Italian porn

Bike porn that is. Man, is this a pretty motorcycle. Ducati Elite. A friend of mine asked me come by and snap a few pics for him. He will be participating in the U. S. Motogiro in a few weeks. I knew he had this bike but for years it's been a crate of parts. Needles to say I was blown away. Ducatisti purists will do doubt note the non-original parts but this bike was made to be ridden and be reliable. Many of the parts for these are very hard to come by, especially here in the states. This example has a 250cc motor, the original Elites were 200cc bikes.
Look at that tank. These are known as "jelly mould" tanks. The styling is not for everyone but in my opinion the Ducati jelly mould and the Aermacchi race tanks just scream Italian motorcycle. 1098's and Brutale's are all well and good but this is a timeless classic.
I made those motor-mounts. Not as pretty as some I have made but you cant go wrong with engine-turning.

All photos by the author

The "gear gazer" allows you to see the bevel gears that drive the overhead cam while they are spinning. And more importantly, allow you to see the oil splashing. My buddy Bill made this one. The clutch has been upgraded to work a bit smoother and have less pull. That cable mount was added to facilitate this. Either my Dad made that or our friend Nick did, I can't remember. SS carb with velocity stack, no idle circuit.