Ducati Cucciolo

[pete]

Hey Pete, thought you might find this one interesting--->Jawa Speedway race bike motorcycle. 1970's

Oooh definitely Rich! I grew up going to Arherfield speedway in the early '80's and my favourite was always the speedway bikes. Mind you they were a bit different to that one by that stage, but still fun to watch for sure!

Still freaks me out they have no brakes though...

That is a very cool project, according to this -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducati_Cucciolo

they were built right after the war. I don't care where it's posted, I would like to follow along.

Thanks mate, and yeah that's it, built to bolt to your existing bicycle because noone had spare $$$ to go buying cars and motorcycles, so cheap transport was the go. You're definitely welcome to follow along

Just saw this for the first time in the "new posts" section, thought it was a new subject. DUH

Haha not quite new, but still alive and... well... just not kicking right now...

Any updates Pete?

Not yet unfortunately.

I'm stuck with budget at present but not for much longer, but the big issue is time. I need to finish the degrease of the motor and make the little blasting cabinet to try the walnut shells, and both those need daytime hours which I'm finding hard to get right at the moment.

Hopefully there'll be some updates before too long...

That's a cool assembly- maybe not authentic to the period?....if they had used some springs under that seat it could have been called "tiny bobber"!

Can't comment on authenticity, but yeah definitely were fun to watch!

When they rode across the ruts on the track at slow speed they were definitely "bobbers"... hahahahaaha

[old_skool]

Oooh definitely Rich! I grew up going to Arherfield speedway in the early '80's and my favourite was always the speedway bikes. Mind you they were a bit different to that one by that stage, but still fun to watch for sure!

Still freaks me out they have no brakes though...

That ones for sale, 2k

[pete]

That ones for sale, 2k

Aaah ok! I noticed the other week I live around the corner from a guy with a speedway outfit... they're even nuttier than the solo riders!

I'll pass on riding them...

[pete]

Well payday has passed so I should be able to pick up the blasting gear soon

Also, I'm hoping if the rain does actually clear up like they say today then there's a chance I may have some time to start the proper degreasing of the Cucciolo cases etc. which will be nice.

I'm anxious to get moving on this again...

Oh, and I found a paint scheme that's appropriate for the Malvern Star.

Most of this is hand painted but I think I could probably get decal pinstripes to do some of the fine details and stencils to do the letters.

Hand painting will be beyond me...

I can buy the two fancy Malvern Star decals on the seat tube and head stem...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclomondo/2640151023/in/set-72157606002410893

[razor02097]

That would look sweet, you doing the paint yourself Pete?

[rustybronco]

The bigger question is, will He get a real spray gun to paint with this time.

[ged]

Talking about speedway. Check Berts shop out Pete not far away for parts and a great guy to chat with.

http://www.bkperformance.com.au/aboutus.php

[pete]

That would look sweet, you doing the paint yourself Pete?

I don't know that I'll be getting it to quite that level of detail, but yep will definitely be doing it myself

The bigger question is, will He get a real spray gun to paint with this time.

Hahahahaha haven't even thought that far ahead Dale! I'm thinking enamel for the bicycle stuff this time around as that's likely what they would have used back then... I really doubt they'd have had 2 pack...

I still have that acrylic clear here too actually, and if I remember right acrylic can go over enamel is that right? Enamel can't go over acrylic though?

This is going to have to be rather low budget though... not sure if a gun will fit into that or not but I'll start hunting when I get closer to that stage...

Talking about speedway. Check Berts shop out Pete not far away for parts and a great guy to chat with.

http://www.bkperformance.com.au/aboutus.php

Yeah that's where I got my Athena gasket set from... he was good when the valve cover gasket that came with the kit was for the older 12 bolt pattern and he sent me the correct one free to replace it. Not real happy with the gaskets but that's not his fault, his service was definitely good!

I only communicated via email though so haven't chatted in person...





And on a separate note I ended up having to do some other stuff today after the Laverda show was postponed so didn't get any degreasing done... maybe next weekend...

[landshark]

Hey Pete, the pushy brand electra do a girder front end. I dont know if it will fit, but might be worth a look.

[pete]

Hey Pete, the pushy brand electra do a girder front end. I dont know if it will fit, but might be worth a look.

Cheers Tim, just had a bit of a Google and it actually seems like there's a fair few around, and some on eBay US for around the $US50 mark.

No idea if they'd fit or be suitable with 28" wheels etc. but definitely a good tip! There are some definitely aimed at the lowriders and so forth and are all shiny chrome but there should hopefully be something suitable... at that price it's certainly not out of the realm of possibilities... something of the era would be better of course but they don't turn up every day!

[landshark]

FOr $50 you can always start there until something period correct turns up.

[Mark Harrop]

eye candy...

[pete]

FOr $50 you can always start there until something period correct turns up.

Good thinkin' 99! It's definitely an option... now to find the rest of the bits

eye candy...

Cheers Mark! Eye candy indeed

That racer in the first pic took my eye the first time I saw it (Ducati museum photos I think?) but there's no way I'd be able to recreate that one...

[pete]

Ok, some minor progress at last...

Firstly, I got outbid by less than $10 on a donor ladies bike today that would've gotten me most of the bits and pieces I needed... bugger! Even had good original paintwork that I could've used as a reference. Oh well...

I did however find some Westwood 28" wheels on eBay today and have bought them but am waiting for the seller to see if they have suitable mudguards as well. They seem to be in reasonable enough shape, will just need a clean up and paint.

Anyway, I finally got the Cucciolo motor degreased today. Soaked all the bits in my Marine Clean bath for a while and spent a couple of hours scrubbing and hosing:



















The fins on the head are the real issue although they're about 1000% better than they were, and one of the pedal cranks is still caked in grime under the teeth as they're really hard to get to. That will need more attention but at least one of them is pretty clean now.

I'm pretty tempted though to leave it all as is given how well it cleaned up and not blast it... however, if I end up with a freshly painted bicycle frame it won't match up real well, so I think it's probably best I stick with the original plan.

Still haven't done anything about a blasting cabinet or anything yet, just haven't had the time. Hopefully soon!

Definitely felt good to get into it at least a little bit again today...

[pete]

Oh, I've also been scouting high and low for girder or springer forks... there are a lot around the place but they all seem to be for 20" or 26" wheels which is not helpful for 28" wheels... but I shall keep looking. I have no doubt something will turn up at some point... maybe a small vintage motorcycle fork or something? Not sure what used them back then...