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Monza Rebuild 2005

Rebuilding a Classic Ducati Monza, by Jon

The bike was bought 1 may 2004 and it was a bit of a mess. The engine had been removed by a previous owner and the chap that I had bought it from had swapped it for a cd175. He had a few plans to rebuild it but had decided later to sell due to lack of space. When I first saw it I was not sure, but a fter careful inspection I saw that there was little damage, but lots of surface rust and grime. He said the timing was out...(the least of my problems).

I checked to make sure all parts were there and did the deal. I had not heard of this model mutch over here, and thereafter started to do the research. This took ages! ebay was a big boost as trying to locate parts for these is very difficult. The bike was made in 1967 and was sold new in july 1970 at a dealership in Ayr. The japanese bikes put a big stop to the more expensive european machines at the time, and I'm sure the dealer was glad to wave goodbye to the wee monza.

Its seems like the bike did about 10000 miles before something happened to have it laid up for a few years. An attempted revamp must have happened at some time,which ended up with the blue hammerite, botched electrics,and timing 180 degrees out. I belive it sat for about 22 years under a sheet. My model is a ducati monza junior, 3rd edition, 1967,160cc, bevel driven camshaft. So...I photographed everything...(a big must), stripped the frame and organised what was to go where...bits for the chromer, bits to repair/paint, bits to powder coat.    The wheels were dissmantled and the rims were servicable after chroming. I rebuilt with stainless spokes on a home made jig...(many hours in a cold hut). All cables and rubber bits had to be found on e-bay and took ages to collect. The wiring loom was easy to make up as there is very little to do (no indicators or other fussy electrical wisardry). All other cycle parts were prepped and painted by me and as confidence was high at that time I decided that I would also paint the tank/panels as well.

Possibly something that after all the time and effort, I would not do again. I dont think I fully apprieciated the amount of work and skill that a professional painter has to put into this and I'm certainly not a professional painter. I probably have taken five times as long to do the painting, but saying that the job is reasonable enough and I'm happyish!!? and then on to the engine... It had been sitting sulking in the corner of the workshop...with a bag over its head!!

After a full clean using mild phosphoric acid and a wire brush to remove the worst of what 38 years could accumulate, I was then ready to do a partial strip. Have heard that these motors were put together using a lot of shims and therefore did not want to dissmantle more than neccesary. The bottom end was in good shape and the barrel was just starting to show signs of seizure. A new piston, rings and hone were done and then the engine casings, barrel and head were repainted and cooked gently in my oven (the best thing to have ever come out of my oven...come to think...the only thing to have ever come out of my oven!).

After the engine rebuild, I did the timing, new points, refitted the engine into the frame, cleaned the carb, replaced worn parts, did the exhaust and the electrics. It started up on third kick and all seems fine allthough a full road test follows. I'm sure that will bring to light a few minor faults, but hopefuly nothing too serious.

Can not stress enough how ebay has allowed me to complete this project! I would never have been able to find half of the parts that i have had it not been for ebay. A total of 55 parts have been bought overseas using ebay. I even found a new old stock kickstart lever spring and ball, which replaced the ground up powder inside the pivot which was in florida. It cost 1 dollar,shipped for 5 and was here in three days. Great!! Jon.

If you have any questions about this Monza or if you need help or advice, please send your queries to Jon

Since the rebuild, Jon has appeared at the Alford Motorcycle Convention 2006 with the Monza! See Alford 2006