Monster Duck: Valves have been checked and the new belts installed..

Bike stripped down for valve checking. I ended up getting the valve shims from www.ducatitoolrental.com. You can "rent" the shim kit and then return the kit when you're done. Saves countless 2.5 hour drives to the closest Ducati dealer (www.letko.com, great guys, excellent mail order place).

Anyway, I also rented the "toolkit" for checking the valves, which I ended up keeping just because I like tools.

Only one closer needed to be replaced, the one on the horizontal exhaust. I also had to replace to opener shims on the vertical cylinder, but if I had been smart, I could have simply swapped them, oh well, live and learn. So I did end up using two of the shims from the rented kit, which was included in the rental price.

Next item on my agenda is to rebuild the carburetors with a jet kit and install my 'new to me' Ohlins.