require misc parts for 1978/9 900ss darmah
18" 4 bolt 5 spoke speedline front wheel or equivalent
4 bolt cast disc to suit above wheel. if not for speedline then would need two discs
right hand side cover
WANTED - 79 ssd spares
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Nico Georgeoglou
- Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 2:59 am
- Location: Athens, Greece
79 SSD spares
Hello at suncoast motors,
I'm currently restoring an early (1978) SSD and I would like to inform as follows: 900 SSD were an upmarket model compared to the regular Darmah SD. To this respect all 900SSDs without exception featured initially 6-holed Speedlines in combination with Lafranconi silencers and later 6-holed FPS in combination with either Lafranconi or Silentium silencers. In both cases the disc rotors used, were the upgraded 6-holed ones with separate disc/carrier and not the 4-bolt cast ones.
Therefore it is surprising that your bike is featuring 4-holed Speedline wheels/cast discs. These were only used on '78 900 SS and Darmah SD, but not on 900SSD.
So far in respect to model specifications.
However there is a much more important matter to consider:
all Speedline wheels used on bevel twins were defective and kept cracking under stress. Factory started recalling all bikes with 4- or 6-holed Speedlines in the late seventies/early eighties to replace them with 4- or 6-holed FPS (featuring 6 double spokes) wheels.
I had also suffered a front wheel 4-holed Speedline failure on my 900SS without fatal results thank god.
So both my '78 900SS which I own since 1986 and the '78 900SSD I'm currently restoring, have been turned to 4- and 6-holed FPS respectively.
Therefore if you plan to ride your bike, for safety reasons don't use Speedline wheels. Since 900SSD was produced with both kinds of wheels, you do not retract from originality using FPS wheels. Plus that all SSD (early and late) were using 6-holed wheels/disc rotors. Check if your bike's wheels have been changed with Darmah SD wheels. 26-27 years life span is a long time for a motorcycle and many things could have been altered in the meantime.
Happy riding
Nico
I'm currently restoring an early (1978) SSD and I would like to inform as follows: 900 SSD were an upmarket model compared to the regular Darmah SD. To this respect all 900SSDs without exception featured initially 6-holed Speedlines in combination with Lafranconi silencers and later 6-holed FPS in combination with either Lafranconi or Silentium silencers. In both cases the disc rotors used, were the upgraded 6-holed ones with separate disc/carrier and not the 4-bolt cast ones.
Therefore it is surprising that your bike is featuring 4-holed Speedline wheels/cast discs. These were only used on '78 900 SS and Darmah SD, but not on 900SSD.
So far in respect to model specifications.
However there is a much more important matter to consider:
all Speedline wheels used on bevel twins were defective and kept cracking under stress. Factory started recalling all bikes with 4- or 6-holed Speedlines in the late seventies/early eighties to replace them with 4- or 6-holed FPS (featuring 6 double spokes) wheels.
I had also suffered a front wheel 4-holed Speedline failure on my 900SS without fatal results thank god.
So both my '78 900SS which I own since 1986 and the '78 900SSD I'm currently restoring, have been turned to 4- and 6-holed FPS respectively.
Therefore if you plan to ride your bike, for safety reasons don't use Speedline wheels. Since 900SSD was produced with both kinds of wheels, you do not retract from originality using FPS wheels. Plus that all SSD (early and late) were using 6-holed wheels/disc rotors. Check if your bike's wheels have been changed with Darmah SD wheels. 26-27 years life span is a long time for a motorcycle and many things could have been altered in the meantime.
Happy riding
Nico
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suncoast
- Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2004 7:36 am
- Location: gibsons, bc, can
- Contact:
speedline
Thanks for your reply Nico. You are of course correct about my recent purchase, it is in fact a plain old SD. I did eventually find a Speedline wheel sourced from Millers in Ct, US. and although your concerns may be valid it has survived for thirty years. but then maybe that's what caused the wreck.......? Kind Regards jim
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Nico Georgeoglou
- Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 2:59 am
- Location: Athens, Greece
WANTED - 79SSD spares
Hello Jim,
Thks yr reply, with which I fully agree. Still I feel obliged to inform you of the following: besides the front Speedline which was broken on my bike almost two decades ago, I also have now available about 4 or 5 Speedline wheels which are in sound condition like the one that Miller sold to you. The difference is that have them on the self and not on a bike. These are front and rear ones, 4- and 6-bolt ones, suitable for 1978 900 SS, SD and SSD respectively. However I wouldn't dare to sell them to anybody as I strongly believe that the metal fatigue after almost 30 years has paid its toll on these wheels. Once more I would strongly suggest that you put the Speedlines on the self and use FPS. These are still existing in both 4- and 6- bolt versions, front and rear. This is a friendly advice and you are grown up to appreciate or not. Even if you go ahead with your restoration using the Speedlines, try to change to FPS as soon as such an opportunity arises. Listen to a 50 years old (this coming October) bevel Ducati rider.
Happy (and safe) riding
Nico
Thks yr reply, with which I fully agree. Still I feel obliged to inform you of the following: besides the front Speedline which was broken on my bike almost two decades ago, I also have now available about 4 or 5 Speedline wheels which are in sound condition like the one that Miller sold to you. The difference is that have them on the self and not on a bike. These are front and rear ones, 4- and 6-bolt ones, suitable for 1978 900 SS, SD and SSD respectively. However I wouldn't dare to sell them to anybody as I strongly believe that the metal fatigue after almost 30 years has paid its toll on these wheels. Once more I would strongly suggest that you put the Speedlines on the self and use FPS. These are still existing in both 4- and 6- bolt versions, front and rear. This is a friendly advice and you are grown up to appreciate or not. Even if you go ahead with your restoration using the Speedlines, try to change to FPS as soon as such an opportunity arises. Listen to a 50 years old (this coming October) bevel Ducati rider.
Happy (and safe) riding
Nico