PROJECT SUCATI !!!!!!!!!!!!! ??????????????????????

[anton88]

Ok, some of you will think im sick for even thinking of doing this but here goes (a bit of history first) :

I've messed around with bikes for the last few years, which has gained me lots of experience. Heres a couple of my favorates:

My 1990 Africa Twin (honda, AND MY CURRENT RIDE) - before:



And then some time afterwards - inspired by the Paris Dakar bikes (took me about a year to strip and re-build/modify the bike in odd weekends and evenings):





A project i finished (which only took me a couple of months) very recently and sold to fund the Ducati (Was sorry to see it go):

1976 Honda CB400F before:



My 3 year old son having a go with the throttle :



Me trying my hardest to look cool



Anyway, back to the matter at hand -still gaining inspiration for my 750, and thought i'd give this a go. Got some measurements from the seller (e-bay), and it just about bolts staight on - RGV 250 fairing! - will need a bit of trimming here and there, but basically fits. In the depths of my mind, i see projector headlights, cbr 17" wheel (which are still on the way to me) and either Ducati 851 or Suzuki GSXR SRAD seat unit

Then to finish it off an awsome paint job - i'm getting lots of ideas from older ducs and some images and links from here.

Anyway, if any of you dont want to talk to me again after seeing these pics - i understand BUT I want to say thanks to this website, and those whove helped me with answers so far. (look away now if you dont like Dukes meddled with !) To Be Continued ...........................

[higgy]

There is nothing like doin it yourself

[jpitz31]

Anton, Great work on the Honda's. Can't wait to see the progress on the 750. You will keep us posted?

Thanks

Joe

[andrew_b]

Nice Honda four! I had one pretty similar about 15 years ago except based on the 750 ...cafe bars, mono seat unit, tail mod, etc. I used the front and rear end off a wrecked '78 Bol d'Or (twin disks up front, single on the back), ran a hot cam and bored and stroked the 750 to almost 900. She was a howlin' beast in a straight line but wouldn't corner worth a damn. Your photo sure takes me back!

Regards the ducati , hmm. Until I see the finished product I'll just shut it! But I think whatever happens you should call it the Ducuzi!

[anton88]

Still around and starting up again

My project stopped towards the end of last year due to lack of time, too much fun an my africa twin, and lack of money/fear of job cuts This was where igot to (a gsxr seat unit with 1" cut ot the middle to narrow it :





At the time i thought it looked pretty good , but over the winter and earlier this year i chnaged my mind - thought it looked crap

Recently got inspired by some pics of a Radical Ducati and some of the older Dukes, so decided to make my own seat unit (never done before)

Made a 'mold' with 1mm aluminium sheet for the seat pan and bum stop and fine mesh wire sheet/chicken wire for the rest. Cut and bent iroughly into the shape i wanted (took a couple of goes) - then covered in gaffa tape. Then layered with fibreglass and once dried seperated easily then lots of filler and sanding/shaping:







Then with some new end cans (held on with wire and gaffa tape for mock up)and a bit more work done (i'd made the link pipes up over the winter):









The work id done on the front rgv fairing to fit the oil cooler :





Still plenty to do. And interesting to see some of the recent goings on with tyre fitments. The cbr wheels ive got are going to be too much bother to fit - but we'll see

[jetboy]

nice one! I agree about the seat, the gsxr one is too obviously a gsxr - the one you made is more reminiscent of a f1 - cool. i think you may end up with the most unique looking 750 sport ever assembled. heres a replica f1 race tail for comparison to yours:


on bike:



i actually had a question about your cb400f, im working on a little cb350f and thinking to semi-cafe it and wondered where you got that nice little front fender. the stock one on mine is all bent up anyway-

as for tires: i think we are screwed. since your doing all that modifying anyway, why not put the front end of a gsxr on it? replace the rear wheel/brakes with a SS?

[anton88]

Thanks for that

I love the look of the F1

Heres a link to a choice of mudguards similar to what i fitted to the cb400 ( i had to use a dremel to make it fit, but you'd never tell

http://www.busters-accessories.co.uk/pr ... -Extenders

[jetboy]

i took another look at your bike-- sort of blurred my eyes to imagine it in matching colors-- and yeah, im into it, thats going to be a great looking ride. The cut of the suzuki fairing actually fits it well@!! I like how it cuts back on itself to show the dry clutch, like it knew it was there.

[anton88]

i took another look at your bike-- sort of blurred my eyes to imagine it in matching colors-- and yeah, im into it, thats going to be a great looking ride. The cut of the suzuki fairing actually fits it well@!! I like how it cuts back on itself to show the dry clutch, like it knew it was there.

you got me thinking now - so i had a quick play with ms paint (imagine with black wheels/frame/forks and swingarm) :

[anton88]

had another quick play tonight after a beer a bit more green and white, and black frame, forks swingarm (bt no wheels yet) my favourite one so far:

[persempre907]

The beers always help!!!!
Very nice.
Ciao

[ducinthebay]

While its your bike, and you will do as you see fit, you also posted pictures, so are now entitled our opinions, which are sometimes compared to smelly body parts and every one has one. But, since you asked:

- I really like the Suzuki fairing on it. I never did like the lower section of the Sport fairing, especially when you look at the F1.
- I think the red, green, white combo is best. some variation of that. Did you ever see the Moto GP Ducatis from Mugello a few years ago. that was a cool paint job.
- I'm not sure about the mounting of the oil cooler up there. (do you have enough room for full travel?) I would have moved the oil cooler some where else, but not sure where.
- The tail section is a bit high. I know you spent some time in it, but I think the F1 tail section would look great. Another option is the tail section from a Pantah. Nice and simple, and in the same styling vein.
- I think the tail section of the Sport frame is really cool wth all it tubes and stuff. You should show it off more. No other Ducati as a cool frame in the back, at least not as cool as the sport. I would trim up the side panels so you could see a bunch of the frame. Maybe going with as simple a tail section as the original 750 Sport that shows off the frame.
- Leave the frame Red and swing arm silver. But, if you want the swingarm black, may I recomend getting it anodized instead of trying to paint it. It is anodized now, and paint doesn't stick well to it. It will always look bad if you try to paint it. The only other option is powder coat. but black anodize is fairly common, and any plater can do it when he runs a batch of other stuff. While you are at it, may as well toss in your footpegs, mounting plates, shifter and brake pedal assemblies.

And those are my opinions for the day, and they are worth every penny you paid for them.

Cheers,

[ducinthebay]

While its your bike, and you will do as you see fit, you also posted pictures, so are now entitled our opinions, which are sometimes compared to smelly body parts and every one has one. But, since you asked:

- I really like the Suzuki fairing on it. I never did like the lower section of the Sport fairing, especially when you look at the F1.
- I think the red, green, white combo is best. some variation of that. Did you ever see the Moto GP Ducatis from Mugello a few years ago. that was a cool paint job.
- I'm not sure about the mounting of the oil cooler up there. (do you have enough room for full travel?) I would have moved the oil cooler some where else, but not sure where.
- The tail section is a bit high. I know you spent some time in it, but I think the F1 tail section would look great. Another option is the tail section from a Pantah. Nice and simple, and in the same styling vein.
- I think the tail section of the Sport frame is really cool wth all it tubes and stuff. You should show it off more. No other Ducati as a cool frame in the back, at least not as cool as the sport. I would trim up the side panels so you could see a bunch of the frame. Maybe going with as simple a tail section as the original 750 Sport that shows off the frame.
- Leave the frame Red and swing arm silver. But, if you want the swingarm black, may I recomend getting it anodized instead of trying to paint it. It is anodized now, and paint doesn't stick well to it. It will always look bad if you try to paint it. The only other option is powder coat. but black anodize is fairly common, and any plater can do it when he runs a batch of other stuff. While you are at it, may as well toss in your footpegs, mounting plates, shifter and brake pedal assemblies.

And those are my opinions for the day, and they are worth every penny you paid for them.

Cheers,

[jetboy]

since we are showing mods: here is my quick and dirty oil cooler move:



ducati twin valve covers seem to be interchangable. the only difference between ss and sport seems to be that the ss (and monster) are a bit flatter - have less clearance. but you actually dont need that extra clearance - so they work fine. so if you want to do this swap, all you need is a valve cover with a bracket from a later model and the appropriate cooler/lines bolt right in. the only thing to watch out for is that you need both the lines and the "nipples" (official ducati name for them) that screw into the engine block. the stainless lines will not connect to the 750 sport nipples.




i finally got a monster headlight bucket, so going to replace the cb360 thats on it now. speaking of hondas, heres my new cb350f project -- just for fun: this is right after i picked it up.



i spent like 50 dollars just on various solvents to clean it up. but she runs! took her around the block a few times and she pulls surprisingly well! i just fitted some velocity stacks on the carbs after a quickie rebuild/cleaning and it seems to approve of the improved airflow. you have inspired me to make my own seat, ive heard that a good way to go is find an old tank and cut it for that nice tail curve, then spot weld it to a flat pan - im taking a welding class at the end of the month, so thats going to be my project.

and yes, thats a 1971 datsun 521 pickup its in, i thought it was appropriate for the 74 honda!

[anton88]

While its your bike, and you will do as you see fit, you also posted pictures, so are now entitled our opinions, which are sometimes compared to smelly body parts and every one has one. But, since you asked:

- I really like the Suzuki fairing on it. I never did like the lower section of the Sport fairing, especially when you look at the F1.
- I think the red, green, white combo is best. some variation of that. Did you ever see the Moto GP Ducatis from Mugello a few years ago. that was a cool paint job.
- I'm not sure about the mounting of the oil cooler up there. (do you have enough room for full travel?) I would have moved the oil cooler some where else, but not sure where.
- The tail section is a bit high. I know you spent some time in it, but I think the F1 tail section would look great. Another option is the tail section from a Pantah. Nice and simple, and in the same styling vein.
- I think the tail section of the Sport frame is really cool wth all it tubes and stuff. You should show it off more. No other Ducati as a cool frame in the back, at least not as cool as the sport. I would trim up the side panels so you could see a bunch of the frame. Maybe going with as simple a tail section as the original 750 Sport that shows off the frame.
- Leave the frame Red and swing arm silver. But, if you want the swingarm black, may I recomend getting it anodized instead of trying to paint it. It is anodized now, and paint doesn't stick well to it. It will always look bad if you try to paint it. The only other option is powder coat. but black anodize is fairly common, and any plater can do it when he runs a batch of other stuff. While you are at it, may as well toss in your footpegs, mounting plates, shifter and brake pedal assemblies.

And those are my opinions for the day, and they are worth every penny you paid for them.

Cheers,

Hi ducinthebay,
Appreciate your input thats why i put pics up - get peoples opinions and ideas.

Are these the gp colour schemes your were thinking of ? (could only find pics of a model) ? :

http://www.modellbahnecke.de/bilder/italeri/840650.jpg

The oil cooler is mounted exactly where it was behind the original fairing, so no issues with clearance. Ive got a couple of projector lamps to fit above them as well yet.

I know what you mean about the tail - it looks too tall in the pics, but when i look at it in the flesh, it seems just about right - i may change my opinion once its painted tho

Still a fair way off yet from paint designs and final finish, so ive got time to decide on my final paint scheme.