It’s a long story but here’s the outline: In the early 90’s I was racing Ducati singles at the Manx Grand Prix and was helped by Tony Brancato. In 1995 Tony produced a Pantah and said “Why don’t you have a ride in the open Junior on that”. It had reputedly been raced in endurance events. I bought it, rode it home to Kendal, from Oxford, and duly raced it that September. Not a match for the Hondas but got round at a race average of just over 84mph, having fun on the way. I used on the road for a couple of years after which it was stored in my barn. I now want to recommission and put it back on the road. It’s road legal but doesn’t have a starter so that will have to be fixed. It also lacks a stand. I’ll want to replace the brake seals etc and I’m sure I’ll find other bits which will need some work. Is there a recommended source for the various bits I’m going to need? Reg is KPE 972W and last owner was Stephen Stuckey from Reading. 1st registered in 1980. Any help greatly appreciated!
Jeff at Baines Racing in Silverstone might well be worth a call if struggling for parts. A few on here have done pretty good jobs on the Pantah but I can’t remember who. @Derek were you one?
Hi Peter, Looking at your photo i see that you are racing a 350 and if this is the Pantah i have many spares less a frame which i sold recently, so give me a call on 07429231380 for any parts you require. Keith
Yes, I rebuilt a 500SL from pile of bits about 5/6 years ago. I only kept it for a couple of years because it was such a pain to ride, with the riding position and the heavy clutch. I found the following sources useful: https://www.mdinaitalia.co.uk https://www.ducatipaddy.com https://www.ducaticlassics.com https://classicitalianbikes.com https://www.oldracingspareparts.com/
I had a Pantah 500SL back in 1981, the earlier version without the "winglet" at the bottom of the fairing. Rode down to the Bol D'or on it, and I agree that that they were a pain to ride and to the clutch was really heavy as I used stronger springs to stop it slipping. Great fun but there is no way I would want to ride one any distance nowadays.
What makes the pantah even worse was the front forks would rather stick than move with the bumps. Lighter oil and modifying the oil seal covers made a lot of difference.
My recently bought 1981 pantah 500 Runs nice, but need some warmth and no salt on the roads. 14,000 km.from new a UK bike, stored for almost 20 years.
Probably bought for the wrong reason, I owned a brand new Pantah in 1983 ( bought from Coburn and Hughes the then Ducati importers grrrrr. )
I have a genuine Pantah starter sitting on the shelf. It has new brushes and works well. I put a new one on the Pantah I've just restored and moved on.
