DS1000SS Nekkid Roadster Build

[Wzed]

On Tuesday, I dropped the S2R triple assembly off at Ducati of Winchester for Donnie Unger to commence with the steering stem replacement.  

I'm curious what your experience with them will be.  If it's anything like mine, it will be months before you see that triple.  Those guys are sloooow, and Donnie's pretty rude.

[Nekkid Tim]

Well, I'll let you know.

I expect that my experience will be pretty good; I've known Donnie since I first raced against him in 1998, long before he opened his Ducati franchise.  He built the engine in my S4Rs, and that turned out well.  He sponsored my 2008 AMA Moto-ST endurance racing team Screamin' Duc Racing and built a couple of nationally competetive Ducati 800SS racebikes for the team, traveled with us and wrenched for us at his own expense, and we had an awful lot of fun racing as real old guys.  He just finished modifying the frame of this project bike to accept an alloy 916 monoposto subframe; did a nice job and turned it around quickly and at about 1/4 the price of the last frame I had similarly modified by someone else.

So I'm cautiously optimistic.

Also, picked up a set of late model 848 grips for the project while I was up there.

[Wzed]

Well, I'll let you know.

I expect that my experience will be pretty good; I've known Donnie since I first raced against him in 1998, long before he opened his Ducati franchise.  He built the engine in my S4Rs, and that turned out well.  He sponsored my 2008 AMA Moto-ST endurance racing team Screamin' Duc Racing and built a couple of nationally competetive Ducati 800SS racebikes for the team, traveled with us and wrenched for us at his own expense, and we had an awful lot of fun racing as real old guys.  He just finished modifying the frame of this project bike to accept an alloy 916 monoposto subframe; did a nice job and turned it around quickly and at about 1/4 the price of the last frame I had similarly modified by someone else.

So I'm cautiously optimistic.

Also, picked up a set of late model 848 grips for the project while I was up there.

I guess with that shop it helps to know the owner, or maybe you need to be a race buddy to be treated like a customer. Because when I brought Duc Pond Motorsports work that should have taken a couple of weeks, it took them a couple of months, with mistake after mistake, delay after delay, and excuse after excuse.  Maybe I got the B team.  When I wrote Donnie about it, he sent me a nasty email, which is a strange thing to do to someone who's paying you thousands and thousands of dollars.  Then they delivered the bike with faults in the electrics that weren't there before and three blown fuses (guess they didn't bother to check if it actually ran before it left the shop).  At that point, I didn't even bother to contact them again - I just took it someplace else. 

So yeah, hope you have better experience than I did.  Sorry for thread jack.

[Nekkid Tim]

I guess with that shop it helps to know the owner, or maybe you need to be a race buddy to be treated like a customer. Because when I brought Duc Pond Motorsports work that should have taken a couple of weeks, it took them a couple of months, with mistake after mistake, delay after delay, and excuse after excuse.  Maybe I got the B team.  When I wrote Donnie about it, he sent me a nasty email, which is a strange thing to do to someone who's paying you thousands and thousands of dollars.  Then they delivered the bike with faults in the electrics that weren't there before and three blown fuses (guess they didn't bother to check if it actually ran before it left the shop).  At that point, I didn't even bother to contact them again - I just took it someplace else.  

So yeah, hope you have better experience than I did.  Sorry for thread jack.

Hey, no problem.  Everyone has different experiences.    Sorry your experience wasn't as positive as mine have been.

And no - I know many people who do not know the owner personally, and were not "race buddies" of the owner who have also had positive experiences like I did.

[Rudemouthsky]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171510743060?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Love me the "gum" grips.

[Nekkid Tim]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171510743060?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Love me the "gum" grips.

Love those; had a pair on my original 1973 Ducati 750GT back in the day!

[Lars D]

Are you back from
Daytona yet?

[Nekkid Tim]

Are you back from
Daytona yet?

I'm back, but haven't started work on the project again - busy with the garage build!!!

[Nekkid Tim]

When I got back from Daytona late Sunday; the modified triple clamp was waiting for me.  It's been a hectic first week back, but I found a little time to install the triple and the forks:

[Wzed]

When I got back from Daytona late Sunday; the modified triple clamp that Donnie Unger of Ducpond Racing (Winchester Ducati in Virginia) had completed was waiting for me.  It's been a hectic first week back, but I found a little time to install the triple and the forks:


Untitled by s4rsrider, on Flickr

Hey, who made that?  Was it Donnie Unger of DucPond Motorsports in Winchester?  What's the address and telephone number?  Do they have a website?  

With as much as you plug that guy, he should be a paid sponsor.  Was that the deal?  You start a thread to tell everyone about Donnie Unger of Ducpond Motorsports of Winchester Virginia, and he cuts you a deal on the work he did? 

Btw, I'm not the only person on this board who has had problems with Donnie Unger of DucPond Motorsports / Ducati of Winchester, Virginia. Anyone reading this thinly-veiled ad for that guy should beware of him and his shop.  

[ducpainter]

I'm sad to see this thread take this tact.

You need to take it to pm or this will be gone.

Wzed... stop stirring the pot.

You've made your point.

Tim...enough about Donnie. I hear he can be a dick.

[Wzed]

I'm sad to see this thread take this tact.

You need to take it to pm or this will be gone.

Wzed... stop stirring the pot.

You've made your point.

Tim...enough about Donnie. I hear he can be a dick.

Understood - sorry.  It just seemed like he was using the forum to promote a place that I and other members have had real problems with.  At the very least, he was antagonizing. 

[Nekkid Tim]

I'm sad to see this thread take this tact.

You need to take it to pm or this will be gone.

Wzed... stop stirring the pot.

You've made your point.

Tim...enough about Donnie. I hear he can be a dick.

Gotcha.  Thanks for the heads-up.  Sorry I started the thread, and I apologize to the many members who were offended by my comments.

[ducpainter]

Since you deleted all your content from the thread it seems pretty useless.

[Lars D]

I was really enjoying watching this bike come together.

Hope you can post the finished bike.

Perhaps he was just giving credit where credit was due.