Visitors bikes page 3

Hi John
Your web site is a cracker.Thought you might like to see some of my bits and pieces.The pictures are the Ducati Monza Junior from frame through tank to finish. All done by A D Hay. The other three are the Morini 250 at the Forth Bridge, the Settebello at the Royal & Ancient Golf Club and yours truly with the Morinis......All the best. Alan

Mark Rothwell spent some time and money having this rebuilt from new after taking delivery of it a few years ago, he says it's run perfectly ever since.

Project MHR sold to David Long last year now up and running in all it's glory.

Now safely home in France…I test rode 5 kilometers, and then rode it 450 Km in one go home to Orgeval (west of Paris). Only slight glitch was loss of 1 set of brake pads from front discs! Amazing but true. Discovered at Dover – I unlinked the second disc and got here home with a single front disc only. My wife thinks I’m a nut…………

Stolen from Licolnshire May 08, any info please contact Nick .

FLEETWOODNICK@aol.com

Surely the best looking Bimota ever, this fantastic example is owned by Peter Bullard and was once his only form of transport, the restoration work with painstaking attention to detail all carried out by Tim Waddingham, one to be proud of chaps

Michael Thomson enjoying his Ducs, including the 250 Desmo we sent down to NZ for him last year.

After buying bits off you for god knows how long, I've finally got my number 1 '75 900SS on the road, so I thought a couple of piccies would be in order. It definitely isn't mint, and I screwed up the fairing decals, but if I'd waited until it was 100% I wouldn't be riding it this year! Now I've got it rolling I can concentrate on getting the other one exactly right

Hi John, like you I had to ride the Giro in biblical weather while the UK basked in sunshine. The Cucciola was the prize, and yes that's a proper 750SS shipped from Oz for the Giro; way to go'eh?

Your shop owner, his mechanic and a few dangerous looking characters set off for the South of France in May. Between themselves they managed to work out how the camera worked and these are some of the results ! Anglo French relations have been put back twenty years.

Richard Jones modified restored Laverda bought from us back in about 1998,
didn't look this good when I sold it to him, believe me it was rough!!! Nice
to see you use it to Richard.

1977 3CL now with JE forged hi compression pistons
Jota exhaust system
GSXR1100 wheels and discs conversion by Piet
Avon Storm ST radials 110 front and 150 rear
forks shortened 25mm and fitted with Racetech Gold Emulators
Brembo 4 pot front calipers with adaptors by Redax
14mm Nissin m/cyl, R1 clutch lever, Manic Salamander bar end weights
extended clutch arm, left hand gear change
rearsets, Bandit rear caliper, RGS swinging > arm,
520 chain conversion
Falcon shocks
IIS ignition c/w 250W generator > conv.,
TEK coils, Odyssey PC625 dry battery
Mikuni RS 36 flatslide smoothbore carbs (Redax again)
GSXR switchgear and grips
Holeshot fairing and terrible paintwork
Perfect.

Here she is less fairing and a few tweaks, will hopefully be run in and out having a vigorous exercise at the VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes at Mallory in July. This Bike was originally Rob Deans and was on your web site as ‘back from the dead’, I have just carried on the process really……..

Roland Fritsch

I bought my SS in 1981, not used at all during the last 25years, last year I thought " now or never ", back on the road thanks to Michael Nitzsche team and Mdina Italia, I have spent a huge amount of money returning it to its original beauty, worth each single penny.

Fabulous Gilera 50 Restored by Vince Stonys and his dad Ian, look forward to seeing the Regolaritas when they're done

beautifully restored 900SD , 99,951 kilometres, just about to go round the clock, engine re-built by DTS, brilliant job, sound and feels like new

I sold the bike when I worked abroad (regretted that) and just bought it back from the same guy for the same price! all original except pattern Conti's and Lucas Rita. I made a cover in aluminium to replace the supplied Lucas plastic one. side panel also chopped and modified to finish off the exposed end. electric starter removed. the bikes been all round Wales, England and France

Akira Kosaki bought this from us back in about 1997, believe me it didn't look anything like this then.
a fantastic restoration Akira.

Neil Ridgewells

ex Dave Cartwright TT racer, now restored to it's former glory.

... I bought this bike new in Johannesburg in 1982. Did 30000 miles on it before selling it to a friend in 84. Managed to buy it back in 2004 from same friend, now in Germany, and imported it to UK. Bike had done only about 5000 miles in 20 years. Spent the last 2 years rebuilding it, stripped it to bare frame for powder coating and cases apart to replace big end... SS fairing because the MHR one tried to kill me. Twice. Colours are a rehash of the TT2 job I had on it in the eighties... but it looks better now!

done 23000 miles never been rebuilt, just a broken gearchange spring in all that time!!

Paul Hewitt from Toronto has built this lovely NCR rep
with this awsome exhausts he's made.

Before After
1976 750SS , used stainless nuts and bolts, fitted Koni shocks and fitted the optional Imola tank, other than that it was restored by me to as close to original as I could get.

1977 900SS unrestored, still on it's 32mm carbs, 18000 original miles, runs like a dream

I thought it might interest you to see the attached (prized) photo. I had it enlarged, sent to Taglioni who signed it with ‘Auguri per la tua duchessa’ (congratulations on your duchess). The dedication and signature are hanging at home albeit the Guggenheim Museum would be more appropriate!!

Colin Darlows superb selection of Ducs, and I thought my SS was long, take a look at his SD!!!

I have attached some photos of the bike if you are interested. I have owned it since 1975. It has 82,000 km on the clock and the engine has never been split – original seals still in place – but it has had a bore hone and new rings. Recently it has developed the not uncommon habit of jumping out of 1st gear and I am looking at replacing the 6-dog 1st gear with a 3-dog equivalent. I should renew the big end bearings too when the engine is apart I suppose although there is no indication of any problems. Apart from that, I have had only minor problems - valve guides requiring replacement.

Non standard bits include fairing, rear shocks, air filters, front caliper (swapped the Scarab for a Brembo) and braided SS brake hoses but I have all of the original bits and pieces and the owner’s manual.

Grant Dugids Laverda special starting to take shape. Here are a few more pix to highlight the frame mods. Extended steering head, braced downtubes, monoshock mount on spine tube, triangulated swing arm, lowered battery box etc, etc. It won't look pretty for a long time as I need to make a loom from scratch, finalise welding/cutting etc and sort out the myriad of special brackets etc

From Australia, this is Neil McGuires
Very late, very nice 79 GTS, engine No:855201

Well, John... we finally got there. Old J888SPA and I have made it out onto the Queen's highway to see what all the fuss was about.
It took a degree of patience, to see out the Christmas hols, and the wet and windy start to 2007.... but the wait has been most definitely worth it. A stunning bike in every regard... one might say it was every bit as fabulous as you told it it would be.. but then such compliments might go to your head..!!! Seriously, a great buy and my thanks for your help in getting her down from Ipswich and into my clutches. Oh, yes... there's something (attached) for your pictorial records....! Cheers, James.

Paul Dale and his 750GT, bought new by him and he's still riding it!
Possibly the only GT750 original owner still riding his bike!

"Took the pictures for the invite card to my 60th birthday party in a month or two. The card will say "The Boy Racer turns 60!" My wife's idea, obviously. No, the hair is real and not dyed - I put it down to 32 years of Ducati ownership!!!!" ..............

Can't be Paul because I've had one 26 years and I am going grey and only 44!!!!!, Regards John :-)