Luckyed
New member
- Location
- Oregon, USA
Posted previously introducing myself with a photo of my first SF2 from the 1970s. Here I am again with some pics of my second one, recently acquired 45 odd years later! There‘s a couple on the registry within a few digits of mine on the VIN, which place it in the earliest production of the SF2 series, late 1973. The ID plate is stamped “Decembre” but no year. It’s also fitted with 35mm forks, with which, as I learned on this forum, some of the earliest ones were fitted. I didn’t realize that at the time of purchase, but it wouldn’t have made any difference. I would have bought it anyway. I just haven’t run across that many in 5 years of looking. Not quite original: It has the adjustable bars stamped “Brevattato“. It’s been repainted what looks to be a fair approximation of the original color, judging from the color inside the side covers and under the tank. It came with fairly nice versions of the “”Dunstall” type silencers, which I removed and replaced with a set of the Conti “Laverda” replicas shown in the photo. The Conti production quality seems quite good I would say. I found a pair with a “Summer Sale Price” of 450 euros plus shipping from an outfit out of San Marino calling themselves “Ducati Vintage”. There’s a 530 o-ring chain that’s grinding off some of the case where it runs onto the countershaft sprocket. The monoposto seat is gloss black, which looks pretty good, IMO, but is likely a reproduction. The bike came with the original 2 up seat in decent condition along with some spares, 2 new point sets and condensers, new clutch and throttle cables (already installed the throttle cable), strangely enough a new “banana” collector/silencer, an extra generator drive belt, and, the OEM factory luggage rack in mint condition! I‘ve got the passenger foot pegs and 2pc. chainguard removed. Put in around 15 hours taking things apart, checking condition, cleaning and polishing (all the brightwork, chrome, stainless, alloy was in great shape really) and rebuilt the carbs. Checked valve clearance, right cylinder spot on, left .01mm over spec on both intake and exhaust, so not too bad. Replaced 20 year old tires and did the first thorough test ride of 70 miles or so the other day. Fueling and throttle response seemed excellent. But there’s a few technicalities naturally that I’ll be seeking info on over in the “technical” section. I have 4 other bikes, 3 of which are “vintage”, and do just about all of my own work, so it’s great having forums like this one serving as storehouses for all the lore. Happy to be in the club! Hats off to the multi linguists in the group who are able to communicate clearly in English along with their native language. It’s nice to be part of something international. Further posts will be much shorter.
