I thought everyone would be going for the 450's as it's larger. I'll keep my eyes open for 450's if they're up for sale more often than 350's. I'll not be touring on it so can't see that the extra vibes would be too bad. Your 450 would be ideal but not sure I can wait for you to croak if 1950 is your birth date.
Seen three different 350 scramblers with what look like chrome lower forks with welded brackets for the mudguards but with varying front wheels - was there a year when Ducati used these forks on the scrambler rather than the standard aluminium outher tubes with cast in bosses for the mudguards or are theses just bitsa bikes? Any opinions on the later double sided drum brakes, better or worse?
Distinguish between Italian and Spanish bevel singles. Personally I am interested only in Italian built Ducatis, so the singles ended in 1974. Mototrans in Barcelona continued building singles for several more years and with varying specifications. If you notice a single for sale with odd looking parts, the first question is: Is it a genuine italian bike?
I didn't even know the singles had been continued past 1974 - when I've seen later dates I've assumed old stock. I'll bear this info in mind as i would want Italian Ducati - can the spanish ones be spotted by the frame or engine number? I'm guessing this pre dates when the requirement for country of origin as part of the engine/frame number became law.
DM = Ducati Motori (Italian) MD = Mototrans Ducati (Spanish) Moto Trans only stopped making them in 1983.
Thanks Pete Is this quoted on the frame as well as the engine or is a sticker used for the frame on all versions?
Modern standardised VIN numbers only came in in 1981, with Italian-built vehicles starting with Z. So bevel singles don't have them. The Ducati factory puts a batch of engines into a batch of frames at random, so the engine number and frame number never correspond exactly. In some jurisdictions e.g. USA, the numbers are required to correspond on new vehicles. How could this be achieved? By placing a printed sticker over the number stamped in the metal of the frame, giving a nominal frame number matching the engine number. That sticker may or may not have been lost over the years. Can be a bit confusing. Take care now!
