Hi All, Sorry, wasn't sure where to post this so Moderator please feel free to move. I've recently finished restoring (are they ever fimished!) A Ducati 175TS single from 1959, with a view to ticking off a long held 'Bucket List' dream of riding such a bike in the Moto Giro d'Italia next year. I'm also a member of the Motoscrubs Ducati Singles Forum and as of a few days ago the DOCGB, as it was suggested that there were quite a few guys in the club who went to the event. Long story short, basically the DOCGB seems to have been a bit of a waste of cash, as their forum is like a ghost town. All the action seems to be on the DOCGB Facebook Group, which is free! Unfortunately, I don't really 'do' FaceTweet or whatever, so was just fishing to see if there was anyone on here that has done the Giro? I'm basically looking for info on the most economical way to ship the bike out there next year and am given to understand that sometimes a group of entrants club together to make costs more reasonable. It'd be great to hear from anyone on this forum who has experience of the Giro, as any knowledge as to what to expect and prepare would be gratefully received
This year I followed Day 6 of the Moto Giro (as a hanger-on, not an official entrant). This was the final gathering in Tivoli : This was a scene during the day: Thinking of entering in 2020, and getting a bike conveyed to Italy beforehand. Depending on health, finances, and possible Brexit, obviously.
Love it. One of the reasons I'm selling my 999 / Scrambler / Superlight is that I want a small single and it's an ambition to do an event like this, the Giro being the dream. Your bike is a cracker.
Thanks for the kind comments on the bike, much appreciated after the hours spent rebuilding it and getting it to run properly, with it fighting me every step of the way. I admit there were a couple of times I contemplated chucking a match in the fuel tank and walking away . Fingers crossed it's running pretty well at the moment and has done around 1200 miles since the rebuild. Sunday will be the biggest test yet with a ride to the Italian Day at the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum in the New Forest. A fair old jaunt from Taunton in Somerset. My arse is complaining already . Mind you, the Missus has volunteered to go pillion for the Giro, fair play! She's not been on it yet though as it doesn't have the correct dual seat and footpegs, so I'm not sure she knows what she's letting herself in for yet
Thats just beautiful, you should be very proud of what you've achieved. If I was single I'd offer to marry your bike...... My son and his pals have just been mountain biking in Ital for a week and they went in his van, he doesnt rate the journey as difficult....
The DOCGB forum is a bit rubbish but being a member isn’t. With DOCGB membership you get a bi-monthly magazine, badges, T shirts etc and if you mention your a member to certain dealers you get discounts on parts/merchandise etc. Plus some insurance companies will give you a discount too. The £25 annual fee can soon pay for itself.
Renting a van is an option I guess, but after riding 2000 km in six days on 'Grandad' I'm not sure that either of us would fancy driving all the way back . May not be so bad if we could share driving with someone else though, which is kind of the point of this post. The other thing I've heard of is sharing the cost of professional transport for a group of bikes, flying over to collect them and doing the reverse on the way back. This would probably be my preferred option, just the small matter of trying to find who else is going .
Well that's good to know El T, still feels a bit self-defeating for the DOCGB to have a free Facebook Group which is what I would hazard a guess is the main thing people like me are interested in. I agree that clubs are one of those things where you only get out what you are prepared to put in, but I'm not really a 'clubby'-type guy. I've always been put off by those who seem to want to let everyone know how much they've spent on their bike, gear, holiday etc., etc, or showing how much of a twat they can be on the road, rather than just enjoying the collective passion for a marque. So the subscriber benefits on this noble forum are probably as useful to me to be honest. However, I'm keeping an open mind and will see how we go and will try to make it to a gathering or two.
A bit more strip and rebuild porn for you all! Whole thing was done slowly over about 5 years or so, when I could scrape together the money and time. Thanks must definitely go to my patient and very supportive wife Carol, without who's sacrifice of holidays etc., this definitely would not have been possible, oh and insisting I keep back some redundancy money to buy the bike in the first place!
Well spotted mate, it's just down the road from me! I was parked there waiting for the parade of classic vehicles to go by last Sunday, on their way to the Retro Vintage charity show at Somerton.
Moto Giro is top of my bucket list of things to do one day. If i was in a position to consider it at the time i would offer to drive the van for you.
That's a grand offer Duke, perhaps once next year's dates are announced we can see if it works for you and go from there?
