Ducati 450 Resto

[MrUpwey]

Julie and I have decided to restore her Ducati 450 Mk3. It was purchased new by Julie in 1974 and has travelled a mere 4900km since new, However, over time the chrome has deteriorated and the bike hasn't been ridden for about 5 years - so a pull down of the engine is necessary. Fortunately we have a mate who is an expert in Italian bikes and has offered assistance in the task. Over the next week or so we'll pull start pulling it apart. We hope to have it completed within the next 6 months or so.

We got her out from under the covers yesterday (the bike, not Julie) and moved her to another garage where the work will start.
The bike is exactly as we purchased her - even the tyres are original (plenty of tread but maybe a little hard)

[CamBiscuit]

Very cool Peter

Remind us again how your son ended up with a Volvo....?

[Fishcop]

Very "Life on Mars"... you guys live in a beautiful timewarp

[griffiths_r]

hmmmm... very nice peter (the bike of course!).

[Jeff Eelkema]

Peter

As a fellow Duke single owner I would love to see this refreshed rather than restored, don't lose any patina.

Cheers

[Michel]

As another ducati rider I agree...dont wash away the patina. I just sold a 1968 350 desmo twin filler and am regretting it

[griffiths_r]

geez... maybe we need a ducati owners sub-club!?!?

(BTW, i sold my duke to buy the 911...)

[Jeff Eelkema]

Guys

you don't sell Ducatis, they don't take up much space.

I made the mistake of selling my GT750. Lukily I sold it to my brother on the condition if he ever wanted to sell it, I had first option. He needed money so I got it back and I'm not making the same mistake again!

[griffiths_r]

Jeff

very true... except the wifey doesn't like bikes. so the condition of selling the 750SS was that i could buy a porsche instead. hence why i have the 'condition' that i have now.

anyway, i am holding out for a classic 450 to come on the market... .

when i was a member of the ducati owners club there was a yellow 450 desmo with the single seat (rounded cowl thing over the pillion seat)... very cool and surprisingly fast. wanted one ever since (and they are more affordable than a green frame).

[griffiths_r]

mr upwey / julie

i tend to agree with jeff on the refresh rather than restore... you have a classic beauty there with patina and originality - don't lose that!

[Michel]

still riding a 2 owner pantah 500.. indeed a 450 desmo would be uber cool. Though for more rarified taste (rich) look for a 350 twin filler desmo..I assume that there are others out there with far more obscure pecadilloes than ducatis...!@#

[Fishcop]

When my father was killed in 1984, his estate left us with one of his old motorcycles.

It was a silver, green framed, 750SS - round case, right foot shift. Dad bought it new in the very early 70s - but mum recalls it nearly killed them as it was dad's first (and only) experience with the old "hire-purchase". It was hideously expensive (cost of a new Torana) and apparently nearly caused a divorce.

Not knowing what we know today, we allowed it to be sold off along with his other workshop 'junk' and tools, never really appreciating or understanding what his Ducati collection consisted of...

My wife often complains about what I hoard and about all the junk under the house. I guess to an untrained eye Porsche engines, gearboxes, and other parts could be mistaken for junk I now keep a rough spreadsheet listing important things and who to call if I drop dead so that she doesn't get ripped off

[MrUpwey]

Hi fellas,
Just back from a few days away and was very interested to read your comments - and we both agree with your unanimous suggestion that we refresh the bike whilst still retaining the "patina" of a bike that is going on 35 years old.. The main things that need doing are: re-chroming (wheels, exhaust. headlight, indicators and other smaller components), pulling down and re-vitalising all mechanicals (engine, suspension, brakes, clutch etc)to ensure that all are operating as they should - especially after the bike has been in hibernation for so long - and of course new tyres.
Apart from the front mudguard which needs a little panel beating and paint (was backed into by a LandRover when it was less than a year old), we will not need to do any painting - the tank is in good condition and the other painted bits - rear guard, side panels and frame just need a good clean - although the transfers on the side panels do need replacing - but unfortunately I doubt they'd be still available. The alloy components will also need re-polishing due to some oxidisation - but nothing too dramatic.

A major expense follows the restoration - we'll both need to buy new helmets and riding gear - it's amazing how much our old leather jackets have shrunk and the padding in our old open faced helmets has all but perished.

[Jeff Eelkema]

Peter

Pleased to read your plans. You may be surprised to find that parts availabilty is better these days with lots of stuff being reproduced. 20 years ago when I restored my 750GT I had to wait 18 months to complete the engine - there were no big end bearing assemeblies anywhere in the world!

I don't know if you know these guys but Phil Hitchcock @ Road & Race motorcycles has heaps of bits and is an internationally respected expert on old, small Italian bikes. http://www.roadandrace.com.au/

Another handy contact is http://www.bevelrubber.com.au/

Love the comment about leather shrinkage, mine seems worse in the waist area, very odd.

Michel

Don't encourgage anyone to search for a twin filler 350 desmo, I suspect you had one of the few in the country (very pretty - I've got just about every thing needed to build one except a 350 desmo head). Very few 350s made it here but lots of 250 and 450 models and the late orange 450 desmos still turn up. Some of the guys I know with these things just keep them in the house as they so small and light and only take them out to shows etc.

Cheers

[MrUpwey]

Thanks for the valuable info Jeff.
Co-incidently, Barry Jones, Italian Motorcycle Engineering, who's doing the work (you may know him - he's well known in Melb) dropped in yesterday to give me some advice/tips prior to me pulling the bike apart. He's also sympathetic with our aims for the bike - and suggests we take our time and do the job systematically over the next 6 to 12 months, which not only allows Julie and I to do much of the disassembly/assembly so as to appreciate what goes into such a resto, but also spreads the costs - pay as you go principle.
Barry not only has stocks of many hard to find parts in his collection, but is also aware of the availability of decals etc (I note that at Road & Race the blue and gold '73-'74 450 decals are available)
Barry emphasised that prior to disassembling. take sufficient photos so that the reverse process (assembly) can go smoothly. Fortunately, he's also an Upwey boy, so help is never far away :p - in fact, when I do my initial work, the bike will probably be moved to his garage to complete the project.