My Newest Acquisition, Ducati 350

teddpage

Over 1,000 Posts
Hey All!
A little backstory. So as some of you may know, a buddy of mine recently picked up a sidecar rig that we will be racing this year (http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=45011.0). Another friend of ours who also races a sidehack found out that i was STILL looking for a solo ride. So he offered me up his 67 Ducati 350. He hasnt used it since 2010. He acquired a narrowcase 250 that he claims is faster than this 350. He told me that i could use it for the year, as long as i maintain it, put tires and a battery on it, and IF I end up liking the bike at the end of the season, we will negotiate a price.
So for the total sum of $zero (so far), i have a racebike! Tires will be ordered soon and I've been going over the bike, checking bolts, safety wiring etc. Today i made a real cheesy tach mount and numberplate bracket for the front. I cant weld aluminum, so its riveted together. Pic below.
Anyways, im sure you are sick of reading...so here's the pix!

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SUPER ventilated CB350? Front brake. I was told not to grab too much in the pits........
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My cheesy bracket. Might look like doodoo, but it weighs next to nothing. You can see the wierd old brackets still on the forklegs in this pic.
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I will try to keep this updated, but if you know me, then you will know im lying hahaha
 
so Cool man...the narrow cases are more desirable but if he lets that thing go it will be awesome to own and you can always keep an eye out for a narrow case
 
Thanks guys! I agree desmo, his narrowcase racer is gorgeous. The tank on his looks exactly like the one on this 350, but its polished alloy. The whole motor on his narrowcase is also completely lightened, balanced etc, etc. So it very well may be quicker. Ill try to find a pic of it

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So I knew this would never stay updated. I suck at that kind of stuff. Not much has been done, but this weekend I created a home brew fork brace and drilled out the front brake stay. I still need to cut some spacers and drill/tap them on the lathe to tie the whole mess together (I hear the tensilte strength of pencils isn't too high lol). Anyway here's a shot of today's progress

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Did a little bit od work on the bike this weekend. Mounred up the new race rubber, charged up the new battery, mounted the new number plates, safety wired a few more things and proceeded to get it running!
What an odd feeling shifting on the right hand side. Feels like its guna be a fun ride this summer!
Sorry no pix...if i go to the shop tomorow ill grab a pic so you all know the bike still exists haha

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Here's some updated pix. Home brew fork brace is done, just waiting on some stainless Allen head bolts.
For anyone wanting a fork brace, its fairly easy. You can use threaded rod in between the uprights if you don't have access to a lathe.



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I'm no engineer, but are those bolted on tubes going to stiffen the forks much? I mean every little bit helps, but just wondering how effective a brace that will end up being.
 
Tim said:
I'm no engineer, but are those bolted on tubes going to stiffen the forks much? I mean every little bit helps, but just wondering how effective a brace that will end up being.

Should be just as effective as a factory fork brace thats inside the fender...
 
Gotta think, a stock fender bracket is maybe 1/8" thick? This is 1/4" aluminum with 8mm bolts holding it all together. My main reason for doing this, is the guy who raced it before me said he had some wierd handling issues, and i know having no fender or brace can cause strange issues. So instead of trying to find a forkbrace that fits, im guna try this and see what happens.

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Wow, nice bike, the 350 Duke was the first bike I ever really rode, sure didn't look like this one though!
Good luck on the track!
Pat
 
Thanks Pat! I can't take too much credit for how it looks. I picked it up this way. I sure do hope to do well this year racing...350gp can be pretty competitive

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Here she is at Loudon. Passed tech, we hopefully race tomorrow.
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Wow, its been a while.
Ive since been to the track 2x since my last post!
What a blast ive been having. Ive gotten 2 3rd places, and supposedly I placed 2nd yesterday, even though I DNF'd (more to come).

This past race weekend was a rough one. We had 2 practice sessions on Friday afternoon. Made it 5 laps in, and the bike started to pop on decal, and breakup on the straight. Made it 1/2 way down the front straight and the bike died. Make it back to the pits assuming its a dead battery (my volt meter was dead also). Swap batteries and get on track for practice #2. Bike made it one lap before dying. Ok, bad coil! Go to autozone and buy a generic coil.
Saturday morning...swap in new coil. Bike runs GREAT thru both practice sessions and my race, which was tons of fun! We were running 5 classes at once and I was battling with a guy on an RD400, and a REALLY fast dude on a CB160. Battled with them for most of the race, eventually pulling a few bike lengths on them, and ended up coming in 3rd place in my class, and 12th overall!!! Everything is wonderful!
Sunday, no practice, race isn't until 3:30 pm. The bike ran FLAWLESS for 6 laps (8 lap races). The guy who placed 2nd the day before was down and out with shifting issues, and im now battling with the guy holding onto 1st place, as he is having either running or shifting issues. What a fun battle!!! On lap 7, it started breaking up again, popping on decel...UH OH! White flag is out, downshift into turn 1 and the bike cuts out and dies...coast to turn 2 and wait to head back to the pits. Test the battery, battery is perfect. So as far as I can tell, the coil took a shit. A new set of points and a coil is being ordered. But somehow, the scoring tower put me in 7th overall, and 2nd in class...even though I didn't finish.
Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for the awards, so I don't know if I got a trophy or not...wont know til next race in September.
Unfortunately again, my GoPro didn't want to cooperate, and recorded 3 seconds of video. So instead, here's a link to a slideshow my Aunt put together for me. Enjoy!
http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d7a63314d7a41334f44413d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link&partner=smilebox
 
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