Technical Info

[ducwiz]

Hi,

if one is able and willing to read french stuff, he may download the RMT manual no. 5 from http://www.luke3d.org/bmw/manuali_ducati.htm, which treats mainly the silver bullet Desmos. This friendly site also hosts all versions of the Ducati factory manual, as well as the parts catalog and several brochures about Dell'Orto carbs.
The RMT manual is also available in .DOC format at https://es.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ducatimototrans/attachments/1509655151

An unbelievable site with endless information and loading time: http://lamotoclassica.foroactivo.com/t2154-ducati-monos-archivo

And for those who like the spanish language, here is this comprehensive blog about working on Ducati Mototrans 250/350 singles: https://moticosroyo.wordpress.com/?s=ducati+road

Hans

[Ventodue]

Good stuff, Hans - thanks.

Craig

[Ventodue]

It seems to me a bit odd that the wide case Mk3 is the commonest Ducati single - at least in the UK - but it's the hardest to get a manual for!

It is a bit odd, but I suspect that one of the reasons is in what you wrote - "at least in the UK". Because, as I'm sure you know, the biggest market by far for Ducati singles had always been the US. And the wide-cases simply bombed over there. I quote from Tom Bailey:

"Indeed the total production of all Italian widecases during the entire period in which they were manufactured would be approximately equal to the number of 250cc narrowcases sold during 12 months in the mid-sixties."
Ducati Singles First Person.

In addition, while it's true that the wide-cases managed to sell better in Europe, Ducati's own continued commitment to the singles was already in doubt - certainly from 1970 on, the year in which Ign. Taglioni finished the design of the first V-twin. It's surely no coincidence that it was also around this date that a significant part of the engine manufacture for the singles was transferred to Mototrans in Barcelona.

The world was moving on ... Why produce a new manual for a bike that wasn't selling and whose production would soon end?*

* P.s I am not aware of a factory printed parts book for the post-1971 Desmo singles, for example.

Craig

[ducwiz]

This is a compilation of production numbers over the years, for the Scrambler models. I had been assured that the document came from the factory.



Unfortunately, I have no such information for the Mk3 and Desmo models.

[Ventodue]

Thanks Hans. That seems to confirm the weakness of widecase Scrambler sales in the USA in comparison with Europe (even if maybe not quite as weak as Tom Bailey's words might suggest ... ).

The figures for 250 and 350 production in 1973/4/5 are the same as Ian Falloon gives, btw.

[Old Cog]

I'm old enough to have been riding motorcycles in the early seventies and I recall seeing very few scramblers. The Mk3 and Mk3D were more common over here but I have been told that the production figures of these were also in the order of a couple of hundred per year by that stage. So Craig's point in well made. Guess we should be grateful for whatever we can cobble together! (All part of the fun, I s'pose. )

Brian

[Ventodue]

I'm old enough to have been riding motorcycles in the early seventies and I recall seeing very few scramblers.

Hardly any Scramblers were officially imported into the UK (I got my 1972 450 from Ferrara). I've seen a figure of maybe 40 or so, and these only towards the end of production by the then new official importer, Coburn & Hughes (i.e. after November 1973).

It has to be said that relations between the factory and its UK importer(s) were very poor during pretty much of the wide-case period. 1971-2 is picked out by Mick Walker as being a particularly bad year, with virtually no bikes being imported. Vic Camp, for much of the time still the official importer, was mainly interested in racing machines, not in the road bike market that the wide-cases fulfilled. Even in 1974, participants at his race school were still mounted on 4-speed narrow-cases.

On top of which, the whole 'Hannah shipment' fiasco seriously undercut his business, flooding the market with bikes sold at up to 25% below the official price. No wonder he went shopping in Barcelona. And that didn't turn out so well ....

[Dave450]

Old Cog - As I see it, the problem with the manuals published back in the day is that the mechanical knowledge base of how to build and maintain the singles 40 years old and more has evolved and expanded. And, unless you are rebuilding with NOS (new old stock, very rare now), you will have slightly different replacement parts such as forged pistons (different bore clearances), replica alternators (different extractor tools), replica big end kits and so on.

There are a number of modifications and /or different approaches to setting up the motors that one would now regard as good practice which were not around or not widely known about back in the day. Examples would be methods of dialling in the cam timing, fitting modern electronic ignition systems, setting the squish clearance, among others. Haynes was always very basic and is not good enough for properly assembling and setting up the Desmo head, for example, but it does give some useful technical specifications for the engine and some handy exploded parts diagrams.

This means you have to jump between the old manuals and this forum, in particular, if you want to really set up your motor to deliver performance and reliability in 2015. Read the posts of experts such as Nigel Lacey, Eldert, Dew Cat Tea Bob, to name just a few, to get those vital technical details you need. The knowledge base is there. When you have researched but still need an answer, post a query on this forum. That is what it is for and members are more than happy to share their extensive knowledge and experience with you.

[Dave450]

…and I just had a look at this site, posted by Ducwitz: http://lamotoclassica.foroactivo.com/t2 ... os-archivo

Lots of good information there, thanks for posting.