Serious ID Help Needed

[Krazymaan]

Besides that terrible reupholstery seat job. Do you guys think this bike should stay just how it is being it survived for 38 years like this or would it have more value bringing it back to how it came factory. I do like the black bike on motoscrubs cover page but I also like my bike because its an authentic and true piece of history. What do ya think or what are your ideas? Do I touch it or do i not touch it.

[Nick]

There is no shortage of pedantically restored garage queens which never, or almost never, get ridden. The last thing we need is more of those! Maybe recover the seat as you were thinking, but leave the rest of it as is. If it were mine, I'd rig up a small headlight/taillight, raise the gearing and enjoy riding one of the coolest 'Supermotard' classics there is.

It's only a motorcycle if it's ridden as its makers intended — anything else is merely a fetish.

[Krazymaan]

Seems to me the scrambles came with a racing kit that included struts to replace the shocks, sprockets? cables? and a tachometer arrangement, though rarely see scramblers with a tach installed. The tach you have is a kit tach although the mounting bracket is not. The kit mounting bracket also attached to the headlight ear, which has been remove on yours. Brazing repair on the front of the tank (where the paint has chipped off) was pretty common; the weld would split along the seam at the font of the tunnel. That plastic clutch lever isn't quite period correct for the 1960's, probably added in the 1970's, so this bike was run for a while. Matt

I am assuming you mean some kind of kit you could buy back in the 60's because my tach isn't a reproduction tach. At first glace they seem the same but they aren't such as the screws, the words, the trim color, etc.

[Krazymaan]

I also don't believe I have a steering dampener. Does it matter? Doesn't that big black knob make your steering "harder" than normal. Is my front end going to wobble or something?

[Krazymaan]

I notice that the Veglia tach's have slotted screwdriver screws while the same tach but says Veglia Borletti uses phillip screws in the face. Is this an age identification thing?

[StewartD]

Hi Krazyman,

The friction steering damper is pretty useless. If you are going to ride on dirt tracks then I'd put on a good hydraulic damper. If you are only riding on the road you don't really need any damper. Ducatis handle very well, and are very stable for normal road riding. Steering dampers, I think may have had a place on heavy machines with flexible frames, to mask their handling deficiencies.

The trouble with friction dampers is that the 'stiction' or static friction is a lot higher than the sliding friction. This means that the breakaway from a stationary steering position requires a certain force, but once the steering has moved the friction that exists while it is moving is a lot lower. An hydraulic damper is the opposite in action. A very small steering movement will not encounter very much resisting force. The faster the steering movement, the higher the resisting force.

The very small movements that take place in normal riding are therefore not hampered. The large movement that might occur, due to landing from a jump slightly crooked, is much more forcefully resisted by an hydraulic damper.

Cheers,

Stewart D

[double diamond]

Perhaps I wasn't clear. The tach you have is an original 1960's vintage Veglia. The other tach pictured is a recent replica. Your tach is not a replica. The "race kit" I referred to was (as I understand it) included in the crate with new scramblers and included a tach with bracket, tach drive unit that replaced the bevel cover on the head, a pair of solid struts to replace the shocks (ostensibly for hillclimbing or, I suspect, to effect a rigid frame which was preferred by some for flat tracking) and some other items such as cables?, sprockets?, etc. Scramblers were marketed as a "do everything" competition motorcycle: scrambles, flat track, off road, even road racing and street use if the owner was really ambitious. The kit broadened the capability of the scrambler so it could be adapted to various competition environments. MAtt

[Krazymaan]

Thanks for the info Matt. I am newish to the vintage ducati scene. I do have the solid struts. just wish i had a tach drive from the cover. I have a cable too.

[Krazymaan]

If I put modern tires and fuel lines and such on this bike would that de-value it? Also add a headlight and tail light so its street legal. Or is it better off not touched or altered and just make it run how it is.
Does a bike like this have any significant value. Its never been registered or licensed, ever. If anyone has any input that would be great.

[Nick]

Really, its only true value is the value it has to you.

Don't worry about what affect any modifications will have on its value--make it yours, ride it and enjoy it.

To answer your question, no , it's not particularly valuable.