DUCATI TWINS
Although I am a Laverda guy, I also admire Ducati twins. Magazines sang their praises and nodded lovingly at their quirks. Paul Smart rode them to victories and Ducati advertisements were enticing. By the mid-1970s I was riding a Laverda 3C and my buddy Dan had a 900SS that had been prepared by Keith Harte, a legendary Canadian Ducati mechanic and racer. I rode Dan’s bike a few times. I preferred my 3C as a daily rider because the Ducati was built for one purpose: going fast and crving sweepers.
I didn't get a Ducati of my own until 2014. And now, nine years later, I am fortunate to own four bevel-drive twins. Here’s how that happened...
860 SPORTSTER
In 2014 an ad for a 1975 Ducati 860 GT caught my eye. It appeared to be an early 900SS, however the text was clear that it was an 860 GT clad in SS bodywork: tank, side covers, seat, fenders, fairing, Conti mufflers, Tomaselli clip-ons and rearsets. The owner had even cut and flattened the upraised rear frame loop. The bike showed 15,500 miles on the speedometer and ran well, despite or maybe because of the Lucas Rita ignition that had been installed when new.
All I needed to do was fit a set of Avon Roadrider tyres, install signal lights and new switchgear. I also changed the stock steel rims for a new set of Borranis. When the previous owner put the SS bodywork on the 860 he did not do the full instrumentation. So the bike sports a Smiths speedometer and tachometer, with no warning lights whatsoever. The ignition key is in the centre of the clocks.
As most readers know, the 860 motor is a square-case bevel drive twin, and like the 750 GT and S before it, uses valve springs and not750, the angular design did not appeal. Meanwhile the 900SS was considered to be the pinnacle of functional beauty. Aside from the motor, differences between the bikes include a drum rear brake on the 860, steel rims instead of Borranis, Lafranconi exhausts versus Contis and 32mm not 40mm Dell’Ortos. The frame is flattened and angled downwards at the front engine mount, and the swinging arm / chain tensioner arrangement is an eccentric cam at the swinging arm pivot, compared to a more conventional arrangement on the SS.
