Bimota Forum

[pjtango]

Hello All. My 2007 DB6 recently showed up with a dead, will not accept a charge battery. This is my first Bimota but one of several Ducati engines I own. I have no problems disassembling a bike, but I am having difficulty finding a starting point. I have a couple questions if someone could answer for me.
1) Any information on owners/service manuals to download.
2) It appears that to replace the battery, the fuel tank needs to be removed,
for the fuel tank to be removed, the seat needs to be removed, etc, is
that correct? Without a manual it's hard to tell if it needs to be removed, or
just raised in the rear
Thank you in advance for any help.

[brian]

Welcome to the forum pj. If you're on Facebook join the UK Bimota group. There you'll find lots of uploaded manuals etc.

I'm not familiar with the DB6, but I'm sure the master of all things DB will be along to help you shortly.... 2bims.... GO!
_________________
'99 DB4 #104, '96 SB6 #1165, '94 DB2 J #652, '99 DB4 #088, '08 VTX1800, '93 ZXR750R M1, '95 ZXR750, '95 ZXR750 Race Bike, '94 CBR400rr NC29 Race Bike, '94 CB250, '49 BSA C10 250, '61 BSA A10 650, '89 ZXR750, '91 Ducati 851

[2bims]

Hello Tango....and "welcome"

Good news...No....removing the tank is difficult....but doesnt help you so leave it where it is
Underneath the riders seat at the back....there is a 6mm captive allen bolt...unscrew this all the way....it wont come out.....then you can pull up the rear of the riders seat and it unhooks from a front rail.....remove the 3 No. 6mm bolts holding the plastic side panel under the tank on the Right hand side

You can now see the battery...lying on its side....

Theres a lot of electrics in the way...AND....a steel bracket with 2 no Dome head 6mm allen bolts.....And there are I think 3 no. solenoids on the front.....disconnect wires at the right hand side and you'll find one bolt to take put...trace the black painted steel bolt and you'll find the other one....remove that...and gently fold the wiring and assembly down.....you can now get to the battery....theres lots of wires connected to each terminal....make sure they go back as you find them....positive and negative...take phots before you strip anything down with your phone after you've removed the riders seat and right hand side panel.....Battery is a Yuasa...around £35 delivered in the UK....if it comes without the acid in....when you pour the acid in...leave it open for 24 hrs BEFORE putting the sealed caps on....this is to give sufficient time for the acid to turn to gel....otherwise the battery may leak acid all over your electrics....this goes against battery advice...BUT....it is because the battery is lying on its long side down.....trust me....Thats about it....Owners manual wont give you this info...Workshop Manual will....and spare parts exploded diagrams also...which you can download for free from the UK Bimota Facebook page...I know..because I uploaded them there...in files section on LHS...And no...I cant email them...they are full factory PDF files and too big to email...some 30 or 40Mb....Its a bit of a pig to get the battery terminal lead bolts back in....as theres a backing square nut....make sure these dont fall out when removing the old battery..I usually glue them I place on the new battery or fix temporary with blue tac when putting the battery back....

The old battery "should" be a Yuasa....depends if its still on its original factory supplied battery...How old is the bike?

[brian]

I knew 2bims would come to the rescue

A wealth of knowledge and vocabulary of an Oxford dictionary 🤭
_________________
'99 DB4 #104, '96 SB6 #1165, '94 DB2 J #652, '99 DB4 #088, '08 VTX1800, '93 ZXR750R M1, '95 ZXR750, '95 ZXR750 Race Bike, '94 CBR400rr NC29 Race Bike, '94 CB250, '49 BSA C10 250, '61 BSA A10 650, '89 ZXR750, '91 Ducati 851

[pjtango]

Thanks for the help 2bims and Brian. Sounds like it is going to be a good afternoon project later in the week to get it out of there. I did also find the service manual on the facebook page, so thanks again. The bike is 13 years old, so I'm sure it's been through a couple of battery changes. I'll see whats in there and go from there.

[2bims]

No worries....just pick a sunny day and take your time....getting it all back together with the mess of wiring in there to make it neat again so that the cover panel still fits is the trick....Oh....and watch out for the alloy spacer on the side panel 3rd bolt nearest the riders seat.....its there to "align" the RHS panel with the rest of the bodywork...almost "as if" bimota got the fixing hole in the wrong position....teehee….Whereabouts are you Tango? Profile not filled in?....Just helps in case you want to meet up.....also timescales.....if youre 12 hrs ahead or behind....command of English is good....

[pjtango]

Thanks, I already found those alloy spacers, I pulled all the panels off the bike when it first showed up to see what was behind everything.
I am in Phoenix AZ in the U.S. so 7 hours time change from the UK.
When I get it running I need to pull the wheels off to have some new tires mounted. It looks pretty straight forward, but is there anything I should look out for?

[2bims]

Do you have the Owners Handbook for it in English>?...Or the exploded Spare Parts Manual?...Or the Workshop manuals?

Bimotas are really quite different in their approach to engineering that Ducati do not use....Off the shelf items are bought like forks...and then adapted to take different use of wheels....inner sleeves and bushes that are threaded and held captive by pinch bolts on lower fork legs...on both sides...theres a strategic way to remove the front wheel....and to refix and tighten and torque the bolts.....First thing youll have to find is a hex key to undo the front wheel spindle....I have a set of "Oil sump plug" hex sockets.....the allen head of the front spindle is Very deep...you undo the pinch bolts on the RHS first....then remove the spindle.....after you've taken the calipers off first...use quality allen sockets as the bolts holding the calipers in are shallow....and they can turn to cheese easily....AND...you'll have to find a head stand to hold the front up...usual abba stands will crunch your headlight unit...and you dont want that...the type that fit a socket in the underside of the lower yoke...are NO good....So....rear paddock stand and ratchet strap the front off the ground from the upper yoke if you have a beam....or heavy duty stepladders to A cradle around the bike....I use a front stand that winds up under the lower yoke...as the DB5R has the same issue....I can look at the owners manual if you wish...torque settings etc.....alloy turned threaded bush I think in the Left side fork leg...so pinch bolts have to stay in...I think...been a while since I removed mine.....Rear chain tension when refitting rear wheel....torque for main bolt is 100Nm....watch you dont catch the disc on the rear brake caliper hanging plate speedo sensor...AND....check chain tension when sat ON the bike.....if its "fine" when off the bike...its too tight when youre on the bike.....front end set up of procedure of order of tightening up bolts is critical also....as you may find the front wheel is misaligned...and the pads will drag and warp the discs....on the rear wheel...you can at least trust the lines on the chain adjusters.....align back wheel before tightening the main spindle....by spinning the back wheel and stamping on the back brake a few times....THink thats about it...>The owners manual does actually give you this useful information.....Workshop manual is more Full stripdown, electrics and engine based.....suspension settings...and wheel removal and chain tension...bulb replacement etc and fuses...are all in the Owners manual

[pjtango]

New battery installed and the bike runs. Once I could visualize the sequence to get it out, it worked pretty slick. A real nice tidy set-up. Used a maker to number the solenoids, just in case it mattered and slid a zip tie through the pos and neg cables to keep the order straight. My bike has the White tach with the lower digital display, it defaulted back to kph. The service manual shows the newer tach I believe and using it's instructions I still can't get it back to mph. Any ideas?

Yes, I did get the service manual and parts manual in English, couldn't find the owners manual, I'll check again. Scanning through the service manual I noticed it showed all routine maintenance (oil change, timing belt change) on an engine removed from the bike which is not routine. The clearance for the belt covers looks pretty tight to get at the belt for the vertical cylinder. That's the case with Ducati's also, I assume I'll be able to get it off without dropping the engine. And while I'm thinking of the timing belts, I also noticed the service manual has the belt tensioned by the deflection method. I have a 2006 Paul Smart with essentially the same 1000 DS air cooled motor, and they went to the frequency method of setting belt tension. Can I do the same with the Bimota?

I'll re-read your last post another 20 times while looking at the wheels before I try getting them off. And study the manual. My rear wheel stand works and I was afraid I would have to do something like suspending the bike for the front. I have a front stand that uses bolts to go in the lower portion of the forks so you can adjust how far they go in. Unfortunately, on most bikes you can't have them go in very far to be safe because you risk bending the Axl, and I should know, I've got a bent front Axl off my Smart to remind me.

Sorry for being so long winded. Thanks for your help and patience. When I get all the work done, I'll post a photo of it.

[brian]

I use a steering head lift stand for removing wheels on my SB6 and DB4. The angle of the pin can be adjusted to keep it clear of the fairing (just). You need a hollow steering head shaft for this type. Not sure if it would work on the DB6 as I’m not familiar with the newer bims. It doesn’t work on my DB2 either as the choke cable runs through the steering head shaft.






_________________
'99 DB4 #104, '96 SB6 #1165, '94 DB2 J #652, '99 DB4 #088, '08 VTX1800, '93 ZXR750R M1, '95 ZXR750, '95 ZXR750 Race Bike, '94 CBR400rr NC29 Race Bike, '94 CB250, '49 BSA C10 250, '61 BSA A10 650, '89 ZXR750, '91 Ducati 851

[2bims]

Nope......the DB5 and DB6 have new style front ends for EURO 4 compliance.....where its nearly touching the front mudguard....so that if you run a pedestrian over they go up and over the bike apparently...and dont get caught up....the folding mechanism on those would crush the headlight unit when doing its fandango fold and hinge and rise....I use one with a pin....that the whole unit pushes in from one side.....and has a hand crank winder to lift the bike up.....couple of hundred quid though.....Which is why I borrow the one from my local dealer at Ducati Manchester....other than that its jack the bike up under the engine....Abba stands some folk use on the ZigZag frame plates....pointed pins that screw into the heads of the lower frame plates to engine bolts....

Oh yeh....clocks.....it depends on whether both buttons work......press one of them until the Temperature is displayed.....or trip meter....cant recall....then press BOTH buttons at the same time....ignition on but engine not running....HOLD them both down until "EU" or "US" appears......EU means Europe and Kms....US means USA and Mph.....when it appears and flashes...say it was EU......then release and push either the left of right...and the other appears.....US...….switch off ignition...switch back on and it should remain in MPH.....Hope that helps....that bit isn't in any of the manuals

[2bims]

Oh.....belt change....yup...can be done in situ for sure....one of the bolts on the rear vertical cylinder cam belt cover is a bit of a pig to reach.....T bat socket tool needed.....too close to a frame rail for normal ratchet and allen socket...If you've done belts before...this engines no different.

Valve clearances.....Oh me....Oh my....Front cylinder...a doddle....THe rear???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

You will be swearing a LOT....tank off.....to which theres a trick....airbox off...battery off...battery box off....as it and the airbox screw and cover direct into the rear valve covers....its the airbox removal thats a pig....AND....as regards the tank....the Workshop manual is wrong.....it doesnt mention the two alloy drain hole taps screwed into the bottom of the tank that stops it being lifted clear and pulled backwards for removal...these hit a cross rail....dont try to bend them...or remove the cross rail....just remove the two taps with drain hoses on them....they'll be all furred up and corroded inside them and blocked anyhow...so clean them out.....Have fun getting to the 2 jubilee clamps holding the airbox on to the cylinders.....if not touched from the factory....you may be lucky...and access to unscrew them may be possible....Oh....the two allen bolts at the front of the tank.....one either side at the headstock....dont be a dummy....dont remove them....they are dummy bolts...screwed into pins that simply push fit into the tank to hold the front end of the tank down....they are steel bolts going into alloy threaded turned pins....and will be corroded and locked stuck anyhow...Do you have a steering damper on the bike?

[2bims]

Just checked my DB6R front forks.....spindle screws directly into threaded LHS fork leg...no bush...get the spacer the right way around when refitting.....No spacer on the RHS....just 2 pinch bolts....undo those first then turn out the front spindle....what looks like a bush is actually a milled part of the spindle....I'll dig out the torque settings for you.....But you'll have to find a oil filter spanner kit to fit into the deep sunken socket of the front wheel spindle first.....

[pjtango]

2bims, the advice is great. I needed to step away from the bike for a day. I was messing around trying to get it from kph to mph and now even when the key is off the lights for low oil pressure, neutral and low fuel (with no low fuel) stay on draining the new battery. Tomorrow I disconnect the battery to see if everything resets to zero.
As far as the wheel removal, I had a good long look at things today, and like the battery, now I have a sequence. I have several very high quality large hex keys to attach to a 1/2 inch drive ratchet, one which fits the front wheel spindle. Now I just need to figure a way to suspend the front to remove the wheel. I also need to count the number of teeth on the rear spocket, Ducati's air-cooled motor had terrible gearing. Going from a 38 to a 40 tooth rear sprocket was an amazing change, and I happen to have a 40 tooth rear spocket it my parts bin, just need a new chain, which the bike needs anyway.
Valves, even though I know how to do them on the air cooled motors, I am to old and lazy to do it on my own anymore, I have a good mechanic, and when they get done, I'll copy your instructions on how to remove the tank and let him do it.
That SB6 of yours is beautiful. That picture with the bodywork off and the frame and carbs is awsum. Reminds me of my old GS1000. I have been looking at MV's for a couple years, but those pictures of your bike have me thinking of going a different path. I still have my carb sticks to balance the carbs.

[2bims]

I'll check whats on the rear sprocket of my DB6R......Have to say though I've never felt the need to up the teeth on it....they will wheelie just for laughs even if you dont want it to...and when the tyre is up to temp.....2nd and 3rd gear cracking the throttle will leave black lines behind you as it spins the wheel.....Best to ride and think first.....

Those white tacho dashes can be problematic....its the 2 rubber buttons....that instead of having proper switches behind them....press down on a springy lift up metal tab on the contact board of the unit in the body.....so...sometimes those tabs break off.....Do each of them "click" when you push them?....which is the metal tab clicking back up again....