Well I've gone and bought another money pit. It's a 350 Desmo in bits. When I say it's in bits it's in a position where the engine (minus internals) is in the frame, everything else is on the bike apart from the wiring harness and spokes in the front wheel! The guy I've bought it from stripped it years ago with the intention of rebuilding it from the ground up then spent ages buying any new parts it needed but never quite got round to actually starting to put it back together. It looks as if everything is there (apart from those critical 5-6 parts that are always missing) but a faint heart never got anywhere so what the hell. First question of many: Who's recommended for engine rebuilds? I can probably do everything on it apart from stripping and rebuilding the crank (there's a new rod & crank pin supplied) but I've never had a go at shimming the bevel gears on one of these so that could end up a nightmare as well. Fill your boots, tell me I'm stupid but that's not something I've never heard before.
Depends where you are based. Lougi down Bristol way seems to have a knack of finding old engine bits or making new ones fit
I live in Bedford so would prefer somewhere within 30-40 miles but for the right person doing the work I'd be more than happy to travel. Thanks.
Nigel Lacey of Lacey Engineering, now based in West Wales. Very good, very meticulous but possibly a bit very expensive. Did I say he was good though?
I've just been trawling through the Lacey website and it's Ducati porn but hopefully I've got most of the expensive parts sorted. Baines would be handy because they're a lot closer to home but that's not the overwhelming factor because it's only a trip to drop the engine off and another to collect it which isn't such a big deal.
They annoyed me a bit somewhere around 18-20 years ago but I need to forgive & forget.... Once the bike is at my place and I can have a good look at what I've got I can make a decision. I'll probably do all the basics then give them the parts and just throw money at it which is what all sensible bike owners do when they're in doubt.
Good man, thats the spirit. Then sell it to me for a song when its all shiny. After all, getting screwed over by an unscupulous spiv is also a fine british tradition.
If I wanted a quick turn over of cash I'd simply break it and punt the bits out to unsuspecting mugs because that's yet another fine British tradition
There is a place in Biggleswade. Has done a lot of bits for my dads vintage stuff. Reasonably priced too. If you want details gimme a shout and I'll get them off my dad so you can call and see if A. They can help and B. They are who you want to do the work. IMO it's worth a trip there to speak to the guys some of the vintage race bikes I saw in there are amazing.
It took a lot longer than expected to get the workshop up again and the bike out of the container and home but it's here now. All I've done so far is find a way to get the frame supported by my Abba Skylift so it's easier to work on and drop the engine (minus all rotating parts) into the frame to make sure nothing is twisted. It went in easily enough with no need to resort to hydraulic jacks or chain blocks to move the frame around so that's reassuring. Next step is to take the engine back out of the frame then get the casings blasted and the frame powder coated. It'll probably take me 6 months to get that done if my previous rate of progress is anything to go by but once there's some real signs of things coming together I'll take some photos.
