1980 Ducati Darmah - I Bought It!

[ducatiz]

IMO that price seems about a grand high. but without seeing it I don't wish to poo poo it. A good friend of mine has one pretty much a twin to that with out the fairing and it is his baby.

Love riding behind him and hearing those contis at a low growl.

The price of bevels has gone up a lot in the last 3-4 years. 

Good condition machines are selling for a lot. 

[Travman]

KBB says $7280.

http://www.kbb.com/motorcycle/retail/1980/ducati/darmah-ss/67052/?r=189024061340193340#survey

Other than the lack of a sidestand, the negatives you listed sound par for the course.
There may be some tweaks to ease the clutch pull, and improve the neutral-finding, but it may be as good as it can be already....

Looks pretty nice for an old crock.  

The negatives really weren't bad. Especially the clutch pull. It couldn't have been too bad because I kept it pulled in at the lights the entire time and that wasn't a struggle.

I like to use KBB, but I'm just not sure it how well it works for older bikes. For example, an excellent condition 1975 Honda CB550 is listed at just over $900.  A 1972 Norton Commando is listed at approximately $5,000. Both of those example aren't very realistic.

I did make a counter offer. We'll see what happens.

[Travman]

Thanks for all the advice guys.  If I get this bike I'll definitely use it.

Those are Contis on there.  The carbs are the stock 32 mm carbs.

Ducatiz, let's see your Darmah SS.  I'd love to see it.

[Speeddog]

Dunno the real-world validity of KBB.
I'm not really plugged-in on used bike value.

The bevels are a PITA to do valve adjust on.
You can't remove the belts to disconnect the cams from the crank, and the opener rockers don't have clips, so the shafts have to be pulled to get the openers out of the way to swap shims.

Ride it 100 miles twice a month, get the valves done every 2 years....

[ducatiz]

Those are Contis on there.  The carbs are the stock 32 mm carbs.

Ducatiz, let's see your Darmah SS.  I'd love to see it.

You'll need to put 40mm carbs on it to really get everything out of it.
This is when I got the bike.  It's currently partially disassembled as I am working out an electrical issue. 

Savvy viewers will notice the owner put an SD front end on it.  I have the original triple and clipons, but he was 65 and wanted to sit upright.  The higher bars hit the fairing .



iron floaters (280mm)

The bane of old Ducatis:  Italian/German/Japanese electrics.  Bosch CDI boxes, Nippodenso coils, Italian wires and design

All Darmahs will say "900SD" on them.  They used the same frames

See that thin ceramic thing?  That's part of the coil.  They break and you are F***Ked because you can't get the coils.  Just buy some Dynacoils and call it a day.

Konis (which are rebuildable, thank God)

Dunno the real-world validity of KBB.
I'm not really plugged-in on used bike value.

The bevels are a PITA to do valve adjust on.
You can't remove the belts to disconnect the cams from the crank, and the opener rockers don't have clips, so the shafts have to be pulled to get the openers out of the way to swap shims.

It's not THAT bad and you can modify the opener if you want to use the clips.  You just have to  chop off the sides of the shaft and grind it flat.  That's it.  Ed Milich does it for Pantahs.

Otherwise, you have to take the opener shaft out with a tool.

Ride it 100 miles twice a month, get the valves done every 2 years....

I put MBP collets in mine...  I checked the openers last year and they were still perfect after 4(?) years?

[The Don]

That's a nice looking machine, just out of curiosity, did the SS originally come in that colour? 

[ducatiz]

That's a nice looking machine, just out of curiosity, did the SS originally come in that colour? 

Yes, it's an original color for 1980 only.  However, the bike was in fact repainted at some point but from what I can tell (I had a painter look at it) they stripped it to the metal/primer to do it.

Original:

[Curmudgeon]

You'll need to put 40mm carbs on it to really get everything out of it.
This is when I got the bike.  It's currently partially disassembled as I am working out an electrical issue. 

Savvy viewers will notice the owner put an SD front end on it.  I have the original triple and clipons, but he was 65 and wanted to sit upright.  The higher bars hit the fairing .

The bane of old Ducatis:  Italian/German/Japanese electrics.  Bosch CDI boxes, Nippodenso coils, Italian wires and design

All Darmahs will say "900SD" on them.  They used the same frames

It's not THAT bad and you can modify the opener if you want to use the clips.  You just have to  chop off the sides of the shaft and grind it flat.  That's it.  Ed Milich does it for Pantahs.

Otherwise, you have to take the opener shaft out with a tool.

I put MBP collets in mine...  I checked the openers last year and they were still perfect after 4(?) years?

If you get bored..., and/or hit the lottery..., you could always do this with it!



http://www.bevelheaven.com/~BB/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=&sid=35401f300162388ee65b1ccdc3d17777

[imaspecialparts]

I always think the black and gold paint scheme is beautiful.   if you purchased the bike, may you have many miles of memories!

[Preisker]

It's worth whatever it is you are willing to pay for it.   Motorcycles are not an investment, other than a Bernard Madoff type of one.   If you like it, buy it.   If it makes you happy, what is it worth then?    I think it's kind of neat.   I wouldn't mind having it. 

[77south]

These are a vanishing commodity and getting rarer every day.  If you think you can get a better deal somewhere else, you could wait, but then it will always be the one that got away.  The previous poster is right.  It is worth only what you want to pay.  People who don't understand will always tell you you paid too much.  People who do understand would pay lots more.  If you won't be happy unless you have it, you should get it.  Or you could pay twice as much and get a brand new 1199, and make someone else have this problem when you sell it in 30 years. 

[ducatiz]

It's worth whatever it is you are willing to pay for it.   Motorcycles are not an investment, other than a Bernard Madoff type of one.   If you like it, buy it.   If it makes you happy, what is it worth then?    I think it's kind of neat.   I wouldn't mind having it. 

Yes and no.

If you're a bona fide collector, then yes, a bike can be an investment if you know how to do it.  If this is a bike you're going to ride and enjoy, then the investment is your time and the return is your enjoyment.  You may or may not cash in later, but the amount will be far less than if you restored it to showroom condition and displayed it.

There is a limited market for bikes in the US.  That's why you see the same people over and over at all the meetups.

[imaspecialparts]

Yes, yes!  There are investment worthy motorcycles - a well restored 750SS green frame, round case - fetches more than 80,000 €!

[Cloner]

A square case SS moved for $17k at an auction in Las Vegas this weekend.  Bevel drive twins are doing nothing but going up in price.....except for the 860 GT, mostly 'cause it's ugly like a man's ass. 

The price is reasonable for a Darmah in good order.....and that one appears to be in good order.

My 2 cents,

Cloner
ABQ, NM

FWIW...a similar bike (I think it was an '81) showed up on Craigslist Houston a couple of weeks ago for $6k, if memory serves correctly.

[LA]

Buy it!  One reason those old bev. drvs. are worth a lot is because they cost a fortune to refurb.  I've said for years that I'd redo my old 80 Black and Gold SS that I bought new in Spring of 79 if I made it to 60 years old.  Well I'm there and I still can't afford it.

Those Darmahs were nice, but bevel drive Ducatis are NOT suppose to have e-start.  They are ridiculously easy to start.

They do require 40mm Dellothors and Contis and K&N's to be what the factory intended by design, much as an S4RS is a POS with stock pipes and chocked down fueling and gearing (IMHO) .

(hey Cloner)

LA