The ultimate bevel ?

V. Interested to know the mechanicals of the bevel lumps, look really nice pieces of kit, any clues?
 
Freak said:
V. Interested to know the mechanicals of the bevel lumps, look really nice pieces of kit, any clues?
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Also if you are serious on bevels you must study (& memorise!!) http://www.ducatimeccanica.com/
This bike is fitted with the squarecase motor which superceded the roundcase motor fitted to the Imola 72 bike, the 750GT and Sport etc.
The roundcase motors are becoming like hens teeth and I was speaking to Baines Racing recently and they are going to stop (or maybe have now) racing their roundcases because of difficulty and cost of parts. There are still parts around if you know where to look and prepared to pay the prices. The squarecase motors are a bit more plentiful but not exactly common. They were fitted in bikes which in general are not fetching the roundcase prices but that could change shortly if demand for old Dukes continue. If you are thinking of getting a bevel You should do it sooner rather than later is my view! Don't forget the singles!! :)
 
My God, that is magnificent!!! Minimalist, light looking, no frills, fantastic design features, great little solutions to technical issues, amazing exhaust rear light setup, sexy (from every angle)

...WOW!

I think I want one!!! (or shall I start modifying the Imola!!!) ;)
 
desmomick said:
FANBLOODYTASTIC!!!!!:cool:

you can see something not noticed at first, every time you look at it.
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Desmomick your avatar really gives me nightmares!!! :eek:
 
didn't realise you were a film star, can I have your autograph? ;)
 
I came across this picture and I think it is a nice mixture of the old bevel with the new seat etc.
 
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You are correct on Roundcase motors becoming very hard to find and pricey. You have to remember that the Roundcases were the first V twin that Ducati every built, they only made them for three years and total production in those three years was just slightly over 7,000. OK, I am not counting the batch of 200 or so that were special built fo the Oz market in '78. And those 7,000 are all of the models, GT's, Sports, and Super Sports. There is actually an early '73 for sale on Ebay that is ending in 10 hours today. It is compete but hasn't run in 27 years. Price is currently $7,000 US, it's in Illinois. My guess is that she'll bring at least 8K, more likely 9K. So yes they are rare, and getting more expensive every day. A friend of mine is picking up a nice GT in San Deigo today for $7,000, and it's got a rebuilt motor and only needs a little cosmetic work. That's a steal of a deal, mates rates, it's going from one Bevelhead to another. So if you want to find a Roundcase you really need to be on the Bevelheads chat list. Me? Well I have three of them:):) 750 GT's rock, well behaved, sound bloody wonderful. Squarecases, had a Darmah, they only bring about half of what a Roundcase brings. And they have known problems with their big ends going, and they are really expensive to repair. Roundcases do not have the big end problems. Tom Rolland "Nothing flies like a Duck"
 
Oh Tom I just noticed that your figures are way screwy - there were a total of 6,159 roundcase bikes made plus only an extra 63 for Australia in 1978 ... insert sad little face about that last number. Also, your comment regarding cranks on squarecases is totally erroneous, as is the suggestion that squarecases are more expensive to repair, quite the opposite.

Just clarifying matters for our non-bevel friends here.

Cheers,

TONY
www.beveltech.org
 
A friend of mine had a 860 GTS and after the warranty had run out (1yr) and about 13k miles the big ends went and he repaired it himself. The reason for the failure he was told was that he had used GTX instead of Duckhams!
 
That would do it. GTX was designed for an engine which didn't require the Engine lubricant to be shared with the transmission. Oops, there goes my lager ......
 
tonyducati said:
That would do it. GTX was designed for an engine which didn't require the Engine lubricant to be shared with the transmission. Oops, there goes my lager ......
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Aside from the engine oil being shared by the transmission, on the square case electric start GT and GTS models there was a bendix type starter arrangement which must have loaded the oil with metal shards from the ring gear. A horrible arrangement. I'm surprised that my GTS lasted over 22,000 hard miles with only minor problems.

Oil shared between the engine and the transmission is a pet hate of mine. Why do they all do it? Yet it would not be difficult to keep the engine and transmission oils separate. Every 2 stroke has separate transmission oil - even Harley manage it!! On Ducatis with a dry clutch it would have been so simple, just a web in the crankcase casting to separate the engine and transmission sections and drain and filler plugs for the gearbox.

Tony, congratulations on such beautifully put together bike. Even the electrics are minimal and incredibly neatly executed. It took me several minutes to figure out where the battery was - neatly mounted below the clocks.
 
That is stunning…truely a work of art! But that’s enough about your ex-wife…about this bike…

:p :p
 
Hi Tony. Had to join this list. I am going to England again this summer, I have a '92 900 SS waiting for me in Hull, I bought it off Ebay for 840 Pounds. A mate is keeping it for me. I will be there 30 days and am thinking about running down to the WDW too. But am leaning towards just riding around England and visiting folks. Tom Rolland
 
I think the problem was, Derek, that the engine was never designed for an electric start with that bendix actuation. Although, there were 530 electric start 750GT's made so who knows!

Thanks for your comments on the bike. Actually, there are 2 little batteries which sit side-by-side. They only need to power the tail-light and the engine-stop relay as the ignition is self-generating like all '75 900SS's.

I have it set up so only one battery is in use and when it drops below a certain voltage, a relay drops out and puts the second battery on-line.

This feature serves no useful purpose, it's just that I'm a complete idiot and wanted to have a third dashboard LED (green) to match the other red and white ones.

Cheers,

TONY.
 
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