Ducati Production

[Duccout]

I've just treated myself to a lockdown present of Ian Falloon's Book of the Overhead Camshaft Singles, and I'm surprised at how many were produced - over 34000 Scramblers and total production across all models of 95600. I had always thought of Duc Singles as being rare, but that is not the case, and if you add Mototrans production to this there are many more, so I am surprised that so few Singles come up for sale.

[George]

Hi Colin I have noticed there are a lot of long time owners of the singles. Perhaps once you own one you don't want a different bike. I know I intend keeping mine although I have yet to have a good ride out. What with lock down and the rain, reading about Ducati Singles is about all you can do.

[Ventodue]

I can give you another figure, Colin, courtesy this time of Marc Poels:

Total number of units produced in 1959: 10,400.
Ok, that would have included all the pushrod models - and of course the famous Muletto . And yeah, for sure, it won't get anywhere close to Honda production figures - by 1959, Honda was already the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer and would produce that number of units and more per month by the early 1960s.

And Ducati production wouldn't, dare I say ?, match that of various British bike manufacturers at various times. But even so, it's what? 50+ units a day? So not such a small concern ...

And here's another: I've seen it claimed that at one time, Ducati was the biggest seller of 125s in Italy, then the most popular size bike on the market. (I tried to re-find where I've seen this claim, but failed.)

And finally: until the Monster, the Scrambler was Ducati's biggest selling motorcycle, and that despite it being a total flop in its intended market, the USA.
As our American friends might say, "Go figure ..." ..

As to why they don't come up more for sale, well, I suggest that's easy. For most of their existence, they simply weren't valued (warning: don't EVER get Tony Brancato on to the subject of 160 Monzas ) . Most went to the scrappers many moons ago - altho' it has to be said that people in the US are still pulling various weird singles out of barns and chicken sheds, normally in the starry-eyed belief that they've hit the Mother Lode.

[Duccout]

Hi George,

I am totally fed-up with the weather and Covid at the moment. It is too cold to do much in the garage, and I'm still waiting to road test my Mikuni carb, and I can't have my annual week in Madeira to get some sun!

I don't know what it is with Ducatis, but they have the ability to hook people. I bought my first, a 350 MK111, in 1975, selling it six months later to buy a 750 Sport, which I kept for 35 years, only selling because I needed the money. I bought a 350 Sebring around 1980 which I used as a hack, selling that when I bought a 500 Pantah ( which I did not like) I then bought a 450 MK111, keeping that for a few years then selling it to buy a 900 S2 bevel that I still have. What is weird is that of all the motorcycles that I have owned, the only ones that I wish I still had are then three Singles and the 750.

Although the 750 was the best bike I've ever owned, there is something about the Singles that I can't explain. Clearly it is not definable, because they are certainly not perfect, being small, vibratory and lacking something in the electrical department.

[Duccout]

Hi Craig,

Ducati certainly weren't a small manufacturer, although they were compared to the Japanese, but I'm guessing that a large proportion of their bikes ended up being trashed on the racetracks of the world, as they were every novices go-to starter bike when having a go at racing.

The Scrambler was by far the most practical, and even when I was last in Italy in the mid-noughties I saw two 450's being used to get the shopping. I wish that I'd bought one a few years back when they had reached rock bottom.

I wonder if there are any production figures for Mototrans bikes? How long were they produced for, 25 years? They must have made a lot, as I remember when I used to go to Spain in the early Eighties they were common. I recall being surprised at seeing my first parked at the border post, which I assumed was an official bike.


Colin

[Jon Pegler]

I don't have a full set of production figures for Mototrans machines, but can give you an approximate idea of how many bikes were produced. Roughly 60,000 between start of production of the OHC singles in 1960 until the end of manufacturing in 1983.
Mototrans built a number of different machines before 1960 (Cucciolo, 98T etc) but the first production Ducati OHC singles rolled off the line in early 1960, with 125, 175 and 200 models. Probably about 2000 bikes built in 1960, rising to 7000 by 1965.
1965 was probably the peak of production, declining to 1000 bikes being built in 1969.
There was a bit of a revival from 1972 with the start of widecase bikes being built, mainly for US consumption, with figures of 2000-3000 bikes being produced annually.
This was sustained after 1977 with the advent of the Vento and Forza models, being joined by the parallel twin 500 and the Strada in 1978, with about 2000 bikes built each year.
Whether any bikes were built in 1983 is debatable as the company was almost shut by then. 1982 only churned out 600 machines in total.
From the late 1960s onwards, Mototrans was hampered by strike action on many occasions causing production delays.
One thing to remember is that although motorcycle production may have been of the order of 5000-7000 annually in the early 1960s, Mototrans were building 10,000-12,000 cyclemotors and small capacity commuter bikes each year alongside the OHC singles at this time

Jon.

[Duccout]

Hi Jon,

I thought that you may have an idea of Mototrans production! So we could be looking at a combined production of around 150000 Singles. A lot of the smaller ones would have ended up on the scrap heap as more modern alternatives appeared, but I bet that there are a lot of Singles in the 175 - 450 capacity still around and there are a lot buried in sheds in Spain I would guess, as a look at the adverts in Spanish on-line auction sites show plenty of 'wrecks'. Probably many owners thrashed the life out of them until the big-end went, then parked the bike somewhere and it was forgotten.

The guy who I bought my Strada from had a friend living in Spain who would sniff out bikes and drive them over to the UK for his friend to sell ( he also had a Benelli 500 four for sale) and I'm guessing that the guy operating Spanish Bike Mart does the same.

Colin

[themoudie]

I don't think that OHC Ducati singles are rare, just stashed away and then maybe forgotten!

Whilst I purchased my first single in 1976, being the second owner; I put over 75,000 miles under it's wheels and rebuilt the engine three times, this isn't much use over 44 years of ownership. My other singles have been purchased in large lumps, after some mechanical or electrical failure and the cost to return them to mechanical fitness alone has always been relatively expensive, taking into account my disposable income at the time, if not prohibitive. My job and life didn't always make the repair and maintanence of a motorbike, let alone a handful of machines a priority.

Even today I could probably visit a handful of people that I know and find at least 8 - 10 Duke singles in various states of repair awaiting re-commissioning in their houses and outdoor sheds/garages. The current silly prices for over restored decorative pieces, appear to have stopped many people restoring them and then riding them. They are seen as an "investment"! With bank interest rates where they are at present, OHC singles appear to be holding their value and are more tangible than electronic cash.The current Brexit import/export debacle is not going to make the situation in the UK any more conducive to restore and then ride the singles, as the availability of parts is not going to be made easier. The postponement of racing at present is also not helping the spares availability situation.

I believe that John Wittman "Witty" and others did very well from a lucrative trade of supplying multiple containers of OHC bevel singles and or their spare parts to the Japanese. The singles being light in weight, easily handled by riders of a small stature, different from the Japanese factories "standard " fare and having a cubic capacity below the 400cc limit that influenced the price and ability of Japanese to own and ride a motorcycle.

As I haven't seen any posts from Japanese owners on this site, these machines have effectively "disappeared".

I shall continue to use the 450 for shopping trips and general getting about, once the snow and ice have cleared a bit!

Good health, Bill

[Gianni]

The US Ducati importer was Berliner, located in Hasbrook Heights, New Jersey. He also imported Moto Guzzi, Norton, Sachs and Zundapp. Maybe others. I don't know how many singles he brought in, but he had dealers scattered all over the States. In 1983, Berliner sold out to Norton and support
for Ducati pretty much ended for most owners. For lack of spares, most bikes were parked and forgotten. I used to know a guy in Western Pennsylvania who had over 100 bevels parked in his barn, that was 15 years ago. The last time I saw him, he was peeling off $900 for a very pretty Vento. I had looked at the bike just before he walked up. I wasn't smart enough to ask where the engine was, so passed. He asked, was shown it in a crate under the table, and bought it. In 1979 or 1980, my best ridding buddy was given 6 singles, all WC scramblers. 10 years later, he offered to give them to me. I declined.

I would speculate that the Wide Case singles would mostly compete here in the off-road venue, and came up short against the 2-strokes. By 1969 most road bikes sold here would be at least twins. The first bike I owned was a 1969 Honda CL450 (yep, a scrambler).

The flip side to Berliner closing down in 1983 is that most bevels sold here were relatively low mileage when parked. In the early aughts, I bought a 250 Mark 3D engine from an ex- Ducati dealer in Oklahoma. He claimed that the motor had been removed from the frame with only 500 miles on it.
I haven't stripped it down to verify the claim, but it sure looks new. Maybe the owner crashed the bike riding to the dealership for its first service.
My $.02

John

[graeme]

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/oakden/ ... 1257868414

In Australia years ago a single was worth about the same as the cc's (250 $250 etc) not anymore.
Many went to Japan and Germany, especially the Desmos.
The linked 350 above has been for sale for many months.
I have seen shotguns go for $35 k and yellow desmos for a little over $30k in Australia.

Graeme