I thought you guys might be interested in the progress of my Ducati. It is nearly ready to go, I just need to get another fuel cap. Since I took this photo I have fitted the old exhaust system, it still has some minor dings from the fall but it is not too bad. I have had the motor running but still need to tune and balance the carburettors.
The bodywork was red and it is now black with a red pearl. I probably should have painted the frame but I was running short on time so I couldn't be bothered. The engine has new pistons and rings, and new seals fitted throughout. I have also changed the cylinder heads to Desmo ones and matched all the porting to the manifolds. The motor was silver, but I changed it to match the new colour of the bodywork. Hopefully I will be out riding it within the next couple of weeks.
Thanks. The brakes are brembo units, they are the original type used on these bikes. They are cast iron discs, so they rust up very quickly, within minutes of washing the bike. They used them because they worked much better than the stainless discs the Japanese were using at the time, especially in the wet. For those of you that have ridden Japanese bikes from that period, around the 70’s – 80’s, you may remember how their brakes refused to work for the first second or so in the wet. While the brakes are not as good as modern ones on the road, and feel a little wooden by comparison, they do work quite well on the track once you get their temperature up.