Hello Everybody out there

[tobaccoblender]

I've just joined the forum, after managing to convince Mr Allen that I'm not a spammer or a bot!
Just a few words about myself...I'm 55, was born in the UK and lived there til 1989, when I emigrated to western Canada. Then 13 years ago I moved to my spiritual home, Italy, where I married a lovely Italian girl, and I've been there ever since.
After I finished engineering college, I got a job at a motorcycle repair shop
Which had just been established by two good friends of mine. After a while we began specialising in......Ducati's and Moto Guzzi's! I never liked Guzzi's as I feel a shaft drive on a bike is horrible, so I became the main Ducati mechanic there, and got sent off three times over a few years to the Ducati factory in Bologna to be taught how to service them, and most specifically, how to set up the desmo heads. Looking back now, I realise how lucky I am to have sat next to Taglioni one lunchtime. As an impressionable 20 something year old, I was too awestruck to say much, especially as my Italian then was pretty minimal.
Anyway, in about 1984 I left Oxford Motorcycle Engineers to branch out on my own- first I got a 6 month contract job as an engineer at the Daimler-Benz engine plant at Marienfelde, West Berlin, before returning to the Uk to found my own brewery- which I am proud to say is still going strong under new ownership (it's called The Wychwood Brewery, producers of a fairly well known beer called Hobgoblin...my creation!)
So now I want to get back into Ducati ownership once more. My last Ducati was a '74 750SS ( which everybody seems to call a Greenframe now, though I only came accross this term recently- we never called them that) which I sold in the mid 80's for less than £2000! But before that I had a '72 750 Sport, which was actually a much more user friendly bike than the SS, before that I had a 750 GT, before that a 450 Desmo and before that a 250 Mk3. Oh- and a couple of years ago I sold my BSA Goldstar DBD 34 as with my knackered back and arthritic wrists, she was killing me. Having said that, I'm now negociating for a 75 750 Sport, as to my eye that was the most beautiful bike ever made- no exceptions, so clip ons and rearsets or not, I've gotta have one again. In case anybody is remotely interested, my three cars are a 1976 Fiat 128 3p (my lovely little red pocket rocket), a 1989 Renault 4 (great for my tools and does 50mpg) and a 1983 Mercedes 280CE. Enough talk for now!

[Craig in France]

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

"Oxford Motorcycle Engineers", eh? Now there's a name from the (my) past! I had a 860GT at the time. Not long after getting it, the rear camshaft came flying out the side for no apparent reason. Got it replaced at Oxford Motorcycle Engineers (who curiously left all the shims in the tool tray - but that's another story ).

As to your 750S question, if you don't get any immediate replies - and if you have the time - you can do worse than getting a copy of Ian Falloon's "750 Bible". It's widely available - ebay, Amazon etc. Will tell you pretty much all you need to know. (Otherwise, try a pm to Forum member Kevin Mackinnon, 'machten' on here).

Cheers,

Craig

[tobaccoblender]

Craig
Well I sure hope I wasn't the one who left the shims out! Can you recall, more or less when it happened?
Do you have any idea if they are still going?
And thanks for the other info- I bought Ian Fallons Bevel Twins Buyers Guide but it's pretty skimpy but I then went and ordered the v twin bible which should be arriving any day now.
Cheers

[Craig in France]

Would have been just after I bought the bike, so late 1977 or early 1978. I got the bike second-hand from a general (possibly a Suzuki?) dealer in Oxford - it might even have been King's of Stan Hailwood fame. The bike came complete with one of those used vehicle insurances that were available at the time - which is why Oxford M/c Engineers got the work. (Altho' I put the shims back in - the rocker pin ones, if I remember corrrectly ).

Do they still exist? Dunno, but I did find a few listings for them on Tinternet. "10 Hythe Bridge Street" seems to ring a bell. I still remember the lift - not very usual in a bike shop.

I seem to recall there were 3 guys who worked there. Tim (?), the boss man, who had a 750 Sport and a Vincent, and ... ??

[tobaccoblender]

Craig
Well, I was definately working there then. But you wouldn't have got the bike from Kings Motors as they used to be at 10 Hythe Bridge Street, where OME started up. The Kings showroom was downstairs, where there was a Quikfit exhaust place when OME were upstairs. And yes the lift was unusual and at times a pain in the donkey- it was how Kings got their bikes up to the workshop, just like OME.
The general (and Suzuki concession) dealer where you got it would have been Faulkner and Son on Walton Street, just across from the back of the old Radcliff Infirmary.
Bill Faulkner was def. the local rogue and had a terrible reputation as a c##t.
The two partners in OME were Tim Maton, the little speedy guy with a kind of mutton chops beard. He was an ex bike racer and the hardnosed business man of the partnership. The other partner was Ed Reid, a full beard and a very nice gentle guy. He and I were best mates for years until I emigrated to Canada. He was the one with a 750 Sport although not for very long as we all used to change bikes pretty often in those days. He sold that one to another old buddy of mine who also worked there, called Ken Hall, who, I just heard the day before yesterday, died in California the week before last.
And when he bought the Sport off Eddie, I sold my 250 Mk3 and bought Ken's 450 Desmo. Then a year or so later I sold that and bought a lovely 750GT that we took in part exchange against a new Guzzi California.
Last I heard, Ed has emigrated to New Zealand and got into horses. Do you remember he had a border collie who used to ride pillion with him?
I wonder if you know of a guy called Anthony Ainsley? He used to livee in London but came up tp OME alot and was a Ducati nut. He had a cracking 750SS, and we all used to meet once a week at the Fox and Hounds, in Chiswick right next to the Fullers Brewery, as a sort of informal Ducati owners club. I ask simply because he was such a Ducati lover that I wondered if he might still be and maybe was even a member of this forum?
I'd love to look him up again if anybody has heard of him. He was a kind of extremely intelligent nerdy guy with thick glasses.....ring any bells?
Oh, and nobody had a Vincent, and was the 3rd guy!
Cheers
Paddy

[Craig in France]

Yep, Paddy - you've got it

1. Yup, you're right: it would have been Faulkner's that my bike came from, not King's.

2. Tim and Ed - indeed, that was they! Found this report from 1975, btw:

"10th May at Brands Hatch 'Stars of Tomorrow' club meeting
Tim Maton won the Gus Kuhn Trophy as the day's most promising star. In only his 11th meeting since starting last year, the 22 year hustled his immaculate home-prepared 750 Seeley Norton to two skilful wins and a very close second."

And this from 2006 :



I remember Tim talking about racing a Vinnie; but I've no idea now where/when/how.

EDIT: Ah, the power of Tinternet! Someone else has the same memory, it seems:

" (Tim) used to ride Mathew Masons 350 Gold Star and Vincent twin in VMCC events after his club racing".
Source: http://forums.autosport.com/topic/155589-racebook/

Sorry, the name Anthony Ainsley doesn't ring any bells ...

[tobaccoblender]

God, is that a photo of Tim??
Bloody hell, I never would have recognised him in a million years! Still, I'm old and grey now too.....
And that reference to Matthew Mason' Gold Star brought back memories.
He was a total nutcase eccentric engineer who lived in north Oxford with his equally eccentric wife Margaret. Amongst many other bikes they had a mk1 Guzzi Le Mans, and I remember they lent it to one day as my 750GT big end had gone and the engine was in bits, but I needed to get down to Bristol to see a play my brother was in.
It rained nearly all the way but even so I managed to get from Hythe Bridge St to Bristol, via Swindon in one hour flat! Most of the way on the M4 she was reading about 130 mph. Those lemons had a pretty respectable top speed- even if I hated the shaft drive....
So Craig, were you living in Oxford then?

[machten]

Wow! That's a good pedigree you have, Paddy. Not sure I can tell you too much new to you at all. Maybe just a few things to jog your own memory.

As you've already said, the shocks on the outside of the frame for 73 and 74 Sports are the most obvious external thing. Additionally the rear set mounts. Falloon's book is an excellent reference. Personally I don't think it is completely correct, but no one could write one that that is. Much of the information is just not available and Ducati had to work around industry strikes, etc during that period. Besides the obvious bodywork stuff, the engine differences to the GT were pretty minor. You'd have to open the engine or use a borescope to check them out. The Sport got higher compression pistons and a machined con rod compared to the GT. They also had (in the early days) different camshafts. Later, I think the GT often got the same camshafts. I've certainly dialled 74 GT's with the "Sport" camshafts. 32mm dellorto's of course were used.

The 72 Sport is probably the easiest Sport to "fake". That used a GT frame.

Here's the three of them (72, 73,74) together at the bottom of my drive on a ride one day...



Kev

[Craig in France]

There you go, Paddy : some useful stuff from Kevin - and with a photo! . I'll have to try to match it ...



Mark 1 Lemons are ok. I have a mate who still has one (along with a Dramah). But me too, I never liked the Guzzi shaft drive. My bro' went thru a succession of Guzzis, but I stayed faithful to products from Bologna - and Breganze .

(Yeah, I was in Poxford then. No prizes for guessing why; suffice to say it was a 3-year sentence ... )

[machten]

Looks like from the Netherland's guys Dyke Blast, yes Craig?

Kev

[machten]

I'll see your cards and add a few, Craig!!!



Kev

Btw..May/June in Italy is approaching fast! Have a think about it. The invite stands, love to catch up if it works out for you.

[tobaccoblender]

Hi Kev
Thanks very much for that info- and yes, it is a great help because although I had alot to do with Ducatis, back then no faking was going on as there was no real need.
God, that photo of the three most beautiful bikes ever made in your driveway is such a pretty sight! I've always been in love with that z stripe paintjob from '72, so much so that if all goes to plan and I end up buying this bike, I'm very seriously thinking of having it done in that livery even if it's not correct. I can't see what harm it can do and if I ever end up selling her, it's not a big deal getting it repainted to the 'correct' spec.
And talking of that bike, the current owner who, like me, is a mechanical engineer who seems to have spent most of his life building racing Triumph triples' engines (we've spoken on the phone quite a few times and I can't bring myself to tell him how much I hate Triumphs).....and he's fitted new pistons (btw, the bike has never been completed so the engine as it now has never been turned over) and rebuilt the crank, and has the old pistons as evidence, plus the remains of the big end. I asked him if he had used an Alpha big end and he said yes, it was an Alpha. Now, back in the day, we only rebuilt them with genuine Ducati big ends, as Alpha had a rather dubious reputation then.
Amongst the Ducati fraternity now, are Alpha big ends still considered suspect? Or did they up their game since then? (Answers from anybody gratefully received).
I ask because obviously if they still are regarded as weak, I'd rather strip the motor and put in a better quality big end that have go on me in a couple of years. I remember when the big end went on my GT, it totally fucked the pistons, valves and guides at the same time.
And I think I'll recognise the pistons as I seem to remember my GT had fully skirted pistons and my sport had slipper pistons, so if I see the old ones are slippers then that'll be a good sign.
The only mod he's made is to fit new 40mm Dellortos with manifolds from an ss and relieved inlet tracts.....I'm not sure if I'm super keen on this as I loved the sport's torquey nature....have many sports been fitted with 40's, do you know?
Oh, plus he's had new alloy rims laced on to take modern size tyres, but thankfully has kept the old ones, so I can put that back to rights, as I'm too chicken-dog doodie these days to push any tyre to it's limits.
Off topic, but did you know that in Italian, Dellorto means 'from the vegetable garden'?
I'm not kidding!
Cheers
Paddy

[tobaccoblender]

There you go, Paddy : some useful stuff from Kevin - and with a photo! . I'll have to try to match it ...



Mark 1 Lemons are ok. I have a mate who still has one (along with a Dramah). But me too, I never liked the Guzzi shaft drive. My bro' went thru a succession of Guzzis, but I stayed faithful to products from Bologna - and Breganze .

(Yeah, I was in Poxford then. No prizes for guessing why; suffice to say it was a 3-year sentence ... )

Jesus Craig- where have so many sports been gathered together as in your photo! Beautiful.
What came from Breganze? Was it Laverdas? I'm always amazed by how much they are cheaper these days than a bevel twin. They were so damn exotic in the 70's, and somehow had a rather daunting, inpenetrable looking engine....
Hey, and don't you try and tell me an Oxbridge degree hasn't helped your career!

[tobaccoblender]

I'll see your cards and add a few, Craig!!!



Kev

Btw..May/June in Italy is approaching fast! Have a think about it. The invite stands, love to catch up if it works out for you.

Kev
So what's happening in May/June in Italy??? I'm only two and a half hours away from Bologna.....

[machten]

MotoGiro d'Italia for 7 days and a few weeks either side based in Tuscany at a friend's place in Bagni di lucca riding old Ducatis - mostly singles. This is my steed for the trip...



Kev