Ducati Moose 350

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Ducati Moose 350

Is a little 350 Ducati Scrambler from 1969 really worth customizing into a sweet little cafe racer? Bill Johnson, the president of DucCutters thought so. He owned this bike, then sold it to Moto Creations for a project. The project was cancelled, and he received the bike back in pieces.

After reacquiring my old '69 Ducati Scrambler in a disassembled state, I decided to rebuild the bike as a vintage style cafe racer. The engine was rebuilt and polished by Dave Chrone. I got a Dunstall fairing and Barchetta tail section which will give the bike more of a racer look.
I wanted to use the original gas tank, so I sent the tank out to be completely de-chromed. The tanks mount brackets have been altered to lower it further onto the frame and Ducati 748 fuel bung has been welded into the tank to give it a more modern look. The bike also has Tommaselli three position 35mm clip-ons and Tarozzi folding rear sets on it.

The entire rear section of the frame has be replaced and a new mono-shock is being used for the rear suspension. The mono-shock has been positioned in a similar way to the geometry on the 2007 Kawasaki Ninja 650. The swing arm was them reinforced with the trestle style frame work, similar in appearance to a Bimota. The tail section sub-frame has been replaced to eliminate the dual rear shocks mounts and to support the Barchetta tail section. The rear of the frame and tail section utilize a mono post design, allowing the shock and exhaust to freely past on both sides. The frame reinforced with several gussets. I reflowed the exhaust down the left side of the bike then wrapped it up under the seat, 916 style. The exhaust brakes into four ports framing the rear tire. I also hand milled special 3D front engine mounts for the bike. The customized emulate the fines from the engine and add a little more visual mass to the from of the bike. As a required side project I made a custom rear stand for the bike, that utilizes frame sliders that have be attached to the lower swing arm.

I add guide tubes to protect and hold the most of the major wiring, such as the clutch cable and the points lead. The bike is using a 12-Volt NiCad Battery, a Bosch 12-Volt "Blue" coil and the standard 6-volt points. It's operating as a total loss system currently, but I hope to find a compatible voltage regulator for the bike soon (the bike's internal generator produces 3 Amp's). The NiCad Battery and Bosch coil are both packaged into the nose of the bike mounted into the custom sub-frame and fairing stabilizer.

The custom dash board of the bike features a MotoGadget "MotoScope Mini" digital speedo/tachometer. Very compacted and integrated into the bike. The bikes original horn/headlight switch has been rewired to function as the controller of the MotoGadget system to scroll through its menus and to function as a kill switch.

There are a few minor things that still need to be done on the bike, but I'm very happy with he progress so far. This bike is dedicated to the loving memory of my friend "Moose". I really miss him.