Hello everybody, I found ca. 100Km from me a Ducati MHR 900 from 1985, with original 15000Km...a bike which sleeps since 1997 ... I have a Pantah 600 SL....but this bike is an other category and I do not have much (any) experience with the MHR bikes... The engine turns...no visible damage except the lower fairing which is missing and there were some "upgrades" on the front fork and on the back too (see pics). How would you rate this bike and the chance / costs to make her fit again? You have any tipps what to check on it before buying it? Sure I mean "over the usual stuff" like brakes, carbs, clutch, .... What is the chance that no big works (engine) needed? ...ah yeah...and how much would you (should I) propose for that bike to stay on the "safe" side with all expected (how much it could be?) costs? Any tipps, comments, advices are welcome and well appreciated! Thx a lot! Istvan
Hello! A very good little book to get at this stage would be the bevel buyer’s guide by Falloon. It’s got the essential things to know/check when buying these. It’s a pocket format, so easy to carry around with you. With regards to restarting an old low miles bike that’s been sleeping for a couple decades, in my experience, if everything goes well without any big mechanical issues, you are looking at a minimum of 2000€ euros spent in various parts and tools (if you don’t have them already) to put it back on the road. Even more for a bevel twin as these have been growing more and more popular since the early 2000s. The specific parts tend to be easier to find, which is nice, but they are also becoming rather expensive… Keep us posted on this !
I can’t help with any specifics as I am ignorant of Bevel Ducatis. However. General condition looks pretty good to me and sometimes you just have to take a risk. I suspect that finding the fairing lowers may be the hardest thing to do. But, buy at the right price and this risk pretty much disappears. Good luck, now go and get it.
Not sure what the rules are for putting a bike like that back on the road are in Germany regarding roadworthiness inspections, use of pattern parts, etc, which may well be different to the current rules in the UK, which most would admit are currently a bit lacking. Obviously a lot depends on the asking price, but if you can find out why it was taken off the road in 97, and what, if anything, was done to prepare it for storage, as well as the storage conditions (humidity, etc) that may help understand what it may need. Something like a rusty petrol tank can be a nightmare. The other issue is who is going to do the work, as if someone is doing the work for you the labour costs may put the business case even beyond any man maths. If you are going to do it yourself, and it's a bike you have always wanted and have no deadlines, despite some ups and downs, you will probably find it all enjoyable and in the end, pretty satisfying. For tooling, you may find some Ducati Owners Clubs have some form of factory tool loan scheme, which may be worth exploring rather than buying a tool you will probably only use once. Hope this helps, but bikes like that don't come up that often....would be a shame to miss it!
Hmmm... it's had a non standard alloy swingarm fitted at some point and the floating front disks & top yolk don't look standard either. In Ian Fallon's Bevel Twin book there are a couple of pictures of a 1984 MHR without the fairing lowers. So perhaps the bike never came with them As for it's price/costs/possible troubles etc - how long is a piece of string?
I bought an ’83 a while ago and went to work replacing brake lines, painted the forks and wheels, split the engine for an inspection and clean, replaced all bearings in wheels, painted callipers, new pads, fuel lines and taps and fluids, new battery, exhaust polish, carb clean and service kit, new electronic ignition, rear shock refurb, chain, tyres, and fairing paint job. I did not paint the frame, tank or seat to maintain the used, but not concours look. Yours is in similar to maybe slightly worse condition with a strange rear axle bolt and swing arm. These people are great for parts and advice https://www.mdinaitalia.co.uk/ I think https://www.dimarino.co.uk/ have a complete fairing in stock. Call Pietro, say Paul sent you. How would you rate this bike and the chance / costs to make her fit again? 100% with time and money. You have any tipps what to check on it before buying it? Turn the engine over. Your advantage is it looks complete, although with a strange rear axle bolt and swing arm. Maybe floating discs that seem a bit modern. Dash looks different and those gauges look like extras.
The dash was standard fitment on 1984 models (the ever useful Ian Fallon) and consisted of eight leds that included an oil light & Ian goes on to say "Designed for the impending Mille the fuel & oil pressure indicators weren't connected on the 900." But the oil pressure & temperature gauges themselves do look to be add ons - requiring some engine plumbing I'd think
Hello everybody, Thx a lot for all your tipps and info! He is asking now at least 10.000Eur which seems to be much too high for me without having the original parts and knowing only that the engine moved "free"... ..or am I mistaken?
