list as well.

G.

Champion plugs are what come in lawn mowers over here.. I was hoping for a denso or ngk suggestion.. :/
That's what I was thinking, maybe hit the belts with some spray paint to restore color...

I tried Nippon Denso, NGK, NGK Iridium and then went back to the originally from Ducati recommended Champions.
That was before I did the wiring mod and replaced the coils. The Champions worked best for me (and the most expensive NGKs were the worst). Less backfiring and better starting. It`s possible that now that all is sorted the engine would run as well with the other spark plugs. I stuck to the Champions and didn`t try. (It might be that the Champions are less sensitive to their working environment.)
I`m not the only one who made this experience as can be read on this and other Duc forums.

Oil: Valvoline VR1 Racing SAE 20-W50
My retired Mechanic used it for all Duc's (back in the 90s). I continue using it...

Cool, I have had bad luck with champions in the automotive field. Mostly why I was surprised that they were being used on a high end bike