Proud pedigree
The term ‘racer on the road’ isn’t a misnomer for this sporty little number, built from bits but with its thoroughbred heritage clearly evident.
Like Laurel and Hardy or salt and vinegar, the names of ‘Ducati’ and ‘racing’ come in tandem. And withmy head tucked down on the tank of this month’s test subject, it took little imagination to picture myself leading the pack on Andy Rowett’s Mach 3 wide case 250cc single.
Andy will be recognised by regular readers of the magazine as I’ve featured several machines from his eclectic collection during the last two or three years, but unlike his previously tested Silk, DB32 Goldie and ex-TT 50cc Itom racer, this 1972 Duke is verymuch a ‘bitza’.
During his five decades of riding, repairing and restoring motorcycles, Andy has previously owned eight other Ducati singles in all of their various 250 to 450cc capacities – the number including a Vic Camp replica; Camp was the UK’s leading 1960s Ducati tuner and parts supplier – and in doing so has managed to accumulate plenty of spares for the fabulous Bologna machines. These were very useful when he happened to see a frame for sale at an autojumble in 2018 which, as he told me, kick-started his latest creation.
“My first motorcycle was a BSA Bantam and before I could ride it on the road, my friend Rob Selby and I used to tear around the big field at the back of the children’s home where my parents worked. To pay for the petrol, we used to charge the children one shilling for a ride. Of course the Bantam also taughtme a lot about mechanics, something which has stood me in good stead in later years when I opened my own motorcycle repair business.
“Over the last 50 years I’ve owned scores of different bikes but my two passions have been for Scotts and
Ducatis and I’m always on the lookout for various spares for the Bologna singles. I was at the Telford offroad show when I saw this wide case frame for sale and although some might think this is not a good place to start a restoration, I figured that – minus an engine – I probably had enough spares inmy workshop to build a complete bike.”
We’ll return to Andy’s restoration later but for now let’s turn the clock back to the immediate post-Second World War years and the humble beginnings of what is now one of the world’s leading motorcycle manufacturers.
Ducati in fact was founded well before the Second World War as a major manufacturer of radio equipment, but during the six years of hostilities diversified into military hardware and it wasn’t until the late 1940s, the first powered two-wheeler appeared. Following the war, transport was desperately short but some men with vision could see that there was ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ and one such man was Aldo Farinelli, whose highly innovative little engine or ‘micromotor’ perfectly filled the nation’s needs.
Carrying the name of ‘Cucciolo’ (little pup) on its petrol tank, the dinky 50cc overhead valve engine could be fitted into any pedal cycle frame and with a fuel consumption of some 300 miles on low grade fuel, it was an immediate hit. During the next five years, over 250,000 units of the ‘little pups’ rolled off the Bologna factory lines and its success spurred the company on to manufacture its first complete motorcycle, the Ducati 60, in 1950. This was followed by a technically advanced – but rather ugly – scooter named the ‘Cruiser’ along with a 98cc single and a couple of 125s, in 1952.
There is no doubt that from any angle the Ducati looks like a refugee from the race track.