Tom's '75 860 GT

Post pictures of your twin cylinder Bevel Drive Ducati (pre-1985) along with a description here.
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Waza54
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2005 5:44 pm

Tom's '75 860 GT

Post by Waza54 »

88 mm bore, 36 mm bored carbs, Hydraulic clutch system + surflex, Works suspension, Syd's glass & set backs. Akront rims. r.h. shift.
900 monster ignition. Hauls donkeys!!

These are old pictures before I put on the Works suspension (it really WORKS!) & the 900 Monster ignition (BIG h.p. difference over the previous Lucas Rita system). Thought you all might want to look at the Monster ign. adapter plates

I will post newer flicks when I get the time.

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Tom Pillsbury
Fort Mohave, AZ USA
(the big sandbox)
Guest

Ignition System Questions....

Post by Guest »

Hi Tom,

The bike looks great! You've done a great job getting her to look that good. Always a big fan of red on Ducatis (bevel twins), never worked out why the factory back then didn't produce them in red.....never mind.

I am interested to know more about your ignition system conversion using the Monster 900 ignition. Could you please provide a few more details of what parts you used and what you had to do to get it working?

I am currently building an 860 Special myself and am very interested in improving the original ignition. I've looked at the Dyna range and emailed the manufacturer to enquire but they told me they had no experience with square case bevels, only round cases. I imagine it could be made to work but don't know if I want to be their test case.

I want an internal electronic ignition system as I think the Lucas Rita really spoils the look of the upper bevel housing. Hearing about your modification has got me thinking about it all again. Plus it's always interesting to hear about someone who has already done it, made it work and learn from their experiences.

What made you decide to upgrade it in the first place?
Did it simply 'bolt on' or did you have to do much modification?
What can you tell about the Monster advance curve?
How much improvement would you say you've gained?

I hope you don't mind answering my questions, it's just that your idea is one of those clever ideas that can elude you because it is so obvious and right in front of you. I don't know why other folks haven't gone this route before. You may just have started a trend there, Tom!

Kind regards,

Chris Shannon
Waza54
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2005 5:44 pm

Monster Ignition

Post by Waza54 »

Hi Chris,
Thanks for your notes, the bike really looks better than
the old pictures I submitted but I don't have anything current.
I purchased the ignition system from Miller's, I think he may have
gotten it from VeeTwo. After I installed it, it would only run on 1 cylinder. I sent the electronic "pickups" back and waited almost a year for another set. After I received them, it still only ran on one cylinder. I then suspected he sent me a wiring diagram that was incorrect.
A friend of mine has a '98 Monster and Miller had mentioned that the
ignition componets were from a late model Ducati. We traced the wiring
on the Monster and found the igniters & pickups were the same. The
difference was that one of the igniter boxes had reversed polarity.
I reversed two of the wires and it started on the 1st kick. I also found
out that I didn't need to wait a year for the parts as they were off the
shelf modern Ducati. I had to increase the size of the main jets 5x
and later bored the carbs to 36mm to give enough fuel for this amazing
ignition. My buddy is bumed, because this old Duc stomps his Monster
900 now.
I had 1st used the Lucas Rita system but didn't like its looks or my knee
hitting it, and we all know what the original system was like.
I currently have the engine apart as after 20,000 miles on the lower
end I decided to rebuild it (still can't locate a crank pin kit).
Steve Allen suggested I do an article on the ign. so during the down
time I plan to take many pictures and produce shop drawings of the
adapter, as I have no idea who really made this well machined and
thought out design.
Steve Allen has a nice ign. system on his web site (was not available
when I did mine). Syd's also shows a crank mounted system but I
don't know much about it.
Good luck and if you know where I can get some crank parts please
let me know.
Tom
Tom Pillsbury
Fort Mohave, AZ USA
(the big sandbox)
Guest

Ignition article and Vee Two big end...

Post by Guest »

Hi Tom,

Many thanks for the information on the iginition system. I'm thinking it might be a worthwhile improvement to make to my own project.

What I don't quite understand is where does the extra HP would come from? It's only a reliable iginition system, isn't it? Or does it have a hidden nitrous feed as well? ;-))

I really look forward to when you can get the camera out and write that article because I for one will be looking forward to reading all about it. Would you be able to include some notes on the reverse polarity, perhaps in a simple wiring diagram? That would be really cool.

In regards to getting a pin kit, I can't be sure if they sell a parts kit as such, but Vee Two in Perth Australia are known for doing the best Ducati big end work around. Currently their site is being rebuilt but an exchange crank would be something between $1000 - 1500 AUD depending on exactly what you need.

They may be able to sell you just the parts and you could get a knowledgeable engineering shop to press the pin for you over there.
If you email - [email protected] you should be able to get some help with what you need. If you find you need someone on the ground to assist, I'm based in Perth and don't mind helping you out. Try them first yourself though, it might be the simplest and quickest way for you in the long run.

Cheers,

Chris
Waza54
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2005 5:44 pm

Monster ign system

Post by Waza54 »

Hi Chris,
The h.p. seems to have come from a different advanced
curve, as it pulls stronger from 3000 rpm up then it ever
did with the Lucas Rita system. Thanks for the info about
VeeTwo, I recently received a quote from them and will be
shipping the crank ASAP. Its good to hear from someone
who has delt with them as it is a bit of a distance.
God speed on your project.
One other note, the instructions given on the kit were in
Italian. with a few notes in English. If anyone, from the pictures,
can identify the mounting plate & timing wheel as to who
made them, I am sure a few more might be sold.
Tom
Tom Pillsbury
Fort Mohave, AZ USA
(the big sandbox)
cshannon
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:56 pm

Re: Tom's '75 860 GT

Post by cshannon »

Hi Tom,

I visited your project page to have a look at your bike again, which I have always been fond of, but the images and past posts seem to have been removed.

Did you sell the bike?

Cheers,

Chris
eternally_troubled
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:39 am
Location: Cambridge, UK.

Re: Tom's '75 860 GT

Post by eternally_troubled »

I think the photos from the top of this post are kept here, if you fancy a look:

http://s644.photobucket.com/user/waza57 ... sort=3&o=0
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