Original source of Mototrans parts and castings

[jmwild]

I am wondering what parts of the Mototrans Ducati singles were made in Italy? Were things like castings, con rods, lights, mudguards, forks, switchgear, rear shocks, gearbox internals, pistons liners, cams, rockers, alternators all made in Spain?

[Eldert]

everything was made in Spain .
forks and shocks where made by Telesco , pistons by Tarabusa
rims by akront . even the Amal carburators that where fitted where made in Spain .

you got to keep in mind that general Franco still was ruling the country back then

Eldert

[Craig in France]

Or, as my friend Miquel likes to point out,

"FET A CATALUNYA !"

Here's some evidence from my 1982 350 Vento. I can't say about any other Mototrans models (Eldert or Jon Pegler, for example, would know more than me on that).







Plus:
1. The wheels are stamped, 'Made in Spain'.
2. The forks are Telesco, i.e. Spanish.
3. The switches are Motoplat - so Spanish - as is the ignition.

As to the engine internals, given that:
a) Ducati Bologna stopped making singles in 1974;
b) Mototrans continued to develop the engine anyways

I would think that all the engine bits would have been Fabricado in España/Fet a Catalyuna.

Otherwise:
1. The brakes are Brembo (apart from the rear master pictured above).
2. The rear shocks are Paioli. However, as Eldert posted, most/many used Telesco Hydrobags
3. The carb is a Dell'Orto.
4. The clocks are Walker Lic. VDO.
5. The lights, front and rear, are unmarked.

Un saludo

Craig

[jmwild]

Brilliant to see these pictures, thanks. It looks like the Vento gets used.
Would love to see more like this if possible, for the earlier Mototrans bikes.

What were the Spanish engine numbers like? Were they all stamped MD250, then a number (instead of DM250, etc)?

[Craig in France]

Brilliant to see these pictures, thanks. It looks like the Vento gets used.

I try . It's a cracking little bike, great fun. Here it is in 2009, on the Ruta de las 5,000 Curvas, a 8 hour road trial run as part of the meeting held each year at Colombres (Cantabria). All 'Up Hill and Down Dale' and round and round and round again - just right for it.

What were the Spanish engine numbers like? Were they all stamped MD250, then a number (instead of DM250, etc)?

I believe so, but I'm no expert. MD = Mototrans Ducati; DM = Ducati Meccanica, btw. If you start getting into Mototrans, the 2 most often referenced books, both in Spanish, seem to be:

1) Ducati Mototrans, Carlos Polo, ISBN 84-8128-0895

2) Ducati (Mototrans), mucho más que una licencia de fabricación, Francisco Herreros, ISBN 84-604-3050-2.

Here are the covers:



Un saludo

Craig

[ajleone]

Tom Bailey's "Ducati Singles Buyer Guide First Person 2nd Edition" has quite a bit of info and pictures of the Spanish built Ducati's including some race bikes:

You can buy the book on ebay or Amazon.com - make sure you get the second edition, which has the additional content on the Spanish bikes.

Tony

[Jon Pegler]

Eldert and Craig are correct in saying that most of the parts of Mototrans machines were made in Spain.

Some of the later bikes had Betor suspension. I've seen Ventos with Betor forks and Telesco rear shocks. They seemed to mix and match almost as much as the Italians did.

Some of the Spanish built engines had Made in Italy cast into the timing cover. This may only have been for engines supplied to Bologna, but I'm fairly sure quite a few of the 250/350 Road models had this.
The timing covers with Made in Spain cast into them only appeared on the later Mototrans bikes- Vento, Forza and Strada as far as I am aware.
Some of the earlier Mototrans machines only had the Ducati logo cast into the gearchange/timing cover. No Made in Italy or Made in Spain, just plain.

The Spanish engine numbers are a bit more confusing than the Italian ones.
The two books that Craig mentioned have short lists of the engine number sequences used by Mototrans. Unfortunately, these don't always match up with the numbers actually applied to the bikes themselves.
The 250 numbers are in the following sequence:-
250 De Luxe MD 87,88,89,90, 91,92,93,94 +3 numbers
24 Horas 96,97,99 +3 numbers
250 Road MD 40,41 +3 numbers
250 Strada MD 43 (or possibly 403) + 3 numbers
250 Scrambler DM 250S + 6 numbers

Not all the cases were stamped the same either. I have two 24 Horas cases, one stamped 24H, the other only showing the 5 digit engine number, so there does not seem to have been any common policy regarding case markings in Barcelona.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who can add further details to this list, or Mototrans bikes generally.

[GT Pete]

Here are a couple of photos of my Mototrans 350 Road









If you need more details, just ask. Pictures may be a little tough. Its friggin' cold out here right now.

Pete