Ss Ducati In A Box
SS DUCATI IN A BOX
CAN'T WAIT FOR THE official Ducati SportClassics due
out this fall? Consider this tasty alternative.
England’s Baines
Racing takes a modem Ducati V-Twin engine and combines it
with a new purpose-built
frame, swingarm and
bodywork to create a bike 1
that looks like a 1970s
bevel-drive Duc, but with all the benefits of the modem belt-drive two-valver.
The approximately $7000 kit (at the current exchange rate) consists of a new trellis frame, steel swingarm, shocks, headlight, footpegs, Conti replica exhausts, clip-ons and bodywork. What you bring to the table is a 620, 750 or 900 Supersport donor bike, from which you take the front end, wheels, electrical gear and, of course, the powerplant. Add your labor and bam! instant new/old Ducati. Okay, not instant, but you get the idea. Baines Racing (www.
bainesracing.com), based at the Silverstone circuit, will also build one for you at a price, but shipping the kit over here is much cheaper and simpler than to do so with a completed bike.
It’s been said Ducati has tried to mimic HarleyDavidson’s successful business model. If this “clone” is any indication, the Bologna brand may be succeeding! Mark Hoyer
