Hi guys In 1983 i read an article called "ducati, the ferrari of bikes" i was 11 and the article was about the pantah. I've been wanting one since. About 2 years ago a friend located an alazzura in a field. The owner gave it away with a promise to get a ride when it will be restored. Its a 87 model and here its entitled to collectors plates once it hits 30, so now is the time to start! I have worked on many cars, but never on a bike... The bike is totally complete, looks to be in good condition and was put aside due to the owners bad back...that was about 15 years ago. I gues doing calipers, masters, hoses, carbs, fuel system is obvious. The question is what i do with all running gear. Do i have to take it all apart?...or is there a procedure i can follow to diagnose weather i can try to start it, maybe with flush?... I will greatly appriciate any help. Its a very rare bike here, no parts available other then on the net, and my knowladge is not about bikes. I will still do it if its essential and pray really hard... Any help with tech articles, advice, parts and procedures, and whatever you guys can think if will be GREATLY appriciated! Thanks Eitan
Hi Eitan, I cant help with anything mechanical as I have the spannering ability of a kitchen table but I did buy a pantah in 1983 and kept it until 2 years ago when various sports injuries made it too painful to ride Is it the 650 you have ? Good luck with it all and there are posters on here who will be able to help with things on the technical side I`m sure.
Do you know how long its been standing? If it turns over by hand I would change oil(10w40 fully synth)and filter, fit new belts and see if it fires up. Carbs will probably need stripping and cleaning and the valve shims will need checking in near future too. Then there's forks, wheels swingarm, brakes and clutch to check/service. Good luck with it, pics and a thread on progress would be nice. Are you thinking of keeping it original or building a special?
Ah, memories... Alan Cathcart said of this in 1984, "will be the only way to get a Ducati engine bike in the future"... Congrats & welcome potentially a great bike. I had one of the 1st few in the uk, (polished engine cases not later black painted), I had this for 5 years, used it all year around, club raced it, loved it, did require a fair bit of TLS as you can imagine, fitted larger forks brakes etc. Mainshaft snapped after 750 conversion! belt pulleys were different material to Pantahs & expanded more when hot so required belts to be set quite loose when cold. Will dig out some photos. Cheers
had one of these 15 years ago back in NZ (sold it to buy my ticket to the uk) although in my mind the fairings and bolt on bits were pig ugly it was a great bike. I butchered it a bit , dispensing of the fairings and basically anything that could be removed while still keeping it usable (including the stand). probably shaved 15 kg off it and with the addition of rear sets and clip ons it was sweet handling surprisingly quick bike. will try and find a pic good luck with the rebuild mate
Chizel, Interesting, apparently mine was exported to NZ in 1990 by a chap called Ken Livingtone of NZ!
Thanks for all the answers! The bike is a 1987 650 cc. The bike was stored outside for many years but as i recal, when i got it about 2 years ago, the engine turned freely. i didnt try it now as i prefer to first put some wd40 in the cylinders, to remove the spark plugs, to remove the oil and examine it, and then to try and spin it gently, not to damage the cylinders. I think i will remove every cover, examine if there is any rust on the moving parts, oil whatever i can, put some stuff such as STP MOA in the new oil and filter, and then maybe try to start. sounds logical? I am not worried about everything there is to do on the bike, it shouldt be that difficult, but the engine...this is another story. my experience sais "dont you mess with Italians" thats from alfa romeos...so i really want to learn if this can be done.... Thanks again, pictures- after the weekend
the one I had was an 87 if I recall correctly. Cant remember what the log book said as to its history but it was the only one I ever saw in the 5 years of knowing the bike ( a bud owned it before me) so not common at all in NZ.
one thing it did have was a custom 2 into one exhaust but I wouldn't know if that was done in NZ or before it was imported..
sorry for the slight thread jack! Please do post pics of restore and lots of em! We love that stuff! Although I done a fair bit of work to my old one, my technical knowledge is pretty much zip. But there is plenty of bods on here that can help as and when you need it im sure.
