50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

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rightsideup
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50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by rightsideup »

I couldn't find anywhere else in the forums to put this so...

Next year my Ducati will be 50 years old...
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It's been with me for 40 of those years and I'm planning to ride it back to the factory to mark the occasion.
I live in Devon, on the South coast of the Disunited Kingdom so the Plymouth Ferry to Spain is close by. The route will be a bit like this.
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My son, Jamie, will be tagging along on his Ducati Monsterous(!) - his first trip abroad on a bike.
My main concern is oil, As you all know, a bevel drive 750 likes a monograde and, since there's no real filter, it has to be changed every 1k (and a bit) miles - that's 5 litres each time and 2 changes.

Can anybody advise how difficult it is to source SAE50 monograde in Europe? If any Euro Bevelheads were willing to help me in this enterprise and live somewhere near the route, perhaps I could order some and have it delivered to your address???
Buying it online here is no problem but you never see it in a garage.
'74 Ducati 750GT | '78 MZ TS250/1 | '97 Honda VFR750
In the high latitudes of Finland, in the parching heat of Africa, under the most different operating conditions these motor-cycles run to the satisfaction of their owners.
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Craig in France
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by Craig in France »

If you feel you really MUST use a straight 50 weight oil (and even if you don't ... :) )

Contact Peter Clark at Ducati Montpellier. Peter is the chef d'atelier there. He's a Kiwi, so speaks a form of English ... ;) He also knows a thing or two about our old lumps (he used to work at Motoddd Laverda in Croydon), a rare thing in today's Ducati world. There's even a few beveldrives on display amongst all the modern, eye-wateringly expensive bling.

Peter's on Facebook. Ask if you can get the oil delivered there. I can recommend you buy it from Racing Lubes in Aix-en-Provence. I get all my oils there, as do many others. If you need, I can order it for you.

https://www.racinglubes.fr/29-huile-mot ... %A9-SAE+50

HTH

Craig in Montpellier

P.s. Let me know if you need any help with route planning. What I see from your projected route seems to involve a lot of boring motorway or main road work thru the south of France. And be warned that the coast road into Italy is an absolute misery. All that is avoidable. But I accept that there's miles to be covered, and your time may be limited.

(But really? Straight 50 in 2023?).
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rightsideup
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by rightsideup »

Craig in France wrote: Mon Aug 28, 2023 12:15 am If you feel you really MUST use a straight 50 weight oil (and even if you don't ... :) )

Contact Peter Clark at Ducati Montpellier. Peter is the chef d'atelier there. He's a Kiwi, so speaks a form of English ... ;) He also knows a thing or two about our old lumps (he used to work at Motoddd Laverda in Croydon), a rare thing in today's Ducati world. There's even a few beveldrives on display amongst all the modern, eye-wateringly expensive bling.

Peter's on Facebook. Ask if you can get the oil delivered there. I can recommend you buy it from Racing Lubes in Aix-en-Provence. I get all my oils there, as do many others. If you need, I can order it for you.

https://www.racinglubes.fr/29-huile-mot ... %A9-SAE+50

HTH

Craig in Montpellier

P.s. Let me know if you need any help with route planning. What I see from your projected route seems to involve a lot of boring motorway or main road work thru the south of France. And be warned that the coast road into Italy is an absolute misery. All that is avoidable. But I accept that there's miles to be covered, and your time may be limited.

(But really? Straight 50 in 2023?).
Thanks for the info Craig - why not a straight 50?
p.s. 'form of English' was very good!
p.p.s. Route advice nearer the time would be excellent - thanks
'74 Ducati 750GT | '78 MZ TS250/1 | '97 Honda VFR750
In the high latitudes of Finland, in the parching heat of Africa, under the most different operating conditions these motor-cycles run to the satisfaction of their owners.
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Craig in France
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by Craig in France »

rightsideup wrote: Tue Aug 29, 2023 9:11 am <snip>
Thanks for the info Craig - why not a straight 50?
No worries. "Why not a straight 50", you ask.

Well, I was teasing you a bit; but more seriously, it's just that oil technology has move on so much since the 1970s. And remember: as early as March 1976, Ducati themselves recommended a synthetic 10-50 :shock:
860 GTS supplement March 1976 4 rdcd.jpg
And if you use a modern synthetic 10-50, you won't need to do an oil change during your trip. Synthetics have a much longer life than any mineral oil.

Your only possible problem is that changing might give rise to an initial amount of clutch slip. The solution is simple. Pull the clutch, wash all the plates in paraffin, roughen up the friction plates if required and refit.

But if you're happy with Dino Juice, don't let me argue you out of it :)
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rightsideup
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by rightsideup »

Made it!
Image
'74 Ducati 750GT | '78 MZ TS250/1 | '97 Honda VFR750
In the high latitudes of Finland, in the parching heat of Africa, under the most different operating conditions these motor-cycles run to the satisfaction of their owners.
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rightsideup
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by rightsideup »

My brother and I covered 2,482 miles in total with the only problem being one blown headlight bulb, we also had a total of 10 minutes of (light) rain on the whole trip. Some photos below including one with the Ducati Museum Curator, Livio Lodi who kindly showed us round.
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My brother is writing an article 'Bevel & Belt to Bologna' for Classic Bike magazine so look out for his take on it!
'74 Ducati 750GT | '78 MZ TS250/1 | '97 Honda VFR750
In the high latitudes of Finland, in the parching heat of Africa, under the most different operating conditions these motor-cycles run to the satisfaction of their owners.
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by froggie »

Congratulations!
Nice trip, and nice daring to do it on an oldie.
Please tell us more about the service you did during the trip and any mechanical observations whatsoever!
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rightsideup
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by rightsideup »

Thanks! I'd been through the bike pretty thoroughly before we set off. All I had to do on the journey was replace a headlight bulb, adjust the chain a couple of times and change the oil in Zürich which was about half way.
It started first kick 90% of the time and used less than 500ml of oil over the whole trip - I was expecting more problems but was happy there weren't.
The bike didn't much like the heat in Bologna, it was 40C (104F) at one point and a lot of traffic, it didn't really agree with me either!
'74 Ducati 750GT | '78 MZ TS250/1 | '97 Honda VFR750
In the high latitudes of Finland, in the parching heat of Africa, under the most different operating conditions these motor-cycles run to the satisfaction of their owners.
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by BevHevSteve »

fantastic trip
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Steve Allen (925)798-BEVL[2385] Ride'm, Don't Hide'm
Ducati/Euro Spares -> https://Store.BevelHeaven.com
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rightsideup
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by rightsideup »

Thanks Steve, it certainly was!

p.s. The trip wouldn't have happened without the hydraulic clutch conversion I bought from you so thanks for that.
'74 Ducati 750GT | '78 MZ TS250/1 | '97 Honda VFR750
In the high latitudes of Finland, in the parching heat of Africa, under the most different operating conditions these motor-cycles run to the satisfaction of their owners.
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BevHevSteve
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Re: 50th Birthday Ducati - Call out to Euro Bevelheads

Post by BevHevSteve »

thanks for the props on my hydraulic conversion kit. It is simple and works extremely well as you have found..

:vroom:
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Steve Allen (925)798-BEVL[2385] Ride'm, Don't Hide'm
Ducati/Euro Spares -> https://Store.BevelHeaven.com
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