1980 Ducati Darmah - I Bought It!

[Bishamon]

Congrats!  She's a beauty!

[yamifixer]

congrats, great looking bike.

[fastwin]

Makes me wish my '82 Hailwood Rep ran. It needs to go to someone who will spend the coin to make her right.

[LA]

Well congratulations!

I haven't seen this thread in a while, but I did see where someone said they handle like battle ships or something.  It's not a sissy's bike.  You can make one that is well prepared handle quite well, but it takes a certain amount of "commitment" from a competent pilot.  They will go where you point them, but it does take some forethought.

Hell, it's worth a lot ($) as pure art.  And it IS Italian art - I bet Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci would approve. Hang in on the wall if you can't keep it running.

LA 

[garryc]

Lots of great bevel info at
Bevelheaven.com
aussie flavour beveldom at "bevelducati.proboards.com"

The motto of QLD AUS bevel and Bullshit Rally
"The bevel made me do it"

[Travman]

Nice!  You need a knee down to turn it though, right?  Does it have 40's or 36's? K&N's? Whatever..., I'm sure Donnie has it running just great!

The carbs are 32's with conical K&N's and the mufflers are Contis.  The smaller carbs gave the SD a lot of low-end punch, not as much top end.  If I was to change to the larger 40mm Dell Ortos it would also probably need the larger intakes too.  I'm going to leave it the way it is for now.  It is a very civilized and pleasant motorcycle compared to some other vintage bikes I've ridden.  The seat is nice too.  I rode three hours yesterday with no breaks and no complaints.  It is probably 100 lbs heavier than lighter bikes like my Monster or even a Norton Commando.  It has a wheelbase of 61 inches and I think the steering head rake is something like 31 degrees so it is not a sport bike.  So it does take a little more effort to turn than a sport bike, but any comparisons to steering like a battleship are greatly exagerated. It is nice and stable when leaned over and ridden at 7/10ths on backroads it feels great. 

Oh and the stiff clutch is not even a slight issue.  It really isn't that stiff after all.  I never notice it.  Side stand is easy for me too.  I won't need to find a kickstand after all.   

Thanks for the congratulations from everybody. 

[ducatiz]

Thanks for the congratulations from everybody. 

scru u and the kangaroo you hopped in on

[Travman]

scru u and the kangaroo you hopped in on

Keep it up and you won't get invited into my new Ducati Darmah owners club.   

[Curmudgeon]

Thanks. Sounds good! If it's running well with the 32's and conical K&N's, it's been jetted accordingly if it's nice and crisp. Those conicals flow, so I'd agree, you'd likely need larger valves to make good use of 40's. Enjoy the character of the Darmah as is then. Had a 900 SS, so never rode a Darmah myself. My 600 SL steered like a bicycle compared to my SS. 

As for steering, the wheelbase is pretty long too to match the head angle. With an SS it could be a struggle to change direction and you had to think ahead. The euro bar on this bike probably gives you a lot more leverage than the clip-ons on the SS. Tires today are also possibly greatly improved. Sport Demons on yours?

[ducatiz]

Keep it up and you won't get invited into my new Ducati Darmah owners club.   

i'm just jealous.

mine isn't running.. bad coil.  no time.