350 singles

[raptor]

Hello all ,I am a new member ,I have a 96 s/light ,I have a Hinckley T100 Bonneville ,and I have just bought a 66 350single ducati. How do you start these single ducatis ,is there a secret ,is it an aquired art ,cananyone enlighten me the carb is a amal concentric ,does anyone know the required jets etc . thankyou

[Craig in France]

I have just bought a 66 350 single Ducati. How do you start these single Ducatis? ... the carb is an Amal Concentric, does anyone know the required jets etc?

Hi raptor and welcome.

Hmmm ... I hope you don't mind me saying, but you've not really given us much info to go on ...

First off, have you got spark, fuel and compression? If yes, and you're just finding it difficult to get the motor to turn over on the kicker, here's what to do.

Take the bike off its stand, put it into gear and then roll it backwards until you feel the piston come up against compression. Now put it back on the stand, put it into neutral and kick it thru - firmly and all the way to the bottom of the stroke.

Ducatis are easy starters. If it isn't firing, don't keep kicking. Find the problem (spark, fuel, compression ...).

As to the carb: well, no Italian-built Ducati ever came with an Amal (some of the later Spanish-built ones did, however). But if your bike is a 1966, it should be an Italian-built 350 Sebring, fitted with a Dell'Orto UB24BS carb like this one, currently on sale on eBay with 5 days to go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dellorto ... ccessories

Ciao, and let us know how you get on.

Craig

[raptor]

Gratsi mille Craig, I have a spark at the plug ,a spark at the points ,the only dubious point is fuel .The bike was started on delivery to me by the seller , however he went through a process which I found allien ( prime engine with ignition of , select half choke ,bring engine to compression ,switch on and kick , beware of kick back though because it is viscious ,the engine fired and ran ,and sounded good ,he then left . Since then ( 3 wks ago )I have started up 3 times with dimminishing degrees of success .I phoned a friend who had a Mark 3 (70s) who assured me of starting it up ,but no .Ihave since bought a new plug ,a set of points I have had the carb in pieces and the carb does not look right ( I had a T140V with the same carbs )Thinking this was wrong carb I bought a Clymer manual ( E-BAY £9.99),the manual states the Amal was an alternative fix along with del orto`s,.It could be that I have week feet and that I may be apprehensive of the kick back ( the bonnie did not take prisoners either ). The engine has a green/white cam ,T140v piston + rebore ,the previous owner used to race these singles and this was his spare/s bike which he rebuilt 2 yrs ago . Have you any idea what jets are requd for the Amal or where I could find out . rAPTOR

[Craig in France]

Ok, understood.

1. The procedure your seller showed you is essentially the same as I described, except that his requires you to get the piston over TDC whereas mine is a little easier because you start with the piston already past TDC.

2. I suspect the Clymer manual is a little misleading in that it describes the carb that was fitted to the Spanish-built bikes - you can see 'Fabricado en Espana' cast into the Amal body in the photo on page 81!

But no worries: the bike doesn't care what carb it has. And because a Sebring in standard trim couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding, it was common for converted race bikes to have the mods you describe: new piston, new cam, big Amal.

3. And I was about to refer you to another forum where Jon Pegler (amongst others) might be able to advise you on jets etc. But I see you're already there!

P.s Seeing as yours is an ex-racer, it will be worth following Bevel Bob's advice and check that the timing isn't set too advanced. Again, this is a common racer mod, but it can lead to the engine kicking back on starting. Basically, the spark occurs too early, as the piston is rising up the bore but before the crank has enuf momentum to keep the piston turning in the right direction. The fuel starts to burn and pushes the piston back the wrong way.

This is when you need a sturdy right foot, to overcome this motion ...

Ciao/un saludo

Craig

[raptor]

I thank you for your reply Craig ,but improvments are being made , I have had it running ( a little ) ,I also think the timing might be too advanced ( how do I change please )do the bikes run better with dell orto`s, where are you in France ? Raptor

[geomoto]

Raptor
Amal
190-210 main
106 -107 needle jet
3.5 slide
This will get you close.
Pilot is mostly not adjust, turn out 1 1/2 turns
No choke, just flood with the tickler.
Timing it's easy but you need a shop manual, timing wheel, continuty light, concentration and a couple milk crates to sit on and think.
If everything is correct this bike should be easy to kick and start.
Geo

[jerry0503222]

Ihave since bought a new plug ,a set of points I have had the carb in pieces and the carb does not look right ( I had a T140V with the same carbs )Thinking this was wrong carb I bought a Clymer manual ( E-BAY £9.99),the manual states the Amal was an alternative fix along with del orto`s,.It could be that I have week feet and that I may be apprehensive of the kick back ( the bonnie did not take prisoners either ). The engine has a green/white cam ,T140v piston + rebore ,the previous owner used to race these singles and this was his spare/s bike which he rebuilt 2 yrs ago . Have you any idea what jets are requd for the Amal or where I could find out . rAPTOR