Triple 999 Big End Failure....

D

daz11

New member
I thought I'd share my unfortunate mechanical failure of my 2003 triple 9 just at the end of the summer there. My plan is to strip and rebuild and give the bike hopefully a new lease of life but at the same time on a budget! Wish me luck.
 
Few more pics.

Damaged parts so far - crank and con rod - cylinder is cracked and now just found the piston from that unit is also cracked. :(

The other cylinder and piston is fine thankfully and Ive checked all the measurements and its all in spec.
 
Good question to be honest Ive not found much wrong. Only 17K on the motor but the bike has been thrashed a wee bit...

One bearing shell was completely destroyed and the the good remaining one didnt have much white metal left on it so I can only presume the bearing was at the end of its life and failed. Maybe some dirt in the oil but the motor was well serviced.

Oil pump etc was all in good order so doesnt look like oil starvation. The oil warning light didnt come on till seconds after I heard the bearing go so the pressure should be okay but I will check it when she is back together.

Any ideas?
 
Has it spent long on the back wheel? Wheelies can apparently cause oil starvation? Has it ever been on it's side with the engine running for any length of time?
 
Nope never done many wheelies the multistrada is much better for that. :) And no engine hasnt been on its side either other than twisty roads I might have no chicken strips but my lean angles arent that good...;) the failure did happen on a very twisty road though but I cant imagine I was banked over far enough to cause oil starvation.
 
Few more pics. LED mod to the original back light and luckily I know a good welder who knocked up the tool for torqueing the cylinder head bolts. And again thanks to eBAy I have two crack free pistons.:):):)
 
Engine Paint Complete...

Used VHT High Temp enamel paint. really nice finish and easy to apply once all the cleaning was done. Suppost to be a matt finish but the top coat made it slighlty gloss but still happy. At least the engine is well protected.
 
Aye could get all the bits in the oven other than the crankcase so had to improvise! Wife wasnt too happy :D
 
Another tool I use is the kitchen parts washer (aka the dishwasher). Wait until the wife goes out shopping, set at the highest temp setting, you would be amazed at the amount of grease and gunk that gets removed..........
 
Ah the engine part cleaning machine... I was advised of this invention some time ago its a cracking device.

I was wondering if anybody had any tips on the timing belt tensioning? I've read some threads but could find much on this forum.
 
Belt tensioning is done using frequency measurement these days. Basically you twang the longest run of the belt with your thumb and measure the frequency. There are various methods, I use a guitar tuner app on my phone called Gstrings but you can also use JP's Courroies on a laptop.

For new belts the frequencies are 110Hz ± 5Hz for 4V engines and 140Hz ± 5Hz for 2V engines.
For used belts the frequencies are 90Hz ± 5Hz for 4V engines and 100Hz ± 5Hz for 2V engines.
 
Cheers Derek thats perfect advice. I was aware of measuring frequency but using an app is a great bit of info. I take it youve done it before with this method?
 
The build begins..

So far so good wheels built - cons fitted and started boxing up the motor almost complete then I noticed I don't have a torque wrench big enough for doing the alternator hub. 270nm is a lot!
 
Been setting the belt timing tension today... First time Ive done it so not totally happy to be honest. Used an app on my iPhone called carbon drive which seems a good app not sure if there any others out there on the iPhone? My trouble is I find it hard to find an accurate frequency as its very dependant on how are hard you strum the belt. I can easily get say 100HZ if I strum with a lot of pressure but if you are gentle you may only get 60Hz. Ive done the twist test and get almost 90 degrees and I see there is the older method of 5mm play between the two cam rollers which I seem to get also again depends on how much pressure.

Just wondering anybody got any advice? The belt isn't tight nor is it slack so maybe its fine Im just concerned due not having done it before. I think I remember before I removed the belt it didn't seem overly tight and it was set by Glasgow Ducati time before that.

Don't want to ruin the engine after just rebuilding it!
 
Bike Complete!

Had my first very short run on the bike today so all seems pretty good. Clutch is tight but its all new plates so hoping it just beds in. Idle speed isn't right so something to look at but no big deal. Just look forward to some good weather now!
 
daz11 said:
Had my first very short run on the bike today so all seems pretty good.................. Just look forward to some good weather now!
Click to expand...

don't we all.....think cabin fever has set in for a few but under another name.....

canny wait to get out on the bike........roll on spring!!!!!!!

:thumbs:
 
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