160 camshaft

[tweaky beast]

Hi. Has any one got a end-view picture of a 160 cam and a 125 sport. Don't know what cam i have. cheers

[DucMonzter]

Hi Tweaky,

This is the only photo I have to offer of the cam on my 160. I don't know if it provides the detail you're looking for, but I hope it helps. Unfortunately, I don't recall taking any photos when the cam was fully disassembled.

bevel gears_top_A.jpg

- Jeff

[motoital]

Hello tweaks, the 125 camshaft looks similar to the 250-350 cam and has the ability to accept the male end of a Tach drive. The 160 ohc cam doesn't have the full cut. Just like the one picture supplied by Jeff above.

[tweaky beast]

Hi, Ta for that. I have the type with the slot. I want to "tune it up" so which cam would be best, F3 ?

[LexH]

I have a 1966 125 Sport and confirm the cam does have a full slot to take a tacho drive. I've not had the cam out so can't offer a photo. I've not measured the cam timing either so can't confirm what it is. However I do have a 125 Sport parts catalogue and can post a scan of the page showing a picture of the cam if that will help.

Like most things Ducati, there seems to be conflicting information in the various references. I preface this by saying I'm no expert, but offer the following from the references I have in my library.

Mick Walker in his book "Ducati Singles" gives cam timing for 125 Sport (throughout its production life) as:
inlet 48/65, exhaust 67/45

Ian Falloon in his book "Ducati OHC singles" says otherwise:
until 200967: inlet 44/65, exhaust 70/40
from 200968 to 204786: inlet 48/59, exhaust 78/32
from 204787: inlet 24/40, exhaust 56/22

They both agree on cam timing for the Monza Junior 160 though:
inlet 24/40, exhaust 51/30
Tom Bailey in his "Ducati Singles Masterbook Workshop Manual" also agrees with this timing.

However the "Cam information" in the Tech section of Motoscrubs muddies the waters a little. It gives the same cam part number (0251.29.013) for both "125S" and "160 Monza Jr Sport".
Mick Walker in his book "Ducati Singles Restoration agrees: 0251.29.013 for both "125S" and "160 Monza Junior Sports".

But in the same book Mick Walker gives a part number of 0296.29.010 for the cam used in the 160 Monza Junior Touring. This suggests there were two cam types used in the 160, "Sport" and "Touring". Neither Falloon nor Bailey make any mention of this, nor does Walker himself in his "Ducati Singles" book.

Finally, just to complete the job of totally confusing everybody, the "Cam information" in the Tech section of Motoscrubs also lists a "black/yellow" cam for "125/160 Sport". No part number or timing information is given. Walker in "Ducati Singles Restoration" states that no colour codes were used for 125 and 160 cams.

As far as F3 cams are concerned, even if you could find one, I'm not sure if it will fit. I think the dimensions differ. I guess you could regrind a 125/160 cam with F3 profile. My experience with this, for what it's worth, is that I have a 175 Sport which was fitted with a cam described as "F3" when I bought the bike a few years ago. Some kind of modern day replica. It ran poorly. I replaced the cam with a proper 175 high lift cam of the type used in the tuning kit of the day and now it runs very well.

Of course to get the best from a longer overlap cam you'll need to complement it with suitable carb, compression, etc, but I'm sure you know that.

Cheers, Lex

[tweaky beast]

Hi Lex. That would be really useful. Regards Andy

[LexH]

Here you go Andy. Also a pic of the slot in the end of the cam in my 125 Sport.
Lex

125 parts_1-1.jpg

P1090545b.jpg