1966 Mach 1 basement find

[ajleone]

Question on Mach 1's: Do all Mach 1's have a frame stamp on the downtube ? In both Tom Bailey's and Ian Fallon's book they seem to imply that they did, but maybe I am reading it wrong. It seems from what Tom write in his book that the Mach 1 and Mark 3 were somewhat of a jumbled point in Ducati and Berliner's history where there may have been some mix and match going on with some of the dealers Ghost Is mentioned in Tom' book.
Tony

[flynbulldog]

If you look in Tom Baily's book on page 179 it states that none of the Berliner imported bikes had a frame stamp until 1969. Earlier in the Book he states that the Ghost Mach1's, which came direct from Europe and did not go through Berliner, had the IGM stamp on the frame. But I read in another source (I can't seem to recall it right now) that was not the case for most US Mach1s until after a certain date.

It seems to me that the US bikes did not have the frame stamp but the European bikes did.

In my view the identifying features of the frame are the toolbox tabs, the red paint, the rear-set and rear brake lugs. Of course other than the paint these don't separate the frame from Mark 3's and I'm not sure if that is possible.
I'm no historical Expert but that is the info I've been able to gather. My bike has not been painted or ever disassembled and it has no frame stamp. I'm 100% positive it is an original Mach1, there are too many signs of it's originality and authenticity to say otherwise.

I don't believe the frame stamp is needed to identify an original Mach1 frame. I'd love to hear from others as well.

[flynbulldog]

Also take a look at this http://www.motoscrubs.com/Mach1_Identity.htm
Towards the bottom of the page. It does seem that quite a few of the Mach1's were stamped on the head foil as "M3", Mine is the third example of that I've found.
and there are other assertions that no frame stamp was used for US Mach1's

[nalimugmug]

Just to complicate matters!

I have a Mach 1 which was imported into Harrys motorcycles in Denver, USA. Where it was imported from I can only guess. I spoke to Mick Walker about this bike, I seem to remember that he mentioned that the bike found itself in the USA possibly through Canada. Henry Hogben seemed to think this the case also. RIP guys.

This bike has both a down tube frame number and a headstock foil which was stamped M3.

Keep getting a SQL error when attempting to attach a foil pic.

Search for foil and you will find the pic

Cheers

[krupp13]

Krupp, Is this frame you acquired painted red? Do the tool boxes have “Mach 1” decals on them?

Hi double diamond,

My parts are an interesting story. I bought 6-7 Ducati singles and piles of parts off craigslist, sight unseen. I had about 4-5 pics to look at. In the pics I noticed an original Elite tank, 6 Monza tanks and a frame with Mach 1 toolboxes. The Elite tank was worth what I paid. I also noticed that the frame with the Mach 1 toolboxes had a horrible black respray on it and there was clearly red peeking through. I do not recall if the frame is stamped, it is in my long term storage. I was ecstatic to get the frame, toolboxes and Elite tank...then upon receiving the trailer load of bikes and parts I found a loose Mach 1 engine. I had no idea it was in there.

Very lucky...now to find all the other parts...

J

[m82a1]

There may be one other way to tell if a frame was originally intended for a Mach 1 or a Mark 3. The horn mounting boss on the frame is not drilled and tapped on a Mark 3 in most cases, where it would be on a Mach 1. It is a small thing, but another data point if you are trying to figure out a frames history.

Ken

[motoital]

First I would like to congratulate you on your find! I also wouldn't worry about the price you paid. I have seen a few M3 projects go for close to 10k and they all needed some parts. All you need is a shift rod and a few bits. I think you are way ahead considering all the hype around the M1.
Check the steering stops on the lower tree and see if the tab has been welded back. They are weak and with clip-ons that could have caused the repaint. But I think the lady who you bought the bike from already answered the tank and seat issue. She wanted it for racing. It most likely was raced before with a fiberglass tank and seat. The ones you had were sourced when they sold the bike. That was the case for my Mark 3. The compression release is another clue to that. You might have an Asso high compression piston in there.
Oh and to the repaint question. Thats tuff.. the paint on the tank doesn't seem bad but the lines aren't right and it should have pinstriping. If you paint the tank it might not match like you said. I would make sure that the frame paint is original first before deciding what to do.