My First Ducati

This is my first foray into the world of vintage Ducatis. I thought it would be fun to document the progress, especially since I was going to take pictures of all the shim placements during the engine tear down anyway. I expect this to be a longer-term project, so I don't know how often the updates will come. While I'm no expert in vintage Ducs, perhaps someone will find this useful or even (gasp) entertaining.

I'd been interested in Ducati singles for a number of years, and last fall an add popped up on my local Craigslist - "1967 Ducati 250. Runs, with title. $550". I spoke to the owner on the phone, and he explained that the forks were bent, a few parts were missing, and the exhaust threads were stripped out, but it ran. I ripped the cap off my truck and quickly drove the 45 miles to see it.

The bike was apparently used in the local flat track circuit in the late '60s and it last ran in 1972(?). It was missing a LOT of parts, but the engine was free, it seemed to shift OK, and he had a title (although the title was in the previous owners name - the guy that sold it to him in the late 1960s). I thought the price could come down a little, but his phone was ringing off the hook with people interested in the bike, so it was now or never. I handed over the $550 and loaded it up.



Over the winter I collected parts to turn it into a roadworthy bike and this summer I began putting it together. The first thing was to get rid of the off-road bars and put on a proper set - clubmans!

Next, I replaced the bent fork tubes with a set of $10 used tubes (yeah eBay!) and bolted on a set of intact headlight ears along with a headlight/speedo. I tried to bolt a Monza front fender on, but it won't fit with the 19 inch scrambler tire. I also added 70s-style donkey grips I found under an inch of dust at the local speed shop for $2.95 and a set of control cables off a Sebring. It was starting to look like a bona fide cafe bike (albeit a rather abused one).



I then fabricated a mount for the $10 Lucas tail light I had from another project using a license plate bracket off a 1978 Harley Davidson FXE (I know the Ducati purists are screaming right now).

The bike was at least looking more roadworthy, but the question remained - did it run? I debated whether or not to tear into the motor and rebuild it right away or get it running and just ride it. I pulled the spark plug and looked into the cylinder. It was well-oiled and didn't have any visible rust - very promising. It had good spark. I pulled the float bowl off the carb, and it was dry and clean. I decided to try and start it.



The fuel tank was pretty dirty, so I threw in a hand full of nuts and some gas, put in ear plugs, and sloshed the mess around for about 30 minutes. When the gas came out mostly clean I put the tank back on, installed a fuel filter, and added gas and a quart and a half of new oil to the sump. The moment of truth had arrived.

I rolled it out into the drive way, tickled the carb, pulled the choke, and turned on the ignition. One kick, two kicks, three kicks and it was running! I couldn't believe it. It didn't run great, it smoked a lot, but it was running. I couldn't hear any loud, ominous knocking, so things looked good.

I wanted to take it for a spin around the block, but the clutch was sticking badly and it wouldn't rev properly to get underway with the problem clutch. It was obscenely loud, too, even with the muffler. I got a lot of annoyed looks from my neighbors (from what I could see through the blue cloud of smoke and noise), but one guy walking down the street yelled out over the din "Awesome bike!"

Disappointed that I couldn't take it around the block, but very happy it ran, I put the bike back on the table to check the advance weights and clutch. Not a bad start for a bike that hasn't ran in 37 years.