RESTORING RACING PEDIGREE from the ISle Of Man

We recently finished the restoration of this very remarkable Ducati 900 Super Sport. This time not to original specifications, but rather recreating the racing bike that was build back in 1978.

A BIKE WITH A STORY

This Ducati 900 Super Sport originally is one of the few black & gold models that were made exclusively for the UK market in 1978, before the regular production model in these colours were introduced at the end of that year to the rest of the world. It was delivered to Sports Motorcycles of Steve Wynne who was the main force behind Mike Hailwood’s success at the Isle of Man TT in the same year.

We are not 100% for whom or when exactly, but what we do know is that the original 900 Super Sport was converted into a racing bike by Sports Motorcycles around 1978-79 to compete in the Isle of Man TT as a privateer. Many conversions were done to the bike: the cylinder heads were sent to NCR in Bologna for tuning, including a twin-spark ignition system. The frame was reinforced around the headstock and a new swingarm was fitted with longer suspension travel, along with a set of Öhlins rear shocks. An aluminium long-range fuel tank was fitted along with a racing seat and a very nice set of wider Campagnolo wheels were fitted. Many other changes and improvements were done in the process of building a IoM racing bike. You can see this project was taken seriously!

ENDING UP AT BACK TO CLASSICS

The bike eventually came in the hands of our client who raced this bike extensively in the 1980’s and early 90’s. It ended up in his shed where it was parked for around 20 years, virtually untouched in the meantime. He then decided to have the bike brought back to its former glory.

We started out with the frame, chassis and bodywork making sure the bike took on its original shape and all was straight and in order. The frame was measured carefully and straightened and the magnesium Campagnolo’s were x-rayed and strength tested to make sure these were up to the job. A new 2 into 1 exhaust system was custom made and test-fitted.

Because the bike still had it’s original UK registration, our client also wanted to at least be able to use the bike on the road. In order to make it road legal, a number of changes were made to original design while staying as close to a full-purpose racing bike as possible. A bolt-on side stand was created, a single Motogadget rev-counter with digital speedometer read-out was fitted along with a tiny horn and lighting. We took extra care in making sure the true racing pedigree was not lost.

Next was the engine rebuild. It was clear to us that the bike had spent a lot of time on the race track and many parts needed extra attention and in some cases replacement. The crankshaft was rebuild with a new set of Carrillo con-rods. A new gearbox was fitted and the fitted Veolia pistons could be fitted to a new set of liners that were bored and honed to the correct clearance. The cylinder heads were rebuild and further tuned and flowed.

For the ignition we chose a system that was both suitable for twin-spark as well as starting with a kick-starter. The external oil system included an oil cooler which were also restored and new oil lines were made to complete it.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOSHOOT

With the bike now ready, we took it to our house-photographer Ernst Klip who made these beautifull pictures in his studio. The bike was also featured on BikeEXIF, you can read the full article here.