Not all engineering projects arrive on a pallet with a purchase order attached.
Recently, we were approached by an individual rebuilding his Ducati 959 Panigale, a 955cc V-twin superbike producing around 157 bhp, capable of over 160 mph, and engineered to very tight tolerances. During the rebuild, one question mattered more than anything else:
“Can you lap the cylinder head for flatness?”
The short answer was yes.
The longer answer is why this matters far more than people realise.
Why Lap a Cylinder Head?
Cylinder heads live a hard life due to heat cycling, clamping loads, machining stresses and time can all introduce distortion, this is often invisible to the naked eye but critical at the gasket interface.
Lapping restores:
• Flatness across the sealing face
• Consistent gasket loading
• Improved thermal transfer
• Reliable combustion sealing
Unlike grinding or milling, lapping applies uniform material removal across the entire surface, this makes it ideal when you want accuracy without introducing new stresses.
For performance engines like the Ducati 959 Panigale, with high compression ratios, tight tolerances and aggressive thermal load, flatness isn’t optional, it’s fundamental.
Precision Without the Big-Company Overhead
This wasn’t a production run or a motorsport contract this was one person, one engine, and one goal: rebuild it properly.
That’s where specialist lapping still shines.
We routinely lap components to:
• Sub-micron flatness
• Tight parallelism
• Controlled material removal
• Clean, gasket-ready surfaces
And while this job happened to be a superbike, the same principles apply to:
• Motorcycle cylinder heads
• Automotive engines
• Classic restorations
• Race builds
• Compressor plates
• Pump housings
• Any sealing or reference surface
Small Job. Proper Engineering.
There’s a misconception that precision processes are only for large manufacturers, but in reality, they’re often most valuable on one-off or rebuild projects, where failure isn’t an option and rework costs time, money, and enthusiasm.
This Ducati head left us flat, true, and ready for reassembly which is exactly as it should be.
Thinking About Your Own Project?
If you’re rebuilding an engine, restoring a classic, or chasing reliability in a performance application, don’t overlook the basics.
Flatness is one of them.
📩 Get in touch if you’d like advice, inspection, or lapping support, whether it’s one part or a hundred.
Precision doesn’t care how big the job is.
