Hello John .... Another great riding season, and shows. I went to the vintage show at the Barber museum. This was my first time and what a fabulous museum and race track. I'm planning on returning next year, and you should try to attend. Here are a few shot's from the show.

Known to many as the Ducati Brothers Fae up North, somehow the Mondial twins does not have the same ring to it!  AKA Mr Duguid and Mr. Muir, nice pair lads. 

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Fancy one of these for yourself ??

Brand New
Mondial Piega

Made in Italy Motorcycles are very pleased to be able to offer a very limited number of brand new 0 Kms Piegas, probably your last chance to buy a brand new one with only just over 100 of these very special bikes ever being built before Mondial went out of business, they are built to the highest standards using the Honda sp1 engine and the very best components available including a handmade aluminium fuel tank full carbon fibre bodywork, Brembo brakes, multi adjustable Paoli Kayaba 46mm Tin forks, Ohlins rear shock and steering damper, Modials own light weight aluminium wheels and their own ECU control unit which not only smoothes out the standard Honda on/off fuelling issues but along with their other modifications increases the power from 129BHP to closer to 140.

Each bike also comes with its own dust cover and presentation pack which includes not only the hand books and brochures but a full colour book on the Piega .....£14950.00  + VAT  There is no VAT payable by purchasers outside of the EU.

g'day John was just checking out your site. really cool mate. here's a couple of shots of my 1973 V7 SPORT. its pretty original. hope its worthy.

Certainly is mate :-) 

Below the 6 pics you find the description to the bike. Pic 1,3 is Grau and Canellas in action 1979 at Mountjuich-Barcelona, the other pics is me 2011 in Spa and Imola.

In 1979 Salvador Cañellas and Benjamin Grau came third at Coupe Endurance of Montjuich, Barcelona with a 945 ccm Ducati NCR. After 24 hrs. the riders performed 754 laps (the winning works Honda France 997 ccm, C. Leon-JC Chemarin did 773 laps). Some specific data: 90mm pistons, conrod 139mm, 945 ccm, lower cylinder (both cylinders and cylinder heads sandcase) with 13 cooling fins only (instead of 14 at 864 ccm engines),  cylinder heads with 80˚ valve angle and valve size 46mm inlet+40mm outlet, sandcase crankcase with spin on oil filter, electronic Bosch ignition mounted externally on the right side, square-section aluminium swing-arm, left re-routed exhaust pipe behind the rear sub-frame, quick release wheel, completely revised ChromoMoly DASPA frame (engine is mounted several mm higher), special magnesium-bodied Marzocchi suspension, gearshift cross-over shaft going through the swing-arm pivot and many more specials. Please find pics of S. Cañellas and B. Grau from 1979 as well as pics of the bike being exposed and ridden at the Bikers` Classics meeting in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) and IMOLA 200 Miles revival (Italy) 2011.

Click on this image for a few pictures of fun in the late summer Spanish sun

Hi John

Two photos of my 900SS, it has a frame Verlicchi and a fairing and seat designed from Lingme Switzerland. The engine has been optimized oil pump, camshaft, carburettor  cylinder head from Ducati Mille.

The 250C is a lovely little 17'teener special from the very early 1970's. Its covered in great little design touches and made from top kit from Italy. I don't ever remember seeing one when I was a kid in the 70's. The press of the day said it simply too expensive and we were all on RD's GT's and CB's. Its done less than 10,000 miles and was probably thrown into some garage for years after the electrics proved completely rubbish! It's a very early model, fitted with points \ magneto and a 6v system which i've now replaced with modern 12v electrics. I bought this one in a pretty sad state to prevent it being broken up for spares and I started work on it in the summer of 2011. It's undergone a complete restoration in my workshop, and as spares have been hard to locate a few bits and bobs have had to be made specially for it. The frame was stripped and recoated in silver (not black as standard) because I thought it would compliment the green colour scheme. The paint was redone to as close to original as possible and all the chrome parts have been replated.
All in all its a little cracker.

 

sent us this picture of his two Italians it’s his first Ducati build and he’s just starting work on another. 

In 2010 John Montgomery sent us these pictures of his really lovely 1078SS JHP special-weighs 174kg with a full tank, has 108 bhp and 78ftlbs torque, and his  450RT which was a 'barn find' in Florida, came over to the UK with a friend who did nothing with it. I got it in April 2008 and we got it running and on the road-HUGE fun to ride, and bloody loud.  RT’s.

Now in 2011 the 450  has  done 2 MiniGiro’s, the 2010 MotoGiro, the Beamish Trial and now the 2011 MoffatGiro (last weekend)-still going strong-just a bit scruffier............The picture of 3 RT’s together are from the Moffat Giro and were taken at Port William in Galloway my friend Nigel owns the other two restored RT's

Some pictures from my bike. It have frame from Enthofer (TT2) and an 900cc engine. The engine have Carillo conrods, 40mm Mikunis and some other things.
 

 In 2009, Jean Marie from France sent us pictures of his fantastic un-restored 1975 900SS

Now as the end of 2011 draws near Jean updates us on  collection.

Hello John 

May be you remember me, Jean Marie from France, still on your website with 86010 and the fantastic un-restored all original 1975 ...900SS
 Happy to be back on your new website after a long old car escape ... Here are some pics of my last motorcycle , sure  i'll be nice to see them together in the garage ... The 750 is today behind me in the room, and I'm waiting for the 125 to be delivered ... I found the 750 to 2nd owner, he bought it in 1979, bike was 1700 miles, and he keep it until now, 32 years and 10 700 miles later ... I think you appreciate, few details not original like rear light, plate etc ... but what a beautiful patina and smell !
I see that you still have fantastic bikes for sale,
Best wishes from sunny Provence, Jean Marie Maréchal

Attached are some snaps of my 1994 900SS.  I prised this machine off a very good friend in 2009 who purchased it in 1996.  The Duke has now covered just over 34,000 miles.  It started life with a full fairing.  My friend sourced a half fairing second-hand and later also fitted the twin headlight conversion.  My friend also acquired the L90 DUC number plate.  The original fairing has been retained but will not be refitted as I prefer the look of the half fairing.  A carbon fibre front mudguard and rear hugger have been fitted, together with an Oberon open clutch cover and Oberon slave cylinder to lighten the clutch.  Cutting off and painting the retained 'stubs' to a second-hand pillion handrail streamlines the rear end in my opinion.  Homemade lathe turned aluminum caps fitted to the open frame tubes are neat.  The right-hand main tube welded to the head stock began to fracture.  A local motorcycle workshop was able to repair the fracture without stripping off too much and repainted the repair very professionally.

 I just love this bike which shares the garage with my much modified 2006 Triumph Thruxton  I must come and drool at your bikes in the show room sometime soon.

Robert

Neil Beeson’s 900SD restoration now finished, seven years of hard graft and what a stunning result

Jim Scott from "Crashsite Racing" in CA/USA sent us these

This is the only Ghezzi Brian race bike ever built. My friend bought it from the original race team owner. The bike was raced at Daytona. Red bodywork was its racing days. Today it is Black.

Mike Pavie's lovely LeMans restoration

Tim’s new pride and joy

Ken Bruce’s lovely 750GT restoration

Andy Wallace sent us this story from Devon UK.. 

So many regrettable incidents in my life can be recalled by starting with ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time, but . . .’ and this is one. About 10 years ago I was relaxing on holiday in France when I heard the unmistakable sound of a number of old motorcycles pulling into the village square. I ran up to see what was happening and one of those events happened which changes your life. A small single cylinder red 4-stroke thrummed past, and when it stopped I saw the Moto Morini decal on the tank. Now I’ve owned a 1978 Moto Morini 3 ½  from new but I didn’t know they’d made anything this small. Chatting with the rider it turned out to be a 1960 Corsarino Sport – red paintwork, tiny clip-ons, tiny 50cc 4-stroke motor – a miniature 350! I knew I had to have one. However, over the ensuing years, despite chasing a few leads down, I realised that I was not going to be able to afford one. Again, whilst on holiday in France a few years later, idly browsing eBay, I came across a little motorbike I’d never heard of – an Omer Giramondo 50cc. It was selling cheap, so it seemed a good idea to buy it. When I went to pick it up I discovered it was recently imported from Italy, unrestored, and with the patina of age and neglect a hundred youthful owners had bestowed on it for 40 years. Would I restore it – rebuild the wheels with new rims and spokes, get the frame and cycle parts re-sprayed? I decided not to – after all, this type of machine was built by hundreds of small Italian factories in the sixties, using off-the-shelf parts like headlights and seats, and were built down to a price. How do you not over restore something that when new had the thinnest coat of paint on it, flimsy chrome, basic shocks, matchstick forks and un-lacquered stickers on the tank? Trying to get the machine registered for the road became a nightmare. After three years of trying (there are no factory records, no owners club, and the IMOC could not provide a dating certificate) I turned to North Leicester Motorcycles. Stuart Mayhew agreed to get it up to MoT standard, provide a dating letter and register the machine with an age related plate for a very reasonable sum. As I agreed to it, Stuart looked me in the eye and said, “You know, it’s not worth it.” And he was right – in financial terms it wasn’t – but something about the machine and the challenge it represented made me say, “It is to me.” And it seemed like a good idea at the time. Finally on the road, the Minarelli 2-stroke engine has a hand gear change, three speeds, and a top speed of 24 mph. Friends laughed when I turned up in it and said, “Why not tune it up?” to which I would reply, “The suspension and brakes hardly cope with what little power it’s got, I don’t want any more!” The Omer became a bit of a fun joke as I used it for shopping and gentle bimbles about the Devon countryside. As the annual Welsh National Rally came around this year, which I normally compete in on either my 350 Morini or my Triumph Daytona 675, it seemed like a good idea to do it on the Omer. Certain it would break down, I entered the bike in the Rally. As the date got nearer, I started to think about the reality – big mileages, awful weather, mountains . . .  not a good mix with a 50cc bike. However, the Omer took me 200 miles in 10 hours non-stop apart from refuelling, crossing and re-crossing the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains (at one point I was holding it in first for 20 minutes up a mountain road at a constant 7mph and was overtaken by a cyclist) and the bike not only ran perfectly but also earned a Bronze Award. It also earned my respect and I no longer yearn for a shiny red jewel-like Moto Morini Corsarino – a rusty green unloved 1968 Omer Giramondo will do me very nicely, thank you. At the finish of the Welsh Rally 2010. Note the bottle of 2-stroke oil duct-taped to the rear mudguard – I carried a small bottle of 2-stroke oil in the toolbox but hadn’t realised the mileage I would have to do and had to buy this bottle at the second refuelling stop.

Richard Rees is pleased with his latest Moto Guzzi

The V7 is running beautifully. It's a real gem. I love riding the Le Mans too, and went away with it for a few days, riding the great forest roads of the south west. The Le Mans is in her element here. A precision instrument on fast twisty roads. I jumped on the V7 when I came back, and rode along the riverside. She's running like a Swiss watch, purring. So relaxed, so different from the LM. The exhaust note is like ripping silk compared with the raucous LM. Then a mate came round with his 750S, his camera and a bottle of red. Life is good.

Cheers Richard

 

Eric Duhaut  from  Belgium sent us this nice restoration story

I would like to present my Ducati Scrambler 100cc. It was purchased in Brussels in 1972 by a member of my family.
I discovered it in a shed in his back yard and it was sitting there for almost 30 years without being started at all.
As you can see on the first pictures, it was in pretty bad condition. I started to renovate it but I have some difficulties finding some specific parts. Today, all I have to do to finish it is to chrome some parts like the exhaust, the gear shift lever, the gas tap, etc. I tried to find information on internet on this bike but I could not find anything, except an old black and white picture.
 

Fantastic period shot of Audie with his SS

I bought my first Ducati in 1980, a 900SS. It was customized by Jim Woods to be a “naked” bike before the concept was popular. Unfortunately, my job required I move to Germany and I had to sell it. I recently bought another perfect one after looking for one for several years.

Anthony biggins sent us these

Hi John here's a few photo's of my MV's i have been collecting for the  past few years and restoring. The first is a TRA 125 which got me  started in the wonderful world of classic Italian bikes. The second is a  150 Rs which won best in class at the 2010 Cumbria Historic vehicle  rally and was also on show on the MV stand at Stafford classic bike  show.The third is a B350s round case with factory fairing and  unrestored. This is a bike made to ride and the smile factor is up there  with the Yammy 1000 i also have. Last and in one least is my MV mini  bike but not sure if it is a genuine item but it look good in the lounge  anyway

Mark  Bailey sent us this

Hi John ....I’ve just been looking through your mouth-watering visitors gallery, and you don’t have enough Morinis!  To redress the balance, here a couple of pictures of my 1975 3½ Strada, which has been slightly sport-ised with a bumstop seat and clip-on's.  I bought it 18 months ago and have given it a thorough refurbishment since. It’s a marvellous bike and I’ve had a wonderful time with it, including a 900 mile trip to the Dutch Morini Club’s 25^th anniversary rally last year.  It’s such fun to ride that my S4 Monster sat neglected in the garage nearly all last year. 

Warren walmsley in Australia

Warren sent us this great shot of his  LeMans bought from the UK now enjoying life in the sun.
 

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