1986 Ducati F1 for sale

1986 Ducati 750 F1B. Tricolore. Original, unmolested third owner example that has never seen the racetrack or the pavement. 15,969 original miles (25,700 kilometers). Adjustable Silentium 2-1 black chrome exhaust. Dell’Orto PHF36 carbs, 40mm Forcella Italia fork with adjustable settings. Floating rotors. Rare sidestand. Factory adjustable steering damper and front fork compression settings. Veglia white faced speedo/tachometer. K+N breather. Malossi air filters.  

All work performed by Al Gillen at Williamsville Competition in Holland, NY and more recently, Steve Saucier at European Cycle Services in Middletown, NY where the motorcycle currently resides. Fully sorted mechanically. Service history with receipts listed below.

NOTE: All OEM parts including failed units will be provided to the purchaser.

DMC electronic ignition from Ducati-Kaemna.

Brake pads front and rear swapped out for street-friendly compound.

Brembo 2-piston calipers replaced with 1990’s Brembo 4-pots and GuzziTech adapters.

Rubber brake lines replaced with stainless steel.

Street-friendly clutch pack replacement.

Rebuilt clutch bearing assembly

Bridgestone Battleax (dual compound) front/rear

Right throttle side master cylinder replaced with later model coffin style.  The original round style comes with the purchase, but needs to be rebuilt.

Cam belts at 25,648k (less than 50 miles on them)

Front fork seals replaced 

Modern left hand throttle/switch assembly to replace shorted OEM switch. Before replacing the assembly, operation of the light switch would consistently overload the 7.5 AMP fuse. This has been corrected with the new assembly.

Wiring harness sorted out with new crimp connectors and dielectric grease. All switch gear is fully operational including turn signals, dash light, running light, idiot lights, headlight (hi/lo) and brake lights.

Ignition assembly replaced with modern barrel to eliminate intermittent shut off issues.

Steering head bearings

Voltage regulator

Motoplat coils replaced with Dyna coils.

Replaced leaky vacuum based fuel petcocks with gravity fed system.

DID 530 gold chain

MBP (Martin Brickwood valve collets) installed at 21,366k (13,276 miles) with valve adjustment. 2700 miles since last adjustment. This extends valve adjustments from every 6,000 miles to every 18,000 miles. 

The bike shows normal patina for a bike from this era. The OEM hand laid fiberglass and factory paint is prone to check cracking and chipping. The rear cowling has flaking on the top section which is typical of the F1 solo saddles. There is also wear around the bodywork mounting holes. There is also a small chip on the tank (no dents) and miscellaneous road wear across the motorcycle. The rear part of the swing arm and upper frame fell victim to voltage regulators that overcharged the battery causing overflow issues. This not a trailer queen and has been ridden occasionally and shows wear in the normal areas.

F1 prices have shot up in the last year and topping out around $25,000 based on recent eBay activity, miscellaneous auctions and overseas examples for sale. These are the last of the Taglioni-era hand built units that are expected to appreciate similarly to the bevel drives. 

CASH or BANK CHECK ONLY. Shipping can be arranged but crating and all fees will be absorbed by the purchaser. Motorcycle is being sold as is, with no warranty or returns.

WATCH IT RUN.

1986 Ducati F1 for sale

1986 Ducati F1 for sale (up through the gears)

Instagram

Instagram. Yet another iPhone app that's become all the rage. Photographers, both professional and amateur have built enormous legions of followers by posting and sharing images transformed by Instagram's many easy-to-use filters. Its produced a genre of shutterbugs who describe themselves as street style photographers. I've used it myself and a simple click will take you right back to the 70's replete with terrycloth short shorts and knee high tube socks. Who thought looking like Larry Bird could be so easy?


In the 90's anyone with a Mac and the appropriate software was instantly a "desktop publisher" much to the chagrin of the creative industry. The universe quickly got littered with poorly designed communication that was better suited for the digital landfill. Software jocks were suddenly competing with trained designers only because the tools were readily accessible.


So when I read statements from Instagram users which include "Even the darkest and least remarkable photos are transformed into art with Instagram’s filters," I shudder. While it's clear that technology is starting to blur the line between substance and style, a squalid house will always be a squalid house no matter what color its painted.

David Fincher's remake of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

David Fincher is one of America's great filmmaker's with an impressive resume that includes Aliens3, Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network and more recently the adaptation of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. There have been discussions all over the internet about whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Defender's of Fincher repeatedly point to his pedigree while detractor's wonder what the need for adaptation is for in the first place? Fincher is the least of my worries as I find myself wondering if the girl from Bedford, NY can do justice to the Lisbeth Salander character.


English movie translations date back to the 1930's. A much abbreviated list includes Tortilla Soup, Brothers, The Birdcage, Blame it on Rio, Dinner for Schmucks, Three Men and a Baby, True Lies and Twelve Monkeys. Despite the "I hate the French and the French hate Americans" rhetoric that permeates American life, the majority of adaptations are indeed French. That's probably because the French make outstanding films that don't necessarily rely on the American formula which leans toward highly paid actors, ad nauseam CGI and enough subwoofer to rattle your neighbor's fillings loose. So why does a country that produces The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, Its a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, Doctor Zhivago, The Manchurian Candidate, Rebel Without a Cause, The Godfather, Star Wars American Graffiti, Easy Rider and Pulp Fiction insist on creating remakes when we have our own unique take on the world?


Are Americans lazy? Are they self-centered? I know several people that won't entertain reading subtitles because they are "too much work." "Too much work" should be reserved for one's phD thesis or digging a ditch from upstate New York to Manhattan, but not because the native rhythm of language or unfamiliar landscapes jars American sensibility.


Do Americans really require a Big Mac instead of a Max Hamburgare? A Walmart instead of Gekås? A Rooney Mara instead of a Noomi Rapace? 


There's a whole world waiting out there for you America. All you have to do is open your eyes and read.