Greetings from Kansas City

Please say HELLO and tell us about yourself, your bike[s] and where you are located etc...
Post Reply
rgierer
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2011 2:48 pm
Location: Kansas City MO

Greetings from Kansas City

Post by rgierer »

Two years ago I was told by my neighbor that he had a Ducati, 1974 750 GT in his basement. He had the bike since 1977 but had not ridden it since 1988, when he pulled the carbs for a rebuild and became overwhelmed (This was early 2009).

I had to look up the bike to see what it was. The neighbor was interested in me because I had a R75/5 BMW and a Motto Guzzi V65SP which he saw out and about in the neighborhood.

While being a basically selfish person I wanted the bike for myself but recognizing the fondness my 60 year old neighbor had in his voice when he spoke of it, I recognized it was not happening anytime soon.

When I offered to buy the bike I was declined. So I took the next best step. I suggested he push it over to my basment and we could go through the carbs and see what we could do.

A year and a half later we were still having the same conversations. Then about 6 months ago he identified a price he would sell it for if he was to sell it but he wasn't yet ready to sell. I told him if he was ready I would pay his price.

Two weeks past and he was ready to go. It hit me at a bad time and I needed to pull together the cash for the bike. I also explained that I did need to see the bike so I could see it was essentially all complete and not a rusted hulk.

I finally saw the bike. I had learned from a nephew of the current owner that none of the family had seen the bike since 1988.

The bike was all there and despite being covered with sawdust, looked pretty good.

The bike had been repainted (the tank and the side covers). One side cover was missing. The carbs were in a box, the seat was torn and the brakes were locked. He also had another box of odds and ends. The repair manual was buried under what appeared to be raccoon feces.

I paid the money and brought the bike home. I had purchased the proverbial pig in a poke and was hoping to be able to get somewhere, maybe to a whole bike.

Here we are in December of 2011. I have had the bike 4 months and we have arrived to the point that the bike is ridable, licensed and insured.

I am still struggling with the finer points in tuning but, the tank is clean, the brakes are new, the carbs are finally clean, the bike is idling, it has a new fusebox, ignition system, tires, and many more small bits.

The bike cleaned up nice. the case and engine are clean, the compression is at 195 lbs in both cylinders and it starts on one kick.

I will be working at getting the tach and speedo to work and will contemplate having the seat recovered.

It does pop out of first gear at times. Right now, my plan is to adapt to this foible rather than repair it.

The plates I pulled off the bike were from Kansas 1977.

The harshness of the Kansas City winter will mopve in at anytime now, so I will need to be content with doing a few things in the garage.

All in all I consider my endeavor a success but still very much a work in progess.

When I have the time to sort out how to post phots on the site I will do that.

Robin
new owner of 1974 750GT
User avatar
Steve Foster
Parallel Twin
Posts: 141
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:43 am
Location: Sydney, Australia.

Post by Steve Foster »

G'day Robin
Sounds like you've got a fun project to keep you occupied for a while.
It does pop out of first gear at times. Right now, my plan is to adapt to this foible rather than repair it.
I had the same problem but it had a relatively easy and inexpensive fix - when I examined the gear selector mechanism (in the gear selector box behind the engine cover where the gear lever shaft emerges) to clean and lubricate it I found that the detente spring beneath the ball that locates the selector plate was snapped. I was surprised to find that when I replaced it, the jumping out of first gear problem was solved. It seems that the small amount of pressure applied by that spring is sufficient to keep the selector in position.
I have posted elsewhere in this forum about this: see the "Engine & Transmission Shop" forum, "First gear slippage" topic.
http://www.bevelheaven.com/~BB/phpBB2/v ... php?t=1123
Good luck with the project,
Steve
1974 Ducati 750 GT
TDF
Mariana
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:33 pm
Location: Emerald Nebraska, USA

Post by TDF »

Anxiously awaiting photos......

TDF
1966 Ducati 350 Sebring
1965 Ducati Bronco 125
1958 MDS Super Dart
2000 Moto Guzzi V11 Sport
2002 MV Agusta F4 750
Plus a whole herd of non-Italian motorcycles.
User avatar
BevHevSteve
SITE OWNER
SITE OWNER
Posts: 2324
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2004 8:53 pm
Location: Lafayette, California
Contact:

Post by BevHevSteve »

welcome aboard, and have fun with your project. its easy to post photos, have a read here for instructions...

http://www.bevelheaven.com/~BB/phpBB2/v ... c.php?t=16
Image
Steve Allen (925)798-BEVL[2385] Ride'm, Don't Hide'm
Ducati/Euro Spares -> https://Store.BevelHeaven.com
Post Reply

Return to “Introduce Yourself”