1969 desmo 350- first days
Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2017 8:10 pm
All who responded to my valuation thread, thank you as your guidance has enabled me to purchase a fine example for a fair price to both parties involved!
One of the amazing things is I’ve been looking for one for a few years and this one was found less thann 10 blocks from my house! Once I brought the machine home, I went trough the carb as it was seized. After cleaning it out and lubing the cable, I noticed the throttle chain was pretty worn as the pins had substantial play. It seems like every ducati I’ve ever worked on has had a clapped out chain. Do these wear rather fast? The mileage on the odometer is just under 4500 miles, seems like the chain should last way longer than that... maybe the motorcycle has more mileage than shown, I have not run it down the road to see if the speedometer is still working, if it is not I would certainly not trust the odometer readings.
As for the overall condition I am super happy, no stripped threads so far, the rocker clearances were as expected and started after just a few hrs of fettling. It may need a timing adjustment as it seems excessively prone to kick back.
It needs a few parts which I will put a request in the part section of the classifieds if anyone can help out please respond!
As for the tin tag, what is the best way to prevent it from deteriorating further, it hangs of on the right and left edge and needs to be reattached before it gets ripped.. Also is there a difference between a Desmo and MK3 Desmo?
Doug
One of the amazing things is I’ve been looking for one for a few years and this one was found less thann 10 blocks from my house! Once I brought the machine home, I went trough the carb as it was seized. After cleaning it out and lubing the cable, I noticed the throttle chain was pretty worn as the pins had substantial play. It seems like every ducati I’ve ever worked on has had a clapped out chain. Do these wear rather fast? The mileage on the odometer is just under 4500 miles, seems like the chain should last way longer than that... maybe the motorcycle has more mileage than shown, I have not run it down the road to see if the speedometer is still working, if it is not I would certainly not trust the odometer readings.
As for the overall condition I am super happy, no stripped threads so far, the rocker clearances were as expected and started after just a few hrs of fettling. It may need a timing adjustment as it seems excessively prone to kick back.
It needs a few parts which I will put a request in the part section of the classifieds if anyone can help out please respond!
As for the tin tag, what is the best way to prevent it from deteriorating further, it hangs of on the right and left edge and needs to be reattached before it gets ripped.. Also is there a difference between a Desmo and MK3 Desmo?
Doug