[contact.nitin7]

Finally, had the chance to see this in person, didn't realise this when met you, but then a Mutual friend told me about you this morning when he saw the picture of the bike on my IG.





Best regards,
Nitin

[no_fear]

Annus horribilis and Annus mirabilis

Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they fail spectacularly. After the 2021 rebuild of the 1199R, I thought it was all done and dusted and the bike will be lighting up the streets of Delhi.

Hah!! I was so wrong. A few weeks after bringing it to my garage, all crazy things started happening. The bike would fire up, but die quickly, the headlights stopped working, the engine sounded horrible, and it would not rev above 5000 rpm. Let's say, this looked like George Bush's infamous 2003 "Mission Accomplished" banner.

I decided to call it quits and park the bike for the rest of the year. I had enough of 2021.

2022 passed by in a blur. I was tied up in a lot of things and did not get the time to look deeper into the 1199 project. I had no energy left. Towards the end of the year, my older brother came down for holidays and decided to check the bike. He fired up the gal, spent one minute listening to the engine, and then turned to me and said - "Right, whomever built this engine is an amateur. Didn't do a good enough job. Let's tear down and rebuild this beauty again"

I stared at him for 30 seconds straight and said "Are you mad?" Who will do this work for us. Have you not learned anything?

For those who know my brother - he is an impatient and stubborn man. Once he gets his heart into something, he will go ahead. There is no stopping him. And he took me along for this wild ride.

2022 turns exciting

The bike was shipped to a small FNG shop that is run by a talented gentleman who once worked at Suzuki Delhi. My brother and he had a long chat, and then voila, work started.

In a month, the bike turned into this.



What you are seeing are the twin cylinders of a 195 HP Ducati 1199R. We reduced it to the atom of the 1199. And we immediately found the issues plaguing the engine. First, the nozzle that fires engine oil into the cylinders was broken. Second, all the rubber gaskets that sit around the cylinder head are worn.

Rubber gaskets tearing



Broken engine oil nozzle



My brother surmised that before we bought the bike, several people had opened the engine and tried to fix the bike. They dropped the cylinders improperly into the engine case, damaging the nozzle and tearing the gaskets. When the engine was rebuilt in 2021, the technician overlooked this. The worn and damaged parts were severely affecting the engine performance and that was why the bike acted weird.

We replaced both nozzles, and all the inner gaskets (the ones around the cylinders as well as the small green gaskets around the nozzles). Ran a thorough check on all the parts, including bearings, con rods, timing chains, and didn't find any issues. The engine was then re-cased.

Next was syncing the timing chain and the engine. Our talented technician has the 1199R technical manual and made his own degree plates to carry out the sync. This was again not done properly by the previous guys in 2021. That is why the engine sounded so rough on idle.

Timing chain sync carried out



With the supervision of my brother, who came down every month without fail and worked with me and the technician, we made good progress. We fired up the engine again and ran it for almost 10 hours at different rpms. Everything held up with precision and the roar of the 1199 was nirvana. Now things started looking up.

1199R engine undergoing tests for almost 2 months.





Now that we had eliminated the last of the gremlins on the 1199R, we went into overdrive. We opened the headlight casing and realized that water had entered into the circuit and the 2 headlight Leds were spoiled. So a new headlight was sourced from Ducati Italy.

Old headlight with damaged circuit board





New headlight from the mother planet



2023 rolls in and our work continues full swing. Now that we had fixed the engine, we were tackling the remaining issues. The biggest impact that the bike had back in 2014-15 was the damage to its aluminum tank when it was dropped on its side. The tank had caved in, and the owner had simply put about 100 kg of putty and a leather strap to cover the dent and painted the tank to hide the damage.

My technician contacted a professional painter who scrapped the paint and putty away. Then using a heat gun, he gently tapped into the aluminum dents and hammered the tank back into shape. This was a very delicate process as we did not want the aluminum to crack. For 2 months, the painter worked on restoring the tank. When it was fixed, we decided to go with the 2015 1199R tank design instead of the 2014, as the tank needed more paint to protect the exposed aluminum. For good measure, we cleaned the fairings, and added a new layer of clearcoat.

The OEM tank painted back in 2014-15 to cover the damage



Tank repaired and repainted back to Ducati OEM factory red color + exposed aluminum



Next was glamming up the bike. My brother loves working on bikes. He will bore you with parts and what is the best for which model. A basket load of aftermarket parts soon arrived. The engine and fairing bolts were all sub par, and we decided to swap those for Lightech red bolts. Oh! these beauties are something else. They add the sparkle you need on your bike.



Lightech foldable brake + clutch levers, carbon fiber lever protectors, tail tidy, Brembo front discs, brake pads, brake + clutch reservoir caps, PBR front + rear sprocket, Domino grips, EK chain and a WRS wind screen were added.

Brembo front discs



Lightech + Ducabike goodies



PBR sprocket + EK Chain



By mid June 2023, the bike was put back together. We could see the light at the end of tunnel. We know the end was near, and all we needed was to get this beauty running back on the roads. The only thing we needed were the OEM mirrors. The current mirrors were in shambles. Just looking at the original mirrors sums up the condition the bike was previously kept in.

Previous OEM mirrors - the definition of abuse and neglect





After 2 months of waiting, the mirrors arrived. And once we installed them, it was over. 2 years of working on a bike came to a glorious end. My technician, my brother and I just stood still for a minute and looked at the bike. I swear at least 2 of us teared up. A massive pachyderm sized weight had lifted from our shoulders.

We decided during BharatGP we will bring the bike home. A bike like this needs a momentous occasion to make its entry. We called our tow truck contact, and got the bike home. It now graces its presence with the rest of my babies and I get to hear it roar again.

The journey of the 1199R's demise and birth has come to a close. We will continue working on the bike, but this marks the end of a chapter. I hope you enjoyed.

The 1199R finally complete



Glam shots of the 1199R in my garage













Joining the 1199R is her younger sister the V4R.

[ex-innova-guy]

I had first read this thread back when I wasn’t even a BHPian. It gives me so much joy to comment on your thread.

The dedication you and your brother have put in this Italian Beauty is mind-boggling. Right from finding it to the ultimate restoration. Your garage is an absolute dream of many but what makes it even more special is not everyone can maintain them like you do.

Thank you for sharing your happiness with so many of us.

[100Kmphormore]

Bike looks smashing no fear! Congrats on the successful re-rebuild - your brother is miles ahead of almost every OEM liter class mechanic in India I daresay with his knowledge. Also congrats on the V4R! Is this a recent purchase? One was delivered in Bengaluru recently and the raw dry clutch sound is eargasmic.

[krishnaprasadgg]

Epic! My jaw dropped when I read that even the Hyd (I think?) Ducati guy also did not get the rebuild right and the Desmo service was also off, talk about dropping the ball on working on a rare piece of engineering marvel.


How did the oil squirters get so badly damaged? That's just pure negligence by anyone who worked on it like you rightfully said. And I'm guessing pistons might have been just shoved in with no assembly lube or fogging oil to have caused all that damage. It was sad to hear all that. But I'm super pumped that the beauty lives again!

Cheer
Krishna

[SnS_12]

The backstory of the 1199R on how you guys found it and the people who were involved in the selling process and the post purchase multiple tear downs of the engine to sort the previous rubbish work done by all the incompetent mechanics who contributed and added to the engines misery over the years is really something.

And all this pain just because the previous owner and the mechanic who worked on it after its crash at the BIC didn't replace a busted water pump.

Like, we were talking that evening there are some bikes that just need constant attention and work and at times one has to really decide if it's time to call it quits. But, their are some bikes that need that extra bit of determination and effort to make it through post that point and the 1199 R is definitely one of them.

Like the big bro said the bike won't yet be a 100% and will still have some minor issues that would need fixing. But, in the end it's going to be worth it when that beast of an L twin propels you like a rocket when you least expect it.

The bike that almost had its faith sealed at the BIC finally comes home once again healthier and stronger just around when we had the first Bharat Moto GP at BIC. The bike gods are really definitely by your side and all they expect from the two of you is too have faith always

[AtheK]

Absolutely amazing story Arya, it's amazing how Avi's mind works, but dedication that you two get onto table is next level. The A team indeed.

So good to see the bike back up and running, I so desperately wanted to see the bike last Saturday, but you were exhausted so was I, could not make it to home though did get to meet Avi.

The work done on the bike and now documented here is for generations to see, read and get inspired, perfect example of, if you put your heart and soul to something you will come on top. Cheers to both of you and 1199 R may it be seen running on track soon.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

Also congrats on the V4R! Is this a recent purchase? One was delivered in Bengaluru recently and the raw dry clutch sound is eargasmic.

It's a 2019 V4R. I got it in 2022 in September directly from the dealer. It was one of the 4 bikes that came during 19-20 but was not sold. Bangalore has 2 V4R - one 2019 and the newer 2023. Thanks for the kind words.

@Athek, SNS, Krishna - you guys are old timers and know the full drill of the 1199R saga by now. Thanks for all your support and it's a pleasure to have met all of you in person.

[VijayAnand1]

A rainy day, a good meal and threads like this, simply sempiternal. A stripped engine and a story is all one needs to enthuse the epiphany and boy, wasn't it a fitting one at that. Would read your beautifully adorned threads, only to find out they turned out to be never-ending honey-pot of experiences which made me peruse most of your threads, primarily as it involved rebuilds, experiences and the majestic moment when it all comes together, it's a feeling altogether different to even describe. Sempre!

And to that restored beauty, this is all that comes to my mind.

Alis Propriis Volat

Cheers!
VJ

[gauravdgr8]

Congratulations on restoring the beauty to all it's glory

You've got a gem in your brother. Kudos to both of you. Enjoy your rides.

Can you shed some light on the overall cost involved in these repairs.

[ChetanM6]

Just read this thread. Massive respect buddy and thanks for sharing your journey.The entire thread fills my heart with some unexplainable joy (I am overwhelmed )! I wish you years of wonderful experiences with this motorcycle.

[FueledbyFury]

Long back in 2021, I have read this restoration thread and was amazed by the enthusiasm and passion that was put into it. The way @no_fear conveyed every mechanical aspect throughout these years is definitely praiseworthy.
Glad to see 1199R back to it's home garage after tiresome restoration work.Wishing you memorable experiences with this Italian beauty.

[TheEcoBeast]

The whole story of this Piece of Italian Art can very well be made into a movie/novel. With two brothers going rock bottom of revival of a motorcycle that finally got all the love it deserved!

There is one more man tearing up in this story. Thanks so much for the thread.

[Turbosailor]

Originally Posted by no_fear

Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they fail spectacularly.

Please take my Standing ovation "No Fear". Truly commendable job. After reading your recent post, got me glued and took me all the way to 1st page of this incredible thread and read all the way to the end. Took me few days to finish but at the end, what an achievement. This is not just about the bike, its truly shows how dedication, hard work and passion can make anything happen. It was like watching a NatGeo or TopGear documentary. Truly fascinating.

[no_fear]

@Ex innova, Vijay, gaurav, chetan, fueledbyfury, ecobeast, turbosailor - thank you for the kind words. Glad to see bhpian support on this.

@gauravdgr8 - I don't have the exact figure written down, but it cost me somewhere close to a new Z900. Majority of the expenses were in parts.