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The 200SS I am rebuilding has the I/D plate on the head stock, but only some of the characters are legible. I have obtained a new plate, but I am at a loss as how to stamp it. As I understand it, being a USA model the engine and frame numbers would be the same, which seems to be the case.
From what is visible the type is 200SS.------- The year is 1959.------- Should the engine and frame numbers be prefixed with the E.------- PESO (WEIGHT) CARICO (LOAD) Both values eligible,
CILINDR Appears to be 200cc.
I would much appreciate any help with the above.
Brian

Here's mine. If I recall correctly someone once suggested that Berliner was using a typewriter to bang the imprint into the foil. But I could be wrong.

On most Ducati plates I have seen the year was concatenated to leave off the last digit. Presumably this was so a bike waiting to be sold at a dealer would not loose value should it not sell during the calendar year it was made/imported. For example, if it arrived on the US shores in '63 but did not sell until '64 the dealer was free to tell the customer they were buying a brand new 1964 Ducati. True the bike was new, but it was technically last year's model. The foil then would not betray the dealer. I have many reasons to believe my bike was made in '65 but it was titled as a '66. I believe this practice was called something like a 'point of sale' title, which was later banned to put an end to consumer deception.

Thanks Jim, That’s interesting regarding the typewriter, and not stamping the last digit of the year of manufacture, would that maybe indicate, the plates were stamped up before leaving the factory minus the last digit ?
I see your plate has no prefix or suffix stampings, for the engine / frame numbers, would this be the case for all models.
The weight on your 250 appears to be 116 Kg I have an original Ducati workshop manual which gives 111Kg for both the 200SS and the Elite, I would have expected either the Elite to be about 3 Kg heavier due the twin silencer set up, or the 200SS lighter.
The load I assume would be much about the same for all N/C models, but unfortunately I am unable to determine the figure on your picture.
Thanks again for the info maybe someone out there has a 200SS,
Brian

Brian,
A picture of a 200SS badge and a 200SCR(usually called the Motocross) badge. Both motorcycles had the 'E' prefix stamped on their crankcases, but the badges didn't include the E. I obscured the last digits of the serial numbers- they're not my motorcycles.

The shop manual has these specs listed;
200 Elite: 111 kgs.
200 SS: 111 kgs.
200 TS: 118 kgs.
200 Motocross: 124 kgs.
Every badge I've seen from the 1950's had the last digit of the year stamped into the badge- sometimes omitted in the 1960's.
I'm a little skeptical of the 'Berliner secretary with an IBM Selectric typewriter' story- I can't imagine a typewriter striking hard enough to emboss the aluminum plate, and I can't picture rolling the plate through a typewriter, but I think I once read an eyewitness account, so who knows.
Rick

Older than the Selectrics the IBM models C and D with the long arms and slugs are the workhorses that'll do foil. Selectrics as well.

Thanks for the pictures Rick, apologies for the delay in responding. as you state there is no prefix re engine / frame numbers. It would appear the weight of the 200SS is stamped up as 106 Kg, but as agreed is listed as 111Kg in the manual ? 106 Kg would seem to be nearer the mark due to the single silencer. A friend has a 200SS but is a U/K model without the I/D plate, I suppose I could get him to weigh it. My plate also has CC after the cylinder capacity as far as I can determine. There was obviously some ambiguity in the stamping arrangements.
I think I will use the arrangement below, unless anyone would call it into question.
Brian


TIPO 200SS
ANNO 1959
MOTORE 1507XX
TELAIO 1507XX
PESO Kg 106
CARICO Kg 150
CYLINDR 200 CC