Lead crankcase seals on Duke single engines??

[john jupiter]

hi Guys,
Were our singles originally given lead crankcase seals like the Ducati twins? I've got a few Ducati singles but none have a crankcase seal and I'm curious.

[double diamond]

One of the sump screws is drilled for the lead seal bt I've never actually seen a sealed crankcase. Pretty common for the oil pump though.

[lsk12]

I have a lead seal on my 1972 1200 mile 250.

[DewCatTea-Bob]

[quote= lsk12 ...
" I have a lead seal on my 1972 1200 mile 250. "

____ I've seen this before on later w-c.motors, but I guess they eventually get broke-off & lost (probably due-to vibration). _ I don't recall ever seeing them on n-c.motors.


Dukaddy-DUKEs,
-Bob

[john jupiter]

Cool, thanks for the responses. There is a 74' 450 on ebay that also has the lead seal. I have super low mile narrow case, and wide case but none have lead seals(however 1968 is the latest model year). It might make sense that the singles started getting the seals when the 750 twins where introduced, around 72', but thats is just a guess.

[double diamond]

Looks like the same wire and seal as used on the oil pump.

[nalimugmug]

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IMG_1952.jpg

IMG_1948.jpg

Just had a look at the cases of three Mach 1s I have, only one of them has the wire/seal.

Pic of seal and case number for reference. I have the original bills of sale from Bologna for all of these bikes, the one pictured is dated 8th June 1966.

The other two although missing the wire/seal have both the rear most allen bolts drilled to accept a wire/seal. Im 99.9% sure that the two cases without the seals have never been split, so were they installed in the first place?

Cheers

Bob

[Ventodue]

...so were they installed in the first place?

Or they may just have fallen off, Bob. That's what happened with the seal on my twin, for example ...

Craig

[LaceyDucati]

Ditto Craig

My GTS 900 had the original seal on the engine up to 2009, but on returning from a 3000 mile blast down to Portugal and back it was no more!

Having a seal simply means you and previous owners have not used the bike as it was intended to be used or possibly a sign of a buggered engine! No doubt purists will soon be seeking replica seals

Falls into the catagory of car owners from the 70's who left the plastic on the seats all the time they owned it!

Best Wishes Nigel

[joe46ho]

"There is a 74' 450 on ebay that also has the lead seal"
This 450 you are talking about is in my area, and i have seen it in person several times, and i believe it HAS been apart at some point, so the previous owner most likely installed a lead seal to duplicate the factory look...
That being said I don't know which engine had them and which didn't but my monza jr. still had an intact seal when i got it... But it also had less than 500 miles on it.
Joe