Refurbishing the Duke (again).

[Artie]

Many many years ago Ibought an old Ducati. It had hit a flock of sheep at speed and teh rider had been seriously injured and after he recovered he seemed quite scared of the bike and wanted to sell.

I had a look and it was a mess, frame bent, all plastic destroyed, forks bent, alloy wheels bent, tenk dented etc etc ... completely written off..... but..... I gave him $1500 and loaded this onto a trailer...





The 4 pipes that end at the head stem should be straight.... not like shown as curved here...

This is what it originally looked like...



More to follow....

Rob T

[Artie]

I dont have any pics of the original resto, it was a long long time ago, but basically I got it ready to register for just over $3200 which includes the $1500 to purchase the wreck...

I sourced the panels from ebay but couldnt find a tank to save me so I had the orginal panel beaten straight... that was as expensive as having the frame re-aligned and rewelded...and that also included re rolling and crack testing the rims... I still cant figure that out and that was over 10 years ago....

The machine was a Mike Hailwood painted 1983 600SL Pantah, as it was a wreck recovery I didnt see the need to stay absolutley original. in fact the colour and fairing left me a little underwhelmed... so I digressed... Red or Black? I had that thought for months and it ended black, I also used an SS style fairing for it... I trimmed the low hanging rear shock covers and didnt refit the side covers.. and I ended up with this....

Before decals and clear coat



Finished





Thats was in early 1992 and today, well she is a little tired...so rather than renew the rego this year, I pulled her apart...Cheers

Rob T

[Artie]

Just an aside to the original resto, I retained a couple of things to 'remind' me of how dangerous road riding is... this...



The top of the (still functional) tacho... and the top of the fork nut... just reminders...

.

I alos had a major stuff up when I first got it going...

I went for its first ride and it went like stink..much much quicker than I thought it would... much quicker than my mates 900 SS (1983) who was riding with me... I was really curious and took it easy for approx 20km's and then gave it a bit of stick as it was running well...

Then the smoke came out the back and it started missing... oops.... back to the shop...

Stripped the front cylinder and it had melted a hole through the piston.... obviously running lean... that would explain the power.. eventually found a small piece of vegetation in the main jet. Not enought to block it, just enough to lean it out.... not surprised really, it had been in pieces for years... such is life...

Ok, buy a new piston for her... but... these are Borgo pistons and at that time they couldnt be had for love of money (seen several since though) .... I was about to have a pair made when I found a big bore kit for her, NEW! $700! Done! And so she became a 680cc Duke (with a 6mm bore increase to 86mm). I had to make compression reduction plates for the barrels as these were track parts, not for road use etc etc ... yeah whatever..



I later sold on the orginal barrels and pistons for ....... $700..... so that little stuff up cost me time and aggrevation... luckily not much more.... it now has a heap of torque and as I havent ridden it with standard power I can only speculate that its a better machine for it...

Next instalment...the current freshen up.....

Cheers

Rob T

[Artie]

Ok, earlier I mentioned that I had a new tank for the Duke and that I had procrastinated on Red or Black when I originally built her. That hasnt changed and I have over the years acquired another set of panels, including a tank... and she is red OR back depending upon my moods.... spare set sitting on floor.... Im refurbishing teh black set... I was right all that time ago...its prettier black... the red set hardly ever gets put on...



The new tank has been prepped and awaiting colour as has the rear tail and cowl....

Here it has an undercoat applied... you can see the shape of teh new tank compared to the old unit.. much 'sportier'.... if thats a word...



And here she is with her first 'top coat'... I like it....





New filler cap ready to install once paint is finished....



Thats about where she sits, once its had a couple more coats Ill start prepping the fairing, its pretty good and only wants one or two coats...

Ive just received the decals in gold colour and once the paint is sorted I ll detail  the entire bike and polish a few bits. I cant praise stainless fittings enough... these are over 10 years old and look like new, the entire bike has had the stainless treatment...



Cheers

Rob T

[Brass_Machine]

Aaaah Ducati.    Yours is looking very nice. More pictures?

Thinking of finding me an air cooled Duc engine for a project.

[Bogstandard]

Very nice bike indeed. It was well worth restoring.

Over the years (around 15), I have been assisting a friend of mine to keep his classic racing Ducati on the track. He also has a racing Bantam on the track now as well, which I did a bit of a post on.

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1717.0

The main problem is that the small cheapo Mazak parts that they used in those days are crumbling and impossible to get hold of the correct ones nowadays. Things like fuel tank fittings etc

So it is a matter of me restoring the bit, or make a new one out of more durable material.

Keep up the good work.


Bogs

[MrFluffy]

Very nice, the flush filler improves that tank line for the next oops too
Once upon a time I shared workshop space with someone with a 750gt dressed up as a 750 sport, hours of fun setting the bevel backlash with blue after that seized when one of the tiny oil lines to the front cylinder got blocked. If my memory serves me correct the pantah was the first belt driven cam model wasn't it?
Also surprised they managed to pull that frame back true, thats quite some bend in the shots and it must have been quite some sheep to bend that frame, theyre built like (lattice) bridges!

Now to get it going and see how much the big bore kit improves it. Im sure nowadays JE would knock you up a set of pistons bespoke for not a lot more than usual set rates if asked if the new set ever needs replacing, especially if a group approached wanting to buy 5 or more sets. Plus you now have mahle and wiseco and a few other specialist manufacturers catering for the market and maybe the posibility of later monster or other parts.

[Artie]

Aaaah Ducati.    Yours is looking very nice. More pictures?

Thinking of finding me an air cooled Duc engine for a project.

Hi Eric, yes Ill certainly post more pics in a moment, think seriosuly about air cooled Dukes...for some reason (here in Aus at lest) they dont cost much... pics to follow,,,

Rob

[Artie]

Very nice bike indeed. It was well worth restoring.

Over the years (around 15), I have been assisting a friend of mine to keep his classic racing Ducati on the track. He also has a racing Bantam on the track now as well, which I did a bit of a post on.

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1717.0

The main problem is that the small cheapo Mazak parts that they used in those days are crumbling and impossible to get hold of the correct ones nowadays. Things like fuel tank fittings etc

So it is a matter of me restoring the bit, or make a new one out of more durable material.

Keep up the good work.


Bogs

Hey John, Im guessing you get a buzz out of restoring 'dead' stuff, I know I do.... after I respond to this and others Ill show pics of past restorations and up coming projects... old dukes are great IMO, but old bikes in general are far too important to let waste away, keep machining bits up for tacho drives or whatever the poor old dears need.... and to you also, keep up the good work.....

cheers

Rob

[Artie]

Very nice, the flush filler improves that tank line for the next oops too
Once upon a time I shared workshop space with someone with a 750gt dressed up as a 750 sport, hours of fun setting the bevel backlash with blue after that seized when one of the tiny oil lines to the front cylinder got blocked. If my memory serves me correct the pantah was the first belt driven cam model wasn't it?
Also surprised they managed to pull that frame back true, thats quite some bend in the shots and it must have been quite some sheep to bend that frame, theyre built like (lattice) bridges!

Now to get it going and see how much the big bore kit improves it. Im sure nowadays JE would knock you up a set of pistons bespoke for not a lot more than usual set rates if asked if the new set ever needs replacing, especially if a group approached wanting to buy 5 or more sets. Plus you now have mahle and wiseco and a few other specialist manufacturers catering for the market and maybe the posibility of later monster or other parts.

G'day Mr fluffy, I really have to wonder about that name...

The tank had an MHR cap which is far too important to waste on an old Duke like this... MHR = Mike Hailwood Replica... and some dick put one on this tank... so... if anyone ou tthere has a genune MHR Duke and wants a filller cap...I have one.... and if your need is real..I will give it to you... but...NO MORE OOPS MOMENTS FOR ME... but thanks for the thought any way...... Yes the Pantah is the first of the belt drives and this is one of the last Pantahs so they should have gotten it right by then surely??? Nah.... still stuff to fix... 

As far as straighening the frame, mate Im not at all surprised... we have over here in Aus the frame Guru, Laurie Alderton in Smith St Smithfield in Sydney, This guy has exotic frames sent to him from all over the world. All he does is straighten bent motorbike frames, He told me it could be done and he did it... a couple of pieces of tubing had to be replaced and he ground back and rewelded the entire frame, then re-rolled both wheels and crack tested them.. and charged me $450... mind you this was 12 years ago and for my pommy mates, this is about 175 pounds in todays money.

It not so much that the sheep were big, its more that there were a lot of them and he was absolutley flat out... hes stupid and hurt and I got a nice bike... great deal...

And youve got it wrong, the big bore kit has been in it for over 10 years, its great and no problem at 10 to 1 comp ratio.... it also takes std 86mm bevel pistons, no shortages ever again....

Ok..time for more pics of this girl, projects past and to come.... yes ..I am an old bike man... then again..I am an old man... sort of suits...

[Artie]

Ok ... pics.. I dont have a lot of pics of the early years with resto's.... it just wasnt done that much back then... I love digital cameras, a whole new world has opened.... here is what I have....

Last machine before the Duke was a 1954 Triumph speed twin (5T), this is the very first of the rear swing arm models. This was built from a mess of bits I acquired over the years, no numbers matched and I owned it for many years, firstly as a static display and then as a road machine.



Did I say that static display meant inside the living room? You CANNOT do this with a Triumph if there is any oil AT ALL in her.... here she is absolutely dry.... then one day I decided to commission her, and this stopped.... damn she leaked a lot... mainly from the primary case...

After several years on the road she went into storage ....... she deserved better than this.... see the oil under here?



and then, out of the blue a guy made a a STUPID offer for her, and now she is gone..... to a home that will use her hopefully....

Here she is in the background....



And let me tell you, she doesnt "do" background well...... so off she went....

Seriously, the Trump was not a good open road bike, she VIBRATED, badly and they just 'did' this... its why she went into storage, out here the roads are looooong and you spend hours in the saddle...a vibrating bike just cant be used for long.

And.... I never 'felt' a connection with her.... the Duke is different. She will always be in my family, I dont know why but she is interconnected, somehow.

Cheers, more later...


 

[Artie]

Eric, you wanted pics..... Ive found some......

DUKES NEED NOISE....... I found some of that too..... I gutted the original Conti mufflers and removed the crossover pipe, this was sooo restrictive as each cyclinder was forced to cross to the opposing pipe.... this was hard to do as I had to make long nozzle extensions for the oxy set to get way down in there.....




Cant miss her now.... (p.s. yes I had to re-jet her)

Another issue was hte wiring. When I got her togather it was all wrong. Nothing matched so I employed an Italian bike mechanic and paid him with beer... I mean this IS Australia right? He wasnt much chop, always seemed confused (or drunk) but did ride a nice SS900 (pics coming of that too).. oh, his name is Steve (Stephano??) and he is a WIZARD on electrical.. er..stuff... (actually working on the clutch in this pic)

[Artie]

Im on a roll... I didnt think I had so many pics of the beasty... perhaps a tab obsessive... whatever.....

This is a pic a fellow sent me, he had just bought this bike and didnt like the fuel tank shape...anyone recognise it? He wanted a Std tank for it.... well, did I have a deal for him.... he got my (std )repaired) tank and I go this with the shorter (required) seat.



Here it is when it arrived...





Enough... Im off to bed....

Cheers all

Rob

[Brass_Machine]

Hi Eric, yes Ill certainly post more pics in a moment, think seriosuly about air cooled Dukes...for some reason (here in Aus at lest) they dont cost much... pics to follow,,,

Rob

Thanks for the pictures.

I am a fan of L-twins (or v-twins if you like). So Ducati is on my list of motorcycles... As much as I like the newer liquid cooled bikes (like the 916, 996 848 etc..) there is something about the air cooled engines. I have seen some really cool stuff done with them 

Eric