YOUR Italian Bike Thread

[JLA]

It's a touring bike.

[AKDuc]

Lots of beautiful bikes, guys. Thanks for sharing.

This is my '00 996. It's come quite a ways since I bought it new.



And this is my brother and I. He got my ol '98 748 when I got the 996. I had this Monster S4R in '05 but a 17yo in a truck led to it's demise and my first broken bones.



Sure is a lot of fun getting to ride with my own brother with both of us on such beautiful machines. Mark H.

[ScottDill]

Originally Posted by AKDuc

Lots of beautiful bikes, guys. Thanks for sharing.

This is my '00 996. It's come quite a ways since I bought it new.

Prettiest bike posted so far - very clean 996 .

....... No I'm not "dissing" the other bikes if anyone is still sensative :-), my 999s is posted above.

i guess i concluded adults have communication skills such that they can compliment a bike on it's own merits, not in comparison to others.

my bad.

Originally Posted by Kamala

This ones a 68. I bought it in 74 for $70 after some clown tried to make a Chopper out of it. I unchoppered it and rode it for almost a decade with just a few problems but nothing major. I'll be doing a complete restoration on it when time permits. I was able to find all the orignal items that were missing on Ebay but it was a long wait to find them all.

killer bike and cool story!

[Twinz]

He are two of my favorites:

'73 Guzzi V7 Sport


and here's my favorite sport tourer, '04 Aprilia Futura:

[DRKWNG]

There are some VERY nice bikes in here, but...

Originally Posted by sfarson

/thread.

[noman]

my second duc - '02 749: gorgeous, fast, fantastic brakes and power. saw an MV F4 in montreal a few years back and i gotta agree

[stockport claret]

[earthroamer]

Please show us more, claret.

[abruzzi]

I've posted this elsewhere, but no new photos at the moment:



Geof

[ScottDill]

Originally Posted by stockport claret

Your very own testarossa....


Nice shot. Artsy :-)

[Agave]

09 Multistrada 1100S


07 MV Agusta F4 1000R

[DesmoDog]

Alrighty then, I guess htis is as good a thread as any to do an intro on.

I'm Craig and I'm a Ducaholic. Back when I was just getting into bikes I wanted a VFR, due in large part to a strong lust for an RC30. Then I went to Daytona and saw some F1s racing. I was hooked.

Jump ahead a year or two to the first bike I ever bought - a present to myself after graduating from college and getting my first real job. A brand spanking new 1991 907ie. It was shown at the AMA VMD in 2005 and ended up in Classic Bike's coverage of the event.



A few years later (after buying a couple Japanese bikes) I bought a 900ss.



After I bought that bike, I stopped riding the other bikes I had so they got sold (except for the 907). I liked the 916 (well... DUH) but swore I'd never buy one.

Over the next few years some things happened that pretty much destroyed what had been my obsession with bikes. Thoughts of selling everything mixed with thoughts of what I could do to get the fever back. maybe not as bad as before, but still...

Then Ducati put five spoke Marchesini wheels on the Superbikes and my will was broken. I had to have one. Maybe this is what I needed to reignite my passion. The 900 went away and a 996 took it's place.



Yeah, that's me picking the 996 up and dropping the 900 off. (I instantly missed the 900 by the way, it's the only Ducati I've ever sold!)

The 996 did rekindle my interest to a degree, but it also quickly made my lack of skills completely obvious. As much as I like it, riding it always left me thinking "I am not worthy!" in the back of my mind. The 996 did a few track days but didn't get ridden all that much. I love looking at it but let's be real here. It sucks as a streetbike.

Fast forward another few years. I'm still kind for searching for the feeling. One day I make a call to a buddy of mine - I've known for years he has a 1974 750GT project bike stuffed away in his basement. About once a year or so I ask what he's going to do with it... is it for sale? Usually it's not. This time it is. I'm going to be in town in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. We make plans for me to lok at it. I know NOTHING about bevel Ducs and think I want a Sport, but this is the bike I've found so there ya go. Thanksgiving rolls around, I drive over to look at it, and it's in worse condition than I was expecting.

But I wanted a project after all... an if I planned on rebuilding it anyway does it matter how far gone it was? it was mostly all there... we struck a deal.

I picked this up at Christmas and dragged it from Wisconsin back to Michigan with me;


And the adventure begins...

[DesmoDog]

Alrighty then. The Roundcase was home. I began the teardown, joined the bevelheads group, and remembered why I liked bikes again. Jumping ahead again, a little over three years and a few dollars later I decided that the bike was near enough being done that I needed to get it on the road. The day of it's first ride:


Along the way I had taken my first trip to Italy. Loved it. I'd also heard about the Motogiro d'Italia. In 2005 I put my money were my mouth was and rode the event, tourist class. I was interested in Ducati singles before then, but that trip made me decide i WOULD own one as my next project.

When I got back I started my search. After a few false leads I stumbled onto a 250 Monza in Ohio. He also had a 160 Monza Jr but he probably wanted to keep it. I set the trailer up for two bikes and headed off to take a look.

On the way home I called my wife and broke the news that the bike was goign to look at was now two bikes I had bought. I really wanted the 250, the 160 was more of an opportunity buy than anything else. Anywhos, here what they looked like.

The 250:


The 160:


I was still finishing up the 750 while I collected parts for the 250. But for whatever reason, the 160 became the next project instead of the 250. Unfortunately my projects got delayed for a while but I'm getting back on them again. Here's how the 160 looks today. (the seat and tank aren't in the right position here)



The 250 went through a few iterations too but is now on it's way to becoming a 350 Bitsa. A lot of the details are wrong in this pic but it's the best one I have right now. Basically the engine, frame, forks, tank, tail, and rear hub are correct. Everything else is changing.



Ok, I get sidetracked a lot. It's one reason my projects take so long to get on the road. One of my little distractions was a little something I started to put together as a response to all the huge tire, underbraked, over power choppers that seemed so popular a year or two ago. I jokingly threatened to build my own chopper. then I started tallying all the parts I had sitting around. when a friend offered up a damaged frame, I couldn't help myself and started building this.



It is now officially on the back burner though, so let's just not talk about it anymore...

AND FINALLY... the 900ss I regretted selling? A year ago I bought myself a birthday present.



Yeah, I kinda like Ducatis...