A letter to the editor

Back in late ‘67/early ‘68 I bought a Ducati 250 Mark 3 from your family’s motorcycle shop (Scaysbrook’s Motorcycles) out at Sylvania. That little Duke was a beautiful bike, but alas, it was plagued by electrical issues. It was a bloody lottery as to whether it would start or not. Your dad’s shop had a few shots at sorting it, along with the boys at Frasers; unfortunately to no avail, and in the end I finished up selling it for the proverbial ‘song’. Naturally, I could kick myself now. And hard. I realise that this is an extremely odd question, but do you have any idea what the price might have been please? Warren Delbridge

I don’t have the exact price for the Mach 3 but I reckon it was around $750, which was expensive for a 250 given that a Bultaco Metralla cost $642, a Montesa Scorpion $650, Honda CB450 $850, and a Suzuki Cobra 500 $845. I was keen on the Mach 3 too but couldn’t afford one and had to settle for a 250 Ducati Scrambler, which turned out to be a fairly disappointing bike with rotten electrics.