Is there a Ducati Doctor in the house?

Hi Shamrock from your pictures the bike appears to be a 1977-1978 900SS Ducati, these bikes are very difficult to find as a basket cases and of course cost money to restore but doesn't everything.
Have a look on the left hand engine mount plate near the swingarm some SS bikes still have 860 stamped there but it isn't a 860 GTS as someone mentioned earlier the swingarm pivot on those bikes are an eccentriccam and the front down tubes are rolled back.
Also 900SS Ducatis did not have matching numbered frames to engine.
Where in the world are you?? A bike like that in Australia would cost no less than $20k and well restored examples have fetched around $40k plus.
I was fortunate enough to buy a 1976 900SS last year complete but needing love and money although my bike had a recent Brook Henry engine the rest of the bike didn't realy cost as much as I thought in fact not as much as a Laverda in similar condition.
Here is a couple of pics of before and after.
M.
 

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Hi Phil, Jump on that piece.It looks mostly there and genuine.The rods being the double rib type mean they are genuine SS and the heads are desmo. Restored is is worth a big pile of cash.The problem is some of the pieces are really expensive[big end] and hard to find. Lots of pieces are shared with the 860 and a bit easier to get. Up in St Pete is Syds Cycles and a wealth of bevel knowledge and parts. Bevel Heaven is also good for parts too.

Bill
 
More pics,,

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The rear wheel was replaced and not the original.  Front is a 4777 wheel.

The exhaust pipes are laconfronis but bike probably came with contis.  Not sure 
 
Hi Chris (Silvo),

Your comparison of the 900SS with the Laverda must be a 1000 3C(L) or 1200.
750 SFCs and Ducati SSs have about the same weight, and Lav 750 frames, especially SFC, don't flex at all and are not top-heavy either.

Never ran a bevel twin in my life, in fact it is one of the very few classic bikes that I never had the pleasure to ride, so very curious how the Yellow Sport will handle and run.. Working on it now, but quite some time left before it will be ready.

Marnix
 

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Hi Marnix,

Just stirring the triple pot. Two cylinder engines are perfect. My next bike is going to be a SF twin

Shamrock,

Having LaFranconi exhausts and air boxes is interesting. These came standard on 76,77,78 SS's in Australia to get around tightening emission laws. A 79 SS I owned back then had the so called "race kit", Contis and 40 mm Dels, which came in the crate, but these were soon offered for extra money by all the dealers.

Best sources for bevel parts in the main stream world are:
http://www.mdinaitalia.co.uk/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?display=home
http://myworld.ebay.com.au/italsparesducati&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SELLERID&_trksid=p3984.m1543.l2533
http://www.oldracingspareparts.com/twin-models-3/750-900-ss-1975/

There are dozens of places that are good for the odd find but these three have most of it covered.. Ian Gowanloch is the guy who cleaned the factory out when they went belt drive and you contact him through ebay..

Bevel Heaven is a bit over rated and he sells a lot of NOS stuff that you can get anywhere. Wolfgang sells the odd Ducati part as well. I just bought a hub off him which I couldn't find in Europe.

Stop dicking us all around..........buy it and then tell us how much you got it for. Everyone loves to hear barn find stories.
 
grab it-lucky cahn-oh gowey ,s got brand new 38 mm bottom ends for 1500 bucks-stick a later 3 dog box in the bitch as well-lucky cahn
 
silvo said:
Ignore all those other die hards. None of them have ever ridden a Ducati so they don't understand what the fuss is all about. They don't realise that Ducati's handle better because the frame doesn't flex as much, they brake better because the Ducati weighs a 100 kilos lighter and they're faster on the road because they're a V twin and they're not top heavy, the motor is very responsive and gives out linear power, they have bags of torque and they get 60 to 70 miles to the gallon at illegal speeds. SS were built for racing but they make great usable every day rides.

Chris
Click to expand...

Bullshit.

 
I sold my 1977 900SS last year, and wish I had it back.....

Looks like the real deal, post the engine and frame numbers to settle it. As stated before, bottom ends tend to give up if the bike is abused (over-revved or run wide open when cold) and worn gears jump out of gear. Engine is an absolute jewell, but a real bitch to re-assemble, since a lot of shimming is involved, and of course the valve adjustments are not exactly straightforward...ignition another weak point. The stock Ducati Electronica ignition should be chucked, since it goes from none to almost 40 degrees of advance before you even clear the intersection, further, stressing the bottom end...Lucas RITA is one of the best ignitions for this bike I've found, but they are hard to find and many don't like that the reluctor takes up the rear bevel tower, so you can't have one of those neat "gear windows" on the rear tower....The PHM 40s suck a lot of air and the bike is finnicky to get to idle unless carb perfectly balanced and adjusted and timing dead on... Lastly, generator/ignition wires run in hot oil bath and tend to degrade, must be replaced....

All that being said, one of the must visceral and soul lifting bikes you can ever ride, and when one is dialed in, they are like...magic....Good luck, and whatever effort you put in will be returned in spades......
 
silvo said:
hook, line and sinker
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I'll say, you guys should know better than listen to anything Silvo says, he's just a fat old balding wino from from hicksville who needs the kickstaring exercise to get his heart beat going in the morning.

Definitely worth buying, if I can get rid of the stupid BMW clogging up my garage I've got 2 projects to work on, a similar 900ss and an SF3 in the queue, neither mine but the slacko owners are too slack to get them going so I'm going to.
 
cough, cough, cough what's that smell? Now where did I put my colostomy bag? cough, cough, cough...
 
As to the cases, on the sump[on the bottom] there should be a number stamped into each of the case halves.Can't remember if two or three digit,my SS is at a friends shop 70mi. away and can't check.
 
Shamrock said:
Okay here are the numbers  DM860SS* 087311*  DGM 137150M

Bike is $10K US
Click to expand...

That is frame no. and frame homologation no. Yes?
What is engine no.?

As Silvo stated, falls into '77 model category.
Falloon's Ducati Bible states "All US Super Sports (for 1977) came with 32mm carburettors and Lafranconi mufflers as standard equipment".

I would buy this bike for $10K. Best of luck.

Pat

 
If I remember correctly the 77 US models came with the Speed Kit packed in the crate with the bike. Mine did. I think dealers may have sold them as extras because they could.
 
Supposedly the 1977s came with 32 PHF dellortos and La Franconi mufflers installed stock. In the crate was a set of PHM40s and Conti mufflers, which most owners slapped on immediately.

Engine was apart for a reason, most likely the bottom end. The bottom end was fine on the roundcase 750s, but once the square cases came out and the output was punched to 900cc (1975 on) troubles with short bottom end life popped up (similar to what happened when Norton increased the output of their twin to 750). My 77 900SS was rebuilt by a prior owner who did a masterful job, the engine just hummed, glass smooth, no knocking, was really like a watch...I hope you can get this engine to that level.
 
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