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Nope, me neither. Well, I've never seen another one that I can remember. This is a 1964 Ducati Falcon 50. This particular bike belongs to a friend who I conned into letting me restore it. I've never done a restoration before so this will be a great learning experience. Because it's not mine I won't be too tempted to make it something it's not. This cute little guy is a 50cc two stroke street bike that is suprisingly original. The only thing missing that I can see from a cursory inspection is the speedometer. It's really small. The tires are 18 x 1.50. I've seen fatter bicycle tires. I have very little information on this little gem but by the time I'm done I'll probably be an expert on Falcon 50's. I've been interested in Duc's for as long as I can remember. I've owned one and my Dad's had a few so this is going to be cool. Just think, someone saved all thier Leave it to Beaver paper route cash so they could plop down some dough and ride home on thier brand-new Eye-talian motorcycle. Warm summers buzzing through the Michigan backroads on a little red and silver bumblebee pretending to be boy racer. Quite cool, no? If anyone has any info on one of these or a line on parts please leave a comment.
10 comments:
That's a sweet little bike! I'll get into google mode and see what I can find for you. You'll want to own it when you're thru with it. I know you.
Very cool (I have a soft spot for Ducatis myself - I came very very close to buying a Mike Hailwood replica a few years ago) but I don't envy what you're in for to source parts for it...
Grumpy is right. This will be like being a foster parent. When the real dad shows up to take it home, it will be a sad, sad, sad day. However, I am sure it will be much better off having lived with you.
That restoration would make a fine ongoing piece for ther magazine man. What cha think?
Oh, Duh! I didn't even think about writing it up for the magazine. That's a great idea.
As for giving it back, we'll see in time won't we?
You have to give it back. But you might have to keep it two or three years just to make sure everything is broken in good and proper.
A co-worker of mine just went to pick up his new Sporty today. He was pissed because he had gone to three dealers and they wouldn't give him the time of day. He was at one dealership and they kept saying they'd be right with him. Then he said some suit and tie and his lady came in and the sales staff was all over them. Steve was so pissed he took his wad of cash down the road. He's been riding Honda's for years and decided to move over to Harley. He already now has the FTF attitude from his treatment.
(A note about Steve is that he may not look or act like he has money but he's pretty well off. After all, he and his family own the company I work for that make aircraft parts.)
I'd just bet that Steve is still out in the garage tonight with his new bike. Hell, he'll probably sleep out there tonight too. LOL
My very first bike was a blue Falcon 50. What a feeling of freedom! Traumatized my Mom a couple of times when I took her vacuum cleaner extension to make a perfect straight pipe! Could never keep spark plugs from fouling until someone suggested I try an AC LawnMower Plug. Worked great (even tho AC chose to make it green in color). Great memories ... would like to have a Falcon again for some irrational reason.
I have one of these, but it is 67’. I purchased it back in 2oo1 from a guy who noticed my Ducati screen saver at work. He had bought it for his son, to use during the summer to get to the golf course where he was a caddy. It sat since his son left for college back in 1982. It was kept in his garage under some old living room carpet. It is in great condition besides some surface rust on the rims from a damp floor. The tires still had some factory air in them!
This gentleman was retired (living on social security), looking to see what he could get for it. I offered him a fair price and took it home. In the trunk it had a wire brush and a spark plug wrench, which I assume originally came with the bike. After dumping some Mystery oil down the cylinder, cleaning up the carburetor, putting a fuel filter on the line and some fresh fuel (32:1) it started up.
It doesn’t have much compression anymore, but I can get pop started. It draws a crowd, I use it to get around at Road America during the AMA races. I have been offered as much as $900, but just couldn’t let it go.
Nice to see one of these little guys again. I'm 63 and I bought one of these new in Dayton, Ohio when I was about 16. I was on Cloud 9. It was my first bike. When much younger I longed for a Moped but was too young. the Falcon was medium blue and had painted grey fenders. I had many fun miles on that thing. Yes, I took my first real "date" for a ride on that thing. We ended up in a barn as I remember. :-) I used to ride around with a kid who had a brand new Honda 50. Now that was a sweet little ride and much better built than the Falcon, but I still loved her. I sold the bike just before entering the Air Force in '70, and it was still running well at the time. It was also in pristine condition although I do remember chopping off about 2" of the front fender to "sporterize" her. I did have a major problem with it once. I used to run it so hard (it maxed out at about 50mph)that the thing reached the point that it would not idle. Being a brave lad, and familiar with model airplane engines (just a smaller version of this motor really),I tore into it and found the connecting rod shaped like the letter "S" (I remember "popping the clutch" on her a lot). As I recall there did not seem to be piston scuffing or ring damage so I bought a new rod from a local Ducati dealer. Seems like I had to have a car dealer press the wrist pin into the piston. The whole fix cost me about $18 and I was on my way again. Of course a few years later I stepped up to a Honda 100 and that lasted me through my 4 Air Force years at Myrtle Beach, SC. That's about it. Thanks for allowing me to relive those great times......and YES, I bought the bike with paper route money!
Ted
Ohio
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