Installing the Keihin FCR Kit
T.J. Noto

The purpose of this document is to present handy tips and installation procedures for 39mm Keihin Flatslide carburetors on a 93-95 Ducati 900SS/CR/SP. The procedure is assumed to be proper for same year 750SS's although model variances are unknown to the author and therefore unaccounted for. The author takes no responsibility for any damage, legal action, or other deleterious situations which may arise from the installation of same.
Whew! Now that the standard disclaimers are out of the way. . .
The 39mm Keihin Flatslide carburetors, sold by Fast by Ferracci, and Sudco Enterprises, are a very worthwhile replacement to the restrictive and emission-conscious Mikuni's which come on the bike from the factory.
While the owner may notice little, if any, gain in horsepower or top-end speed, the increased throttle response and "drivability" are significant. . .most owners have agreed the upgrade TRANSFORMS the bike. They are not cheap, expect to pay around $600. If you have to pay someone to install them for you, you could end up paying almost $800. . .so it seems prudent to do the installation yourself, providing you are competent at basic mechanics. A good guideline for the level of mechanical aptitude required is this.
· Have you adjusted your valves yourself?
· Installed a jet-kit in the stock carbs yourself?
If you answered "yes" to either one of these, you'll probably be fine doing the installation yourself. On the other hand, if the mere thought of either of these put you in a cold sweat I'd recommend paying someone you know and trust to do the installation for you.

Preparation

The Keihin carbs come in kit form from Sudco Enterprises with all the necessary adapters, fittings, and are properly jetted and adjusted for the Ducati 900SS/CR/SP. Mine worked almost PERFECTLY right out of the box. This with an otherwise stock motor, K&N filter conversion (with airbox eliminator) and aftermarket exhaust canisters. If you have anything OTHER than the above, some tweaking may be necessary. Sudco is very helpful if you need it. The person who "designed" the kit is available by phone, will even return calls, and is pretty knowledgeable.
Make sure you have plenty of time, space, patience, and the proper tools before you start. This procedure takes about 5-6 hours interrupted, more if you do it over a couple of sessions.

Tools you'll need
· Metric sockets
· Allen wrenches (metric of course, by the way...ever wonder who Allen is?)
· standard screwdrivers (a VERY small one for the choke assembly)
· Dremel tool
· WD40 (hereafter referred to as "wizard juice"
· diagonal cutters (which for years were called "dikes" but no more)
· nylon tie-wraps
· Teflube, lithium grease or similar

So pour yourself a glass of Chianti, put "Rigoletto", or Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness by Smashing Pumpkins in the CD player and get ready to TRANSFORM your Ducati in to a super-responsive, asphalt-shredding, wheelie popping, high-performance machine.
· Remove the seat, fairing "clamshells" and Gas Tank. Don't forget to turn off the petcock before removing the fuel hoses! Set these items safely aside. You'll not be needing them for a while.
· Remove the gas tank anchor bracket. This is a little black "trapezoidal" shaped thing held
to the frame by two 8mm bolts. Set it aside.
· Remove the battery and place it somewhere safe (on a wooden block will prevent it from
draining)
· Remove the airbox top, and airfilter. The top is held by four "clips" which are fastened to
the airbox lower by pins. Don't drop or lose any of them!

There are two electronic ignition related units one each side of the coil bracket, which are mounted on "ears" as part of the coil brackets. They are suspended in rubber "holders" to prevent damage from vibration. Simply slip each one off the bracket and let them hang to either side.
With an allen wrench, remove the bracket which holds the coils to the battery box. Replace the bolts in their respective holes for safe keeping. The wiring harness has a pin connector on the right hand side (when you're sitting on the bike) which you need to disconnect so that the airbox can come off easily. Do this and you make your life MUCH easier. Again, let each segment of the harness hang over each frame rail.
With a small ratchet, an extension bar, and an 8mm socket, remove the four bolts which hold the lower airbox to the frame. There is one of these bolts at each corner. Two at the rear of the airbox, on either side of the battery box. Two more at the front of the airbox, UNDERNEATH the box.
With a very long thin standard screwdriver, loosen the hose clamps which hold the airbox flanges to each carburetor. There are two of them, and they are hard to get to. You'll need to play games to get to them, they're accessible from UNDERNEATH the airbox lower, and from either side of the bike. Loosen them enough to allow the airbox to move around. When you pull the airbox top off make sure to grab them , as they'll want to fall off. Put them in your "box of stock parts which you don't need anymore but want to keep".
Follow the oil breather hose which is on the left hand side of the airbox back to where it joins the box underneath the seat. Loosen the hose clamp which holds it to this little black box and pull it loose. It's held to the frame by a couple tie-wraps. Either cut them or unthread the hose so you can pull the airbox loose. You'll be removing it later, for now, just get it out of the way.
Loosen the OTHER hose-clamp (for the crankcase breather tube) and remove that. Now you can remove the whole box and put it aside. It serves no function in this configuration. Put it in your parts box.
At this point the airbox should be easy to move, and with a little gentle pulling should come off. If it doesn't, go back and check all the bolts and hose clamps. It'll come, just be patient.
Set the airbox on your workbench. You'll need to do some minor surgery to get it ready for the Keihins. Spray some wizard juice (WD40) around the box where the oil breather enters and with a dull screwdriver or other device, pry it from the airbox. Put in your parts box.
The next two items require a Dremel, so get your safety glasses on and get ready.
The first thing which needs to be done is the enlargement of the hole where the original oil breather tube went. The carb kit comes with a filter element and a "holder" which is a little larger than the stock hole. So carefully, using the trim and try method, enlarge the hole until the filter holder is a nice tight fit. You may want to secure it with some fuel-proof glue when you're done.
The second tasks is to remove some material from the airbox so it can clear the throttle cable bracket of the Keihins. The kit comes with a hand-drawn illustration of what and how to do it. It's not hard and takes little time with the Dremel.
On the LEFT SIDE of the box (when it is installed, viewed from as if you're sitting on it) you'll need to completely relieve the "buttress" which spans between the battery section, and the filter section. If you put the carbs in place and lower the airbox on to them it will apparent what needs to be done. Take it down to the flat section of the airbox and you'll be fine.