What is it worth- in the USA?

[CJJ18H]

Bit late getting to this thread.

Anyway, newbie here but wanted to follow up on this as I have one of these too.

Short answer is: quite a bit!

At first, with no tool boxes and the peanut tank (harley sprint I think) it looked like a bit of a bitsa!

Then I noticed the tail light bracket and it all fell into place.

It's a 1964 (dealers could stamp a left over with the next year if they wanted) Diana Mark 3.

They didn't have M3 on them 'cos there weren't any Mach 1 (M1) in the US yet.

The key markers for this bike, which seems complete except for the tank are:

27mm SS1
Red cam
Basically a scrambler head with solid rockers.
No tool boxes, even though there maybe brackets for the monza type.
5 speed gearbox.
Magneto ignition.
Scrambler font fender.
18" wheels with seven hub ribs, front and back
Scrambler like bars without the cross brace.
No ribs on the cush drive (very dodgy part, axles and bearings weaker than later type)

This is one of the most significant ducati singles in that it established the performance reputation for the M1/M3 and the following desmo models.

Many of these were sold, raced, trashed and taken to the dump.
Many because nobody could figure out the electrics.
Many of these had the rear fender tailight bobbed because it cracked there due to vibration.
This switch on the tailight was there to divert around the stop light bulb. If you stepped on the brake with a duff bulb (vibration again) you lost spark.

Here's picture of mine from last year after I cleaned it up a bit.
If you ever do think of selling it, call me first and don't take less than $5k for it
Matthew

[mongo]

It's looking a bit more proper now.....

DSC00158.JPG

[mongo]

BTW, this is the one I saw at the Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham AL....


The tank paint doesn't look right......

ducati at barber.jpg

[CJJ18H]

Yes, I saw that one too.
It's a 66/67 I think.
The tank on those was the same as the Mach1, slightly smaller capacity than the 63-64 and had different silver flash styling.
In the Barber bike it's not right either, the lower section dips too low.
It's really amazing how off most of these tank's silver stripes are when they go through a 'resto'.

Barber bike has the correct higher pullbacks for its year, different bend altogether from our bikes.
And toolboxes which didn't come til 65.

Your bike looks great with the silver paint on the fenders etc. The tailight should also be silver, not the bracket, just the shell.

How's your kick start?
Mine's not usable as too many teeth have been sheared off and I have to bump start it.

What tires are you running?
Hard to get decent rubber and keep the size down.

M.

[DewCatTea-Bob]

" How's your kick start?
Mine's not usable as too many teeth have been sheared off and I have to bump start it. "

____ Welcome as our newest member, Matthew ! _ What city (or state) are you located in?

____ Anyhow, while I have seen the older (pre'66) pointed/saw-type teeth-tips of the starter-shaft & starter-gear get chipped-off, a bit,, I have never seen those teeth get bad enough to no longer be able to continue to do their job at all ! _ Let-alone, get "sheared off" !
Have you actually inspected your starter-gears and seen for yourself (with your own eyes), that any of your starter gear-teeth are really actually completely busted-off??
I'm betting not, and also figure that some bike-mechanic (not DUKE-mechanic!), told you that some of your starter-teeth must have gotten sheared-off.
__ What I actually highly suspect, is that your pre'66 is simply suffering from the common-problem of bent/sprung starter-gear engagement-springs.
Just before those leaf-springs get sprung far enough to no longer be able to do their job any at all, they will still try to engage the starter-gears but only just far enough to let ya feel them engage and then snap-slip apart, once under increased kicking-pressure, (which can help lead ya to imagine that a tooth or two must have just busted-off).
__ If I'm right, (I'm sure I am), then you will find that if you lean your old-DUKE well over to the right and then carefully/slowly work your foot-petal starter-lever until you feel the resistance of the starter-gears engaging (towards turning the crankshaft), before you then try kicking-over your engine,, you should then find that your starter-gears are not really busted and can still do their job.
By leaning your older DUKE -(not just a mere "bike" ya know!), to the right,, the starter-gear will then have gravity (to help the old-type starter-engagement leaf-spring set-up) to move the starter-gear's engagement-teeth into engagement with their counterparts (on the side of 1st-gear) !
__ When attempting this, it will take a little practice to make sure that you've leaned your DUKE over far enough to get full engagement, before actually trying to kick the motor though a full kick-cycle.
So what ya do is, lean right 25 to 40 degrees, then lightly press the starter-lever foot-pedal downward until ya feel the gears begin to engage any at all, and then let it back up just a little (to take the pressure off, so that the gear can then further slide-over for (hopefully full) engagement,, then put the pressure back on, and without letting off that pressure, (so that the engagement teeth will more certainly stay fully engaged),
bring your DUKE back to near normal stance (but not allow to lean any at all to the left), and then finish your complete kick-thru of the engine.
Doing it this way will do the job just as good as normal !
It may seem that all this is too much to go through but, once ya have the process logged-in to your memory, (like riding a [real] bike), ya should then find it to be no more difficult than doing a normal starting-routine, (aside from leaning to the right, before kicking).

____ Please note that (as most always), my wording is not necessarily to be considered to be directed at any particular individual ! _ As I always try to word my posts to be general-info, for any reader.


DUKE-Cheers,
-Bob

[mongo]

Kick stsrter works fine, it even managed to injure my foot quite effectively! Many of my uncle's friends acquired the 'Ducati limp' trying to start this bike.

Other than some dry rot wiring, the bike is in good shape. Tires are Pirelli front, and Avon rear, both on the bike when my uncle got it in '67...

[CJJ18H]

" How's your kick start?
Mine's not usable as too many teeth have been sheared off and I have to bump start it. "

____ Welcome as our newest member, Matthew ! _ What city (or state) are you located in?

I'm in 'connect the dot'

____ Anyhow, while I have seen the older (pre'66) pointed/saw-type teeth-tips of the starter-shaft & starter-gear get chipped-off, a bit,, I have never seen those teeth get bad enough to no longer be able to continue to do their job at all ! _ Let-alone, get "sheared off" !
Have you actually inspected your starter-gears and seen for yourself (with your own eyes), that any of your starter gear-teeth are really actually completely busted-off??
I'm betting not, and also figure that some bike-mechanic (not DUKE-mechanic!), told you that some of your starter-teeth must have gotten sheared-off.

Lost the bet there.
I had to replace all the bearings in the motor as the drive side main had ingested half the head of clutch spring screw, mashed a couple of the balls and stretched the cage.
The previous owner was quite wise to park it!
The piston was seized from storage so I had no idea that kickstart was gone so far.

Anyway, while it was apart I noticed that the teeth were quite rounded over and one tooth was gone.
In the past I've been able to improve the ratchet by either layering up the leaf springs or converting over to the coil spring with some nos retrofit kits that I got from a dealer ways back.
No can do on this one as it's missing the other cast post for the second bolt on the coil spring kit.
I even tried some other gears but none of my other NC stuff fit both the ratchet and gear tooth profiles/pitch radius at the same time.
So, I layered up the leaf springs and haven't had the urge to tear the whole thing down again.
Maybe this winter. Still need to find a correct matching cog set

I'll try your leaning to the right thing but the noise is frightening when it lets go.
I don't want to create any more shrapnel after what I saw the mains carnage.

__ What I actually highly suspect, is that your pre'66 is simply suffering from the common-problem of bent/sprung starter-gear engagement-springs.
Just before those leaf-springs get sprung far enough to no longer be able to do their job any at all, they will still try to engage the starter-gears but only just far enough to let ya feel them engage and then snap-slip apart, once under increased kicking-pressure, (which can help lead ya to imagine that a tooth or two must have just busted-off).

Yeah, I know about that. That's why they fixed it on the later NC and did a proper job on the WC.

I remember when I was a kid with my 67 Mark 3 there was this seriously attractive girl that rode a triumph daytona who wanted a go on my bike.
I said she could ride it if she could start it.
It was fun watching her try it until it was totally flooded.
When it started on my first kick I thought it best to leave immediately!

She didn't talk to me for months.

M

[CJJ18H]

Kick stsrter works fine, it even managed to injure my foot quite effectively! Many of my uncle's friends acquired the 'Ducati limp' trying to start this bike.

Other than some dry rot wiring, the bike is in good shape. Tires are Pirelli front, and Avon rear, both on the bike when my uncle got it in '67...

I put some nos pirellis on mine (they're on the bike in the photo) but the rear stepped out smartly on one spirited ride so I've lost confidence in them.

They have bunch of nice new rubber in Europe for 125cc starter bikes, so I need to find a link to buy a pair.

M