The Cw Library
THE CW LIBRARY
Ducati Belt-Drive Two-Valve Twins Restoration and Modification
IAN FALLOON IS A MAN WHO NOWS HIS DUCATIS. I'VE only been to the factory in Italy a few times, but every time I've been there, so has Ian, researching another book.
The title of his latest offering isn’t as intriguing as his previous work, The Ducati Story, but considering that the book provides a detailed technical examination of every belt-drive, two-valve Ducati to date, it’s an invaluable source of information.
Predictably, chapter one documents Ingegnere Fabio Taglioni’s development of the 1979 Pantah 500, but the book doesn’t start there. Instead, Falloon pays homage to the 500cc Grand Prix racer of 1970-73, which in its various iterations displayed such innovations as belt-driven dohc and direct-injection.
Subsequent chap-
ters discuss each generation of the assorted Ducati “families,” with plenty of black-and-white photos and sidebars detailing proven modifications. Even low-volume production racers such as the TT 1 and TT2 and Ducatipowered Bimotas rate mention. The final two chapters cover general engine and chassis modifications, and an 18-page appendix includes specifications and production figures for each model.
As the owner of an Alazzurra and an Elefant, I eagerly devoured the chapter on “The Cagiva Ducatis,” and found a few faux pas. The main text states that, “All 650 Alazzurras had a new hydraulically operated dry clutch,” but a caption beneath a photo of my old racebike acknowledges that it “started life as a 1985 wet-clutch 650.” Dry clutches didn’t arrive until the following year’s introduction of the full-fairing 650SS. Another sentence states that Elefants had plastic fuel tanks, but the one on my bike is steel!
I can forgive the author these trespasses; after all, Cagivas are a bit peripheral to the subject matter. But I also own a Ducati ST2, and had a hard time overlooking the caption that erroneously suggests that bike wears an aluminum swingarm, whereas the text correctly states it’s made of steel.
In his preface, Falloon acknowledges the difficulty he had determining what is accurate. Even factory literature, he’s found, is fraught with errors. So give him credit for sifting through the misinformation to produce an interesting, informative, eminently useful tome that while not perfect, is probably as close as anyone will ever get. -Brian Catterson
Ducati Belt-Drive Two-Valve Twins Restoration and Modification, Ian Falloon, 224 pages, $30; MB I, 729 Prospect Ave., Osceola, Wl 54020; 800/826-6600; www.motorbooks.com
Joey, 1952-2000
EVER SEEN OLD YELLER? KNOWING THAT THE LOVABLE mutt dies in the end doesn't make it any less tearful, `does it? The same can be said of Joey, 1952-2000, a touching new video chronicling the life of roadracer Joey Dunlop. Only in this case, it’s Old Yellow Helmet who dies in the end.
Most roadracing fans know Dunlop’s story. A product of working-class Ireland, he honed his talents on the public-road circuits of his homeland before venturing to the fabled Isle of Man, where he won a record 26 TTs-three of which came last year at the ripe old age of 48. But more impressively, Dunlop achieved this while remaining, by all accounts, a modest family man who simply enjoyed riding motorbikes fast.
There’s much more to the story than that, however, and this Ulster Television documentary gives the viewer insight that could never be gleaned from a book. Witness the faded footage of a long-haired Dunlop smiling with the three other members of the Armoy Armada, all but one of whom perished in racing accidents. Or the early action from the Island showing Joey riding.. .what, a Yamaha TZ750?!
Great sounds, though.
There are, of course, the obligatory on-bike scenes from V-Four Victory, shot the first time Dunlop rode a Honda RVF750 at the Island in 1983. And there’s intriguing imagery from the ’85 TT, when the fishing boat transporting Dunlop’s bikes across the Irish Sea sank, necessitating a salvage mission-in more ways than one! Joey won three races that year, too.
Dunlop’s humanitarian side also comes into focus, as we watch him embark on one of his one-man relief missions to war-torn countries, and then accompany him to Buckingham Palace to be recognized by the Queen.
Then, all of a sudden, the video cuts to the TV news broadcast announcing Dunlop’s death at a race in Estonia on July 2,2000. This is duly followed by coverage of his funeral, a state affair in all but name, attended by some 50,000 mourners. The Reverend John Kirkpatrick delivers a heartrending eulogy, and by the time Dunlop’s daughter Donna begins reciting her poem, “To Daddy,” even the most stiff-lipped viewer will be choking back the tears, wondering how he could be so affected by the death of a man he didn’t even know.
If you’re not a Joey Dunlop fan when this video begins, you will be by the time it ends. I promisQ.-Brian Catterson
Joey, 1952-2000, 105 minutes, $30; Haimar Video, P.0. Box 474, Lewiston, NY 14092; 905/356-6865; www.niagara.com/-halmar/videos/
