Some background info
ZDS Motors, in Glendale, California, was the sub-distributor for
Berliner Motor Corp products for the eleven western United
States. ZDS stood for Zundapp, Ducati and Sachs, the motorcycles
distributed by BMC at that time---the late 1950s. ZDS was owned
by Bob and Erolyn Blair. Bob had been a speedway racer before
and after WW2, so he understood about racing and hungry young
racers. Bob and I quickly hit it off and he helped me with my
racing from the very beginning.
I grew up in Glendale and was a California hot rodder type, who
liked working on cars and motorcycles, and loved racing anything
with wheels; anywhere, any time. There are some very nice canyon
roads in the Glendale area, including the well known, Angeles
Crest Highway. I bought my first Ducati from ZDS in late 1958, a
200 Super Sport, which I began racing in Feb 1959, with the
American Federation of Motorcyclists. The AFM specialized in
European style road racing using FIM international rules. Unlike
the AMA, any brand, any model was OK---you could even build a
one-off motorcycle from scratch. It didn't have to be a
production model. There was an atmosphere that encouraged
creativity. If it was safe, it was OK to race with the AFM. In
the late 1950s and into the 1960s, the AFM had many more road
races than any other motorcycle organization in the U.S.,
including the AMA. For anyone who wanted to specialize in road
racing, the AFM was the place to be.
The history of the first 350 Ducati actually started with a
200cc Ducati in 1961. With a bore of 67mm and a stroke of
57.8mm, this was the largest engine Ducati made at that time.
Basically a 175 with a bigger bore. Allan d'Alo, master
machinist and manufacturer of ARD Magnetos was racing a modified
200cc Ducati in the California desert at the same time I was
road racing my 200 Ducati with the AFM. Allan wanted a full
250cc bike, so he used his abilities as a machinist to stroke
his crankshaft to 68mm. With a bore of 68mm and a stroke of 68mm
the new capacity was 247cc. He offered to do a crankshaft for
me. I accepted the offer with enthusiasm. An aluminum plate,
approximately .200 inch thick, had to be made to fit between the
crankcases and the base of the cylinder to raise the head and
cylinder to compensate for the increase in stroke. It was a
straight forward job to make a full 250 out of a 200 using
Allan's modified crankshaft. I won the AFM 250 Championship on
one of these bikes in 1961.
In the early 1960s, the California Sportscar Club and the AFM
had some joint events. The motorcycles had one race for bikes up
to 250cc and one race for bikes 251cc and over, broken down into
the normal FIM international classes, and also included an open
class for bikes larger than 500cc and up to 1,000cc. At times,
all the bikes would practice together and it was clear I could
run with many of the 350s. So I did the only logical thing a guy
hungry to race could do---I tried to enter the same bike in the
250 and 350 races. But I was refused. I was told the 350 class
was for bikes 251cc to 350cc, so my 247cc engine was too small
for the 350 race. For a future event, I borrowed the cylinder
(bored to 69mm) and piston from Bob's personal desert/cow
trailer/play-bike and exchanged them with my piston and cylinder
between races at the Santa Barbara event on, Sept 3, 1961. That
made my bike 254cc for the 350 race. I finished a close second
in the 350 class behind an AJS 7R. The 305 Honda Super Hawks
were about 80 pounds heavier than my Ducati, so they weren't
much of a threat, although the potential was there for much more
power. It was just a matter of time. After that, the plan was to
build a second 254cc bike for the 350 races. That didn't happen,
but the idea was still there---to build a 350 racer by making
the engine in a small light motorcycle bigger, instead of making
the engine in a big heavy bike smaller.
In late 1961, Ducati came out with an over square 250, with a
bore of 74mm and with the same 57.8mm stroke as the 175/200
bikes. For 1962, I would be racing a new 250 Formula 3 Ducati
for Berliner and ZDS, which only had to be maintained, so I had
time to think about building a 350 again, using the new
over-square 250 engine as a starting point.
At the first opportunity, I disassembled one of the new over
square engines. After measuring everything relevant, I knew a
full size 350 Ducati was possible. The biggest bore I could have
without making the cylinder liner too thin was 76mm. With a bore
of 76mm and a stroke of 76mm I would have a 344cc engine.
Strengths and weaknesses of the proposed 350
It was time for a reality check before the project was actually
started. Some guys are company men and they close their eyes to
the weaknesses of their favorite brand. This is not wise. As
Clint Eastwood (as Dirty Harry) once said, "A man's got to know
his limitations." It's the same for a man's favorite brand of
motorcycle. If the weaknesses aren't acknowledged, they won't be
corrected. And for an ambitious undertaking like this, clear
thinking was necessary---flag waving was not. The obvious plus
for a 350 Ducati was lighter weight than a 350 Manx or a 7R.
Both the Manx and the 7R weigh about 300 pounds. I was sure I
could build a 350 Ducati that was 60 to 70 pounds lighter than a
7R. I did foresee a few potential problems such as, the rod
length to stroke ratio could be considered marginal and could
result in piston failure. Piston speed and piston acceleration
were going to be really fast. There was also the four speed
transmission which was originally intended for a 175cc road
bike, and I was planning on doubling the engine capacity, and
with that, a big increase in torque. Could the 175 transmission
handle the strain? One way to find out. To be as easy as
possible on the gearbox, I decided there would be no clutchless
or kill-switch gear changes, even though the careful, with
clutch, gear changes would make for slower shifts. I wanted to
avoid the possibility of showering competitors and spectators
with metal bits as much as possible. I had to accept the
weaknesses, but the hotrodder mentality won out---NOTHING
VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED. If the project turned out to be a
spectacular failure, I could always make the engine back into a
250.
I acquired a complete new 1961 250 Diana, took the crank to
Allen and had him change the stroke to 76mm. Allan also made an
extension for the cam drive shaft, which was too short in
standard 250 form.
Drawing for cam drive shaft
coupling
A cylinder spacer and a spacer for the
base of the cam drive shaft cover, approximately .360 inch
thick, were also necessary.
This plate is to raise the
cylinder and head to one half of the stroke increase.
It was also necessary to raise
the base of the cam drive shaft cover tube. The part on the left
does that. The item on the right is the standard Ducati base.
The cam drive shaft cover
spacer when assembled with the Ducati base.
Bob had Borgo Piston, in Italy, make a
batch of 76mm pistons. Twenty five was their minimum order. He
gave me one and put the others in the ZDS parts department.
Unfortunately they were cast pistons, not forged, and there was
a piston failure. But that came much later; after testing and
more than a full season of racing. That piston failure was a
blessing in disguise, or the restored bike wouldn't even exist
today.
I found out about the most important non-reliability short
coming of any Ducati of the bevel period---the cylinder head
ports. I took the bare head to my friend, C.R. Axtell. When it
came to engines, he was the smartest guy around. Ax designed and
built his own flow-bench in the 1950s and became the absolute
master of air flow. I handed him the bare head and asked how I
could make it really, really good. He looked at the head from
all angles and said, "My friend, I'm sorry to tell you this, you
can make this a little better, but you'll never make it really
good. I think our Italian cousins all went to the same school
and they all learned how to make bad ports; and to make things
impossible, this head doesn't have enough material around the
ports to correct the mistakes." I did what Ax suggested I do to
make the head better, and the head was very good, for a Ducati,
but not really, really good. Certainly not near as good as a 7R.
Some things you just can't fix. Trying to match a 7R or 350 Manx
for horsepower was probably not going to happen, but a much
lighter bike could make up for that---it's the whole package,
not just horsepower that counts. Luckily, the 1961 Ducatis, even
the Diana, came with small, unmolested ports, small valves, and
small carburetors so they weren't completely ruined when they
left the factory and there was enough material to improve the
shape.
Engine Modifications
The engine mounting bolt holes in the crankcases were drilled
and reamed to .375 inch, and ground shank aircraft 12 point
bolts were used for a push fit in the crankcases and engine
mounts. The standard engine mount bolts are a very loose fit in
the engine and engine mounts as made by Ducati. The tight
fitting bolts would make the engine and frame a more ridged
unit. The outer surfaces of all engine cases, cylinder and
cylinder head were sandblasted and anodized black for better
heat transfer. I thought the very thin anodized flat black
surface would be better than having a coat of black paint on the
engine. The cylinder was bored to 76mm and the crankshaft was
stroked to 76mm. The connecting rod was x-rayed, polished and
shot-peened. The piston was lightened where ever possible and
the bottom of the skirt was knife-edged. An internally tapered,
and lighter, 250 F3 wrist pin was used. The squish clearance was
set at .038 inch. The compression ratio was 10.5 to 1.
The intake port angle was changed, which took considerable work
and some welding. A thick wedge shaped flange, tapered in two
planes, for the carburetor spigot mount, was fabricated and
welded to the head before the porting was started.
This drawing shows the changes
to the intake port angle and the shape of the port around the
valve guide.
Not the original 350 head, but
a head recently done for another 350 racer with the same
modifications as the original. This shows the wedge welded to
the head.
After the wedge is welded in
place, but before any porting is done, this is what the port
looks like.
The port angle was reduced to 3
degrees from 9 degrees which may seem counter intuitive. Down
draft is not the most important thing. The important thing is
the shape of the port and the angle of the port in relation to
the valve, not the horizon. Very little material came off the
floor of the port near the valve---just enough to remove the
irregularities. The material supporting the valve guides, both
intake and exhaust, was not removed from the roof of the ports,
and the valve guides were not cut off flush with the top of the
port. This gave much more support to the valves, and reduced the
chance of the top of the port cracking and sucking oil through
the intake port and into the combustion chamber. A lot of hand
work with riffler files was necessary to shape the port around
the valve guide boss. Because the carburetor used was bigger
externally as well as internally than the smaller Dellortos, it
was angled more to the right side to clear the frame. This was a
benefit as the new angle gave more swirl. A knee guard had to be
made or the rider's knee would interfere with air entering the
carburetor.
This unfinished port shows the hump around the
valve guide. This material is necessary to add support for the
valve guide and to leave material for the spot-faced surface at
the coil valve spring base.
The recently completed 350 head
copied from the original 350 Ducati. Also with an Amal GP2
carburetor.
Two extra oil drains were put on the
left side of the head. They, along with one of the existing
drains from the right side, drained into a one-off baffled
air/oil separator and breather combination. This air/oil
separator is fitted to the threaded hole in the case that is
normally used for the alternator/magneto cable on the standard
engine. The original breather tube is also used for a second
crankcase breather.
The combination air/oil
separator and breather for the oil drains from the head.
A 32mm Dellorto SSI carburetor with a
large SS1 remote float bowl was used; later being replaced by a
1-3/8" Amal GP2, with an Amal matchbox float bowl. Intake valve,
1.590 inch diam. (40.4mm) with a 7mm stem. Exhaust valve, 1.450
inch diam. (36.8mm) with an 8mm stem. S&W (Art Sparks & Tim
Witham) coil valve springs were used. They were the best
available at the time and I had used them in my 200 and 250
Ducatis. Dual spark plugs and single spark plug were tried. That
was about a toss-up.
Race cams for Ducatis were very hard
to come by in those days. The first race cam I used was a
standard camshaft with welded lobes and reground to Formula 3
specs. Bob just walked up to me in the shop one day, handed me a
cam and said it was for my 350 engine. He said it came from a
dealer in Florida. I can't be sure as it's been a very long time
ago, but I think his name was, Kulan. A later and much better
cam was the Ducati "kit cam" or Daytona cam. It was similar to
the F3 cam timing, but with more lift. Constant loss battery
ignition was used, so the stater and flywheel were removed. Only
the steel flywheel center was used, as a spacer for the
crankshaft primary gear. Without the flywheel, engine
acceleration speed was very quick, but miss a shift and the
engine could die equally fast.
Numerous exhaust pipe and megaphone combinations were tried. I
didn't know where to start with the exhaust because there was
never a 350 Ducati before this---so who could I ask? The only
way would be trial and error. Exhaust pipe diameters of 1-5/8"
and 1-3/4" were tried---the final being a 1 5/8" pipe as it came
out of the head, and then steps up to 1-3/4". The length of the
various exhaust pipes without megaphone was about 32 to 34
inches. For the first race I used a 500 Manx megaphone that I
had in the shop. What a sound. Unfortunately, it had a big flat
spot in the mid-range. A five speed transmission would have
helped but since the engine is from a 1961 Ducati, it only had
four speeds. Aftermarket, close ratio transmissions weren't
available at the time. The Manx megaphone was only used for the
first race. It made great sounds, but the engine didn't like it.
Other megaphones used were, AJS 7R, BSA Gold Star, a couple of
accessory megaphones and various long tapered Ducati megaphones.
The timing gear/oil pump cover was modified so the oil pump
would feed directly through an external AN steel braided
pressure line to a one-off, cam bearing housing on the left side
of the head. The standard oil pressure line to the head through
the cases and cylinder was not used.
The left side cam bearing
housing for the external top end oil feed.
Smiths tach drive
I wanted to use a Smiths ball bearing tachometer drive and a
Smiths ATRC magnetic competition tachometer. They were generally
regarded as the best. They were used on Manx Nortons, Matchless
G-50s and AJS 7Rs, as well as the 250 GP Morini. In 1962 no one
that I knew of made a tach drive plate to fit a Smiths drive to
a Ducati head so I made my own. I made a simple casting pattern,
had a local foundry cast the part and then I machined it to fit
the head. The tach drive was as far as I got. I never got the
Smiths tachometer, so that's the reason the bike still has a
Veglia competition tach coupled to the Smiths drive. There were
a few ideas that never got completed---this was just one.
The special plate to mount the
Smiths ball bearing tach drive.
The simple casting pattern for
the Smiths tach drive plate.
Some of the engine testing was done on
the street and the service road next to the Los Angeles River,
and next to the Interstate 5 Freeway where it goes through
Glendale, just a mile or so from ZDS. There was room to get the
bike around the locked service road gate, which was there to
keep unauthorized cars off the service road. But a motorcycle
with clip-on bars could be squeezed through the gap at the gate
and onto the service road. I could make a couple of high speed
passes and then scoot before the police came. I would be passing
cars on the freeway and I'd be going a lot faster. A small
motorcycle at over 100mph, passing cars next to the freeway
caused quite a few double takes. One was a CHP officer giving me
a wide-eyed stare. Fortunately, the L.A. River was between us
and I had time to escape back to ZDS.
Most testing was done at Willow Springs Raceway. In those days,
Willow Springs was just 2.5 miles of race track in the middle of
the desert, without fences or barriers. We could drive out there
in the middle of the week and test all day. There wasn't anyone
to stop us. But there wasn't an ambulance at the track when
there wasn't an official event. And in the early '60s there were
no cell phones; so we had to be very careful or a trip to the
hospital would be in the back of a pickup truck.
From the beginning, the engine was strong and got progressively
stronger. Also, from the beginning it was obvious the standard
front brake was not going to make it---not even close. It was OK
for the street, but not for racing and was never used in a race.
Development of the bike was continual, both engine and chassis,
and a lot of different chassis combinations were tried, as well
as engine modifications. The bike was changed, and in most cases
improved, almost continually from race to race.
First race chassis
For the first race, the engine was fitted into a 125 Formula 3
chassis, but with 18 inch wheels instead of the 125's 17 inch
rims. A large Amadoro four shoe front brake was used---same as
an early 250 F3. The rear brake was a small Amadoro, as used on
the 125 Gran Sport and 125 F3; it was OK, but nothing to rave
about. Good points---the engine was strong, the bike was light,
and the front brake was great. Bad point---the handling was
awful. Someone described it to me as a crash in progress that
never quite made it all the way to the ground. It seemed both
wheels were never going in the same direction at the same time.
It was a real test of reflexes. For the first couple of races I
was overwhelmed by the CB-77, 305 Hondas with the new 350cc race
kits; (Harmon & Collins cam, bigger valves, S&W valve springs,
Forged True 350 pistons, bigger carbs and megaphone exhaust) as
well as AJS 7Rs and a 350 Manx. I was offered a ride on a 350
Honda but I refused and stuck with my Ducati. It was just the
beginning for my Ducati. Things could only get better.
Second race chassis
I acquired a late 250 F3 chassis with Oldani brakes and 19 inch
wheels. It had a special Marzocchi front fork with fabricated
sheet metal triple clamps that I've only seen on F3 250 Ducatis.
It was a little heavier than the 125 F3 chassis, but it handled
so much better. Big improvement in lap times. I learned to love
the 230mm Oldani front brake. With that big Oldani on such a
light bike, I was always the last guy on the brakes. The front
tire was the limiting factor--no stoppies were possible with
even the best race tires of the time. It just had to be
precisely controlled or the wheel could skid at any speed. But
never any fade. With this new chassis I could beat most of the
350 Hondas and run with the best 7R and 350 Manx.
The final and best chassis
For the final chassis I went back to the original '61 250 Ducati
road frame, but highly modified and much lighter, with an all
new one-off rectangular cross section swing arm. The only Ducati
parts of the original frame are the backbone, front down tube,
and steering head. The front down tube was heated and moved
forward about 5/8 inch at the bottom. I had planned on
experimenting with moving the engine forward to change weight
distribution, but that was one of my plans that was never tried.
The flat plate gusset that supported the steering head and was
the mount for the coil was replaced with a large diameter, thin
wall tube. The complete rear section is made of, 7/8 inch
diameter, .065 inch wall, 4130 chromoly tubing.
My original idea for the swing arm was to make it out of oval
tubing, but I couldn't find a source for it. An employee of the
metal supply house where I bought most of my materials suggested
using rectangular tubing. It proved to be a good idea and it was
easy to jig for welding. The swing arm looks massive, is
stiffer, but weighs the same as a standard Ducati swing arm.
It's also a half inch longer than the standard Ducati swing arm.
That was an attempt at changing weight distribution.
The bare frame after paint. The
actual color is silver. The lighting in my garage must have made
it look green.
The swing arm looks heavy but
is actually the same weight as a standard Ducati swing arm.
The swing arm pivot is 10 1/4 inch
long---2 3/8 inch longer than standard, and has outriggers on
the rear down tubes as part of the rear frame design. The swing
arm pivot is machined from 4130 steel tubing.
The lengthened swing arm pivot with outside
support from the rear down tubes.
At that time, I didn't have access to
a TIG welder and didn't even know how to TIG weld. So as I
fabricated the steel parts I tacked them together with an
oxy-acetylene torch, and then took them to a welder a few miles
from ZDS who finished the job with TIG welding. This took
numerous trips, but eventually the frame and swing arm were
completed.
The frame, with swing arm, is 10
pounds lighter than a standard F3 250 Ducati frame with swing
arm---about a 25% weight loss. Ceriani 35mm road race forks were
state of the art at that time, so they were used on the final
chassis. Eighteen inch wheels, front and rear, with a 230mm
Oldani front brake. The rear brake is a standard Ducati road hub
with a one-off backing plate, cast with an air scoop to keep it
cool, and made to interlock with the new swing arm. The rear
backing plate resembles the Amadoro rear brake backing plate
used on many 1950s Italian GP bikes.
The rear wheel has a standard Ducati hub with
a one-off brake backing plate.
The rear backing plate. It's made to interlock with the special
swing arm.
Part of a standard backing
plate was used to make the casting pattern with air scoop added.
As a bit of vanity, I put my name on the casting pattern.
A fiberglass seat and splash guard
were made to fit the new frame. The dry weight of the complete
bike in its final form, is, 217 pounds (98.4 kg). A considerable
weight loss, and much lighter than I had expected when the
project was started.
I wish I could say I won the 1963, 350 Championship; but no I
didn't. I finished third, behind the fastest Honda and the
fastest 7R. But that wasn't too bad since the races were also
used for development and testing, and I did fall off a couple of
times.
The only part that stayed the same for the entire project was
the fairing. Made by Dick Kilgroe, of Cupless Plastics, in
Hayward, California. It was a modified Peel fairing for a Manx;
sectioned, shortened, and narrowed to fit a 250 Ducati. I used
that same type of fairing on my 250 bikes as well as the 350. I
think it was the best fairing available at the time, both for
aerodynamics and to protect the bike in a crash. In a low-side
fall, the clip-ons and levers didn't even get scratched. A bit
of filler and paint on the fairing and maybe a new foot peg and
it was as good as new. Cupless has been out of business for
decades and I couldn't find one of the old fairings for the
restoration. So I made a buck for a new Peel type fairing that
looks like the original, gave it to AirTech, in Vista,
California, and they made a new, old style Peel fairing. AirTech
will sell these new Peel type fairings to anyone who wants one.
Perfect for vintage racing and for Bonneville.
Engine failures
I had one major failure that did come as a surprise. The
standard 250 primary gears were not both made of steel. The
driving gear at the end of the crankshaft was steel, but the
driven gear, which is also part of the clutch housing, was made
of cast iron. I guess that was OK for a 250 but it proved to be
a trouble spot for my 350.
In 1963, after the Berliners took over the U.S. distributorship
for AMC/Norton motorcycles, we had a visit from the Berliner
brothers, along with Heinz Kegler, Berliners Norton specialist,
and some management and designers from AMC.
Heinz was a very interesting man. He had escaped from East
Germany as a young man, made his way to England, and worked in
Norton's race department. When the Berliners took over the
distributorship of AMC motorcycles here in America, they also
hired Heinz to be their Norton specialist. They couldn't have
chosen a better man, for both character and knowledge.
Their visit coincided with a race at Willow Springs Raceway over
the weekend, so I invited Heinz to come with me. Better that,
than spending the weekend with a bunch of stuffy business men.
Saturday was practice day, with races on Sunday. During
practice, I shifted from 3rd to top gear and the engine revved
but the bike didn't accelerate. I thought I had missed a shift
and hit 4th gear again. Again, the engine revved but the bike
was slowing. I pitted thinking the key on the end of the
crankshaft had sheared. I took off the primary cover and saw the
real problem. The teeth on the clutch gear were sheared off and
were on the bottom of the primary cover and crankcase. We
checked into a nearby motel and put the bike in the room. It was
a room with a kitchen, a nice table and pots for cooking---it
became my workshop. As soon as we got the bike and my tools in
the room, I gave Heinz the keys for the pickup and my key to ZDS.
While I disassembled the engine and washed every part in the
biggest pot I could find, Heinz drove all the way back to ZDS,
got a new set of primary gears from the parts department, and
drove back to the motel. By the time he returned, I had
completely reassembled the engine, and put it back in the
chassis. The only thing left was to put in the new primary
gears, the clutch, primary cover and fairing. Then, a thorough
cleaning of the kitchen and the pot I used as my parts washer,
and a nights sleep. The next day I won the 350 race. The first
win for a 350 Ducati anywhere in the world. After all, it was
the only 350 Ducati single in the world. Thank you Heinz.
The engine had gone through a lot of testing in 1962 and a full
season of racing in 1963. Up to that point, other than the
primary gear failure, there weren't any problems with
reliability. Surprisingly, the gearbox had been completely
trouble free. I started the 1964 season thinking I was riding a
bullet proof bike. But my bubble burst on the Willow Springs
back straight.
The next engine failure was the last. At maximum revs (9,000
rpm), the top half of the piston came off at the pin, hit and
bent both valves and ruined the valve guides. The cylinder had
deep gouges in the liner from the piston pin, and the rod was
bent. But the worse thing was that the crankshaft was broken
beyond repair. The big end had pulled partly out of one of the
flywheels.
The broken piston that ended
the 350 project. It was used for years as an ashtray for my
friends who smoked.
Because of the level of damage,
unavailable parts, and my move into the 500 class with a new
Norton Manx, the engine was never rebuilt. The disassembled
engine was packed away; just a couple of boxes of parts stored
and forgotten for decades in my parents garage---waiting to be
resurrected.
The Ducati factory was notified about the primary gear failure
and the piston failure. When the production 350 was built it had
a forged piston, and all steel primary gears rather than the
cast iron clutch gear. And the production 350, the Sebring, also
came with a five speed gearbox. Oh, how I wish I had that five
speed gearbox in the original 350.
The chassis, minus the front wheel, was sold to someone from
northern California who walked into ZDS with plans to build a
lightweight Ducati for AMA short track racing. This was the
lightest chassis I ever had and he bought it on the spot. With
the exploded engine and the sale of the chassis, the 350 project
was officially over.
How the chassis was found by Steve Allen of Bevel Heaven
In 2002, I met Steve Allen, of the bevel Ducati specialist
website, Bevel Heaven. He said he wanted to do a page on me, and
about racing in the early days of Ducati's appearance in
America. I did a quick bio and sent some photos to him which he
put on the web-page he made about me. I also asked if he would
mention that I'd like to find the whereabouts of a couple of my
old bikes. He did include that on my web page, but nothing came
of it---at least not for a few years. Then Steve forwarded an
email to me that he received from someone who wanted to make
contact because he had a Ducati chassis that might be from one
of the old bikes I was looking for. The owner described what he
had right down to the odd swing arm. He said he wanted to put
together a Ducati scrambler to ride on his extended vacations in
Mexico, but so much of the bottom of the frame had been cut away
there wasn't any way to mount foot pegs suitable for a dirt
bike. When I saw what he had, I knew instantly it was the
original 350 chassis. I traded a stock Ducati Scrambler chassis
for everything he had. There were some small parts missing, but
all the most important parts were there. The frame, swing arm,
rear brake, seat, splash guard and fork stem with triple clamps.
The fork legs were gone, but they weren't anything
special---just standard road race 35mm Ceriani. I found
replacements at a swap meet in southern California. The frame
and swing arm were rusted and the fiberglass seat and splash
guard were cracked and broken; but no big deal, fiberglass is
easy to patch. As ugly as it looked, I was so happy to see it
again.
I didn't want to put the bike together with an empty,
non-running engine, for display only. It was important to me to
have it running again. To restore the engine, I used new Axtell
valves, valve guides and coil springs I got from Mike Libby,
Ax's business partner of many years. I used the first racing cam
Bob had given me, the Kulan cam. Even though it wasn't the best,
it was the first cam I used in a race. A forged Borgo racing
piston was used with a new cylinder liner. The old crankshaft
was completely destroyed and had been scrapped many years ago,
so I took the most logical action and replaced it with a Sebring
crank. Obviously, a perfect fit.
For the restoration of the chassis, I had to make assorted small
parts, and a big one. I had to make a new fuel tank because none
of the various tanks I had used in 1963 were available. I made a
new, one-off, aluminum tank to fit the chassis in approximately
the same size and shape as one of the tanks I used in 1963. It's
made of, .065 inch, 3003 H14 aluminum.
Roughed out fuel tank panels
before welding.
The shell for the new tank
before the filler neck was welded in place and the bottom was
put on.
A friend and Ducati collector, who
attends the big Imola swap meet in Italy every year, found
another 230mm Oldani front brake for me. A little at a time,
parts were collected or made and the chassis was slowly
restored.
Paint work
The restoration paint job is the work of Geoff Giammarco, a
southern California painter who keeps busy doing vintage
motorcycles. The color is right, and I have to admit the bike
never looked this good when I was racing it. In fact, this is
the only time it ever had a professional paint job. When I was
racing the bike it was always painted using spray cans. If
anything had to be welded on, or cut off, or modified, spray
cans were quick and easy. Functional, yes. Pretty? Not so much.
The "Alley Cat" greeting card
showed the true character of the bike.
What's with the cat? While I was
assembling the 350 in its final guise, Kim, my best
friend/roommate/traveling companion, and fellow girl chaser,
came to the shop to see my progress on the final chassis. He was
impressed and said, "Oh man, that'll be a real thoroughbred." I
replied, "No, a Manx or a 7R is a thoroughbred, this is more
like an alley cat---like the critters that live in the alley
behind the shop." There were some feral cats in the neighborhood
that were feisty, mean and nasty, and definitely didn't have a
pedigree. One day I had picked up one of the little black
kittens and it instantly turned into an explosion of teeth and
claws. It didn't pay to mess with the alley cats. After that Kim
and I always referred to the bike as, 'The Alley Cat'. One day
Kim came home and said he saw a picture of my 'Alley Cat' in a
greeting card shop while he was buying a birthday card for his
girlfriend. We went back to the card shop and I bought one. It
was my alley cat---no question about it---mean and scruffy. Kim
stopped by the shop one day when I had the engine all apart. He
said he wanted to borrow the seat for a few days---he wouldn't
tell me why. When he brought the seat back, he had had a
relative, who was an artist, paint the cat on the back of the
seat. It was perfect---the true character of the bike. When I
got the chassis back, the seat was broken and chipped, and the
cat was mostly gone. I still have the original greeting card, so
with the magic of a computer, it was easy to have a new decal
made to look like the hand painted cat.
My 350 was never intended to be anything but my personal one-off
racer. But BMC was getting requests for a 350 Ducati, which,
with the exception of my bike, didn't exist. Demand for 350
bikes was growing with phone calls to BMC. Some, on the hostile
side because potential customers were being told there was no
such thing as a 350 Ducati, even though there was one being
raced in AFM events in California. Mike Berliner called Bob to
find out why he was being told there was a 350 Ducati in
California. Bob explained what I had done to make my own 350.
The Berliner brothers, the biggest Ducati distributor in the
world at the time, saw the possibilities, and wanted a
production 350 from Ducati. After all, if the guy from
California can build one in the ZDS workshop, why not the
factory? Mike asked me to send a letter, containing all specs
and drawings to Dr Giuseppe Montano, the head man at the Ducati
factory. On December 3rd 1963, I sent drawings and all the specs
on my bike to Dr. Montano, thinking nothing would come of it, as
most of the Europeans thought of Americans as the barbarians
from the west. I received a thank you letter dated, December
10th, 1963, from Dr Montano, saying he was turning the
information over to the Ducati Studies Office for examination.
This is the thank you letter
sent by Dr Montano, the director of Ducati, for the information
and drawings for the original 350.
About a year later, Bob came into the
workshop and said the factory was going to make a production
version of my 350. He also said Ducati was going to send me the
first 350 racer they made. I don't know what happened to that
bike---it never arrived. Maybe it was on one of the ships
high-jacked by Somali pirates.
When Bob told me Ducati was going to copy my 350 and make a
production version, I told him I had a better idea. The reason
my engine was square, 76mm by 76mm, was because I started with
an existing 250 and I was limited as to how big I could make the
bore---I couldn't go bigger than 76mm. I would have preferred an
over square, big bore, short stroke 350, with a bore of 86mm and
a stroke of 60mm---348.5cc. I suggested starting with new
castings. New crankcases for a big bore, short stroke 350, with
the crankshaft moved forward, and away from the transmission,
and larger diameter flywheels. I thought the bike would be
better if more of the engine weight was moved forward---moving
the crankshaft forward would have helped. And very, very
important---the most important---a new head casting with Axtell
designed ports. Bob just chuckled and said Ducati wasn't going
to do anything like that. All they had to do was copy my engine
and they'd have a 350 with a minimum of expense. He said the
design was already decided. There would be no changes;
especially a complete redesign as I was suggesting.
Ducati cleaned up the design of the production 350. They didn't
need a spacer under the cylinder---they just made the cylinder
taller with nine fins instead of eight, and a longer cam drive
shaft to compensate because the engine had to be taller. The
production bike also had a steel clutch housing/primary gear,
rather than cast iron. A great idea, and no more primary gear
failures. And all the production 350s have five speed
transmissions. But small valves, small ports, small carburetor,
low compression ratio, and a mild cam resulted in a mediocre
performing bike. I was told by a few Ducati dealers that the
bike was a good seller, even though no one favored the "square
styling" of the American bikes.
What could have been
I wish they would have done the new 350 as I suggested. An
over-square, 86mm X 60mm, 350 would have been much better. With
an Axtell designed head it would have been a great motorcycle.
Axtell would have solved the biggest performance problem Ducati
had---the poorly designed head, which remained the same from the
175 all the way up to the 450, and then on to the bevel twins.
Moving the crankshaft forward would have helped weight
distribution. A big bore 350 could have possibly led to an 86mm
X 86mm, light weight, 500cc racer and street bike---about the
size and weight of my 350. Oh well.
In 1967, on my way from Daytona back to England to race, I
stopped at Berliners in New Jersey. Mike showed me the new 350
wide case production engine which would replace the Sebring. He
asked how big I thought the engine could be made. I removed the
top end of the engine, and after a short time I told him if they
spread the head bolt pattern, and used a bigger bore, they could
probably get about 430cc without changing the stroke. That's
about the real size of a 450 Ducati engine. I think a much
better bike could have been made if they would have started with
the big bore, over square 350 that I suggested; but that train
had left the station.
The 350 Ducati wasn't the only prototype to come out of ZDS
Motors. Bob Blair and Steve Zabaro, Bob's right hand man and
parts manager, built the prototype of the P-11 Norton right
there at ZDS. The bike was built and tested and then shipped to
the Norton factory and duplicated. It became a very successful
desert racer and street bike. It was the winner of the 1968
California Desert Racing Championship. We weren't trained
engineers, just California hot rodders. But we didn't know what
we couldn't do---so we just did it.
Frank Scurria
[email protected]
Frank Scurria at WSIR in 1960
on the 175 F3 he raced for ZDS Motors to win the AFM175
Championship
Paul Smart and Frank Scurria
Paul Ritter & Frank Scurria
Frank Scurria and Doug Polin signing autographs
on Ducati Island at Laguna Seca in 2005
The following is Frank
Scurria's bio, in his own words which he wrote for me to post on
Bevel Heaven more than a decade ago.
Hi Steve.
Here is the bio you asked
for. It covers 1958 to 1974. I hope it’s what you wanted.
Well, where do I start? I
guess back in 1958. That’s when I got interested in motorcycle
road racing. My first job after graduating from high school was
working for Mustang Motor Corp, in Glendale, California,
assembling and testing Mustang motorcycles.
Back in the old days, there
were no racing schools. You bought, begged or borrowed what you
needed and entered races---sink or swim. I was very fortunate
in that I lived in Southern California, the hotbed of the
American Federation of Motorcyclist. They used European rules.
Nothing was banned. You could run anything as long as it was
safe. There were Manx Nortons, AJS 7Rs, ex-works lightweights
and odd machines that nobody in America had ever seen before. I
bought a Ducati 200 Super Sport, from Bob Blair (owner of ZDS
Motors, Ducati distributor for the 11 western states), leathers,
helmet, etc., and a single rail trailer with a fits-all trailer
hitch. I didn’t have a car, just the bike that I rode to work
and raced on weekends. I would ask my friends if they would
like to go to the motorcycle races. When I got an affirmative
answer, I would put my hitch on their car (in those days, cars
had real bumpers) hook my trailer to their car and we’d be off
to the races.
My first race was at Willow
Springs, in February of ‘59, where I finished second in the 250
race. I was lucky there was a second race. With 40-psi tire
pressure, it was a very “loose” race. I took advice from
someone who didn’t know any more than I did, although there is
the chance he meant 20 psi in each tire, for a total of 40 psi.
Oh well. As the year went on, I got some good results,
generally finishing in the top four. I made every race I
could. I think I only missed one; the result of a broken leg
from a road accident.
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The Good Ol Daze.
Above is former Ducati racer and AFM 175 & 250 Champion
in 1960 - Frank Scurria - sitting atop his 175 F3 in
1960 and then again on a virtually identical bike he
helped restore in 2005 at the Ducati Island Museo at
Laguna Seca. Frank was on hand this year to sign
autographs and tell stories.... |
At that time there was no
such thing as a Ducati workshop manual. Bob gave me a parts
book with exploded views of the engine and that’s what I used as
a guide the first time I took a Ducati engine apart. It was
quite a learning experience. I still have that parts book. I
also attended a dealer school where the instructor was the
famous Franco Farne. He used my engine to demonstrate how to
hop up a Ducati for racing.
Near the end of the year, Bob
got a 175 Formula 3 engine from Berliner. He grafted it into a
standard frame and asked if I would like to ride it. Wanna
guess what my answer was? In my first race on this bike I
finish second to John McLaughlin on a Parilla Gran Sport and
equaled the 175 lap record. That was the start of my sponsored
connection with Berliner/ZDS that lasted for years.
1960 proved to be a good
year, except for the start of the season. I was sent on my
first trip to Daytona, where I crashed after hitting the
motorcycle of a rider that had fallen in front of me. Other
than my pride, and losing a lot of skin, I wasn’t hurt, but the
bike was a total loss. I felt terrible about destroying Bob’s
bike. I was trying to explain about what had happened and Bob
just said, “Don’t worry about it. If you never fall off, you’re
not going fast enough. As long as you’re ok we can always get
another bike.” By the time I returned to California, Bob had
acquired a new, complete, 175 Formula 3. It was the most
beautiful thing. Fast, nimble, with great brakes. Good enough
for me to win some races and the AFM 175 Championship.
1961 was also a good year. I
built an exceptional bike for that year. It was known around
the shop as the “square 250”. Alan D’Alo, master machinist and
maker of ARD magnetos, stroked a 200 Ducati crankshaft to 68mm
for his desert racer and made one for me too. I built a 68mm x
68mm, 250cc Ducati engine. It ran so well I was protested at
one race. There was quite a crowd as the officials measured the
engine---of course they found it legal. This was also the year
of the “350 experiment”. The officials wouldn’t let me run my
250 in the 350 races because they said the class was for 251cc
to 350cc. So I ran one 350 race, at Santa Barbara, California
with a 69mm piston in this bike, making it 254cc. This was a
“one off” race because the cylinder and piston were borrowed
from a ZDS scrambler dirt bike. After the 250 race, I pulled
into the pits and changed the piston and cylinder while a friend
stalled the start of the 350 race. I got to the starting line
just in time, and the engine was still warm from the 250 race.
I beat all the 350s, except one, and finished 2nd just
a few feet behind an AJS 7R. That got me thinking of building
another 254cc bike for the 350 races, but that didn’t happen. I
won some races and the AFM 250 Championship, but there was gloom
on the horizon for the Ducatisti. It was during this year that
the famous Parilla tuner, Orin Hall, showed up on the scene with
the machine known as the “Gadget”, the world’s fastest Parilla
and the scourge of all Ducatis. Near the end of the year, Orin
got this machine so fast, and so reliable, that none of us could
touch it. A few years later, I would have the opportunity to
race this bike for Orin and find out just how good it really
was. 1961 was also the year of the introduction of the Diana.
This was a great step forward with the new over-square 250
engine and we thought we might be able to build a Ducati using
this engine to beat the “Gadget”. But we didn’t have to build
one---Berliner sent a new bike for me to race; a Formula 3, 250.
For 1962 I raced the 250
Formula 3 for Berliner/ZDS. I was quick enough for a couple of
wins and a number of second place finishes and second in the 250
Championship, but the “Gadget” dominated and won the
Championship. I took a lot of heat because the Ducati people
didn’t believe there was a Parilla that could go that fast. I
suggested they send one of their works bikes and their best
rider to California and find out for themselves. They never
did, but they would find out a couple of years later when Orin
took the “Gadget” to Daytona. 1962 was also the start of my
most ambitious Ducati project---the first 350 Ducati. 350s at
that time were 500 size motorcycles with smaller capacity
engines (Norton Manx, AJS 7R, BSA Gold Star). My idea was to go
in a different direction and make a 250 size motorcycle with a
350cc engine. I went to see Alan D’Alo again, and asked if he
would stroke a Diana crank to 76mm. He did. Borgo made the
76mm piston. The head on this machine was also the first to
have the altered intake port angles that really made a big
difference in performance. This machine was the most
extensively modified Ducati I ever built and was ready for the
start of the 1963 season.
The first race of the ‘63
season (Daytona FIM race) started out with good news and bad
news. The good news was that I raced a works Tohatsu 50cc bike
in the first International race for this size machine. I was
running third behind two works Hondas and fell trying to keep
up. I got up and managed to finish fifth, which I thought was
pretty good considering that I didn’t care much for bikes that
small. I was offered a ride by the factory to race works 50s
and 125s in Japan. Unfortunately, the factory went belly up and
I still have never been to Japan. The bad news was in the 250
race. I was riding the Formula 3 Ducati. At the end of the
infield straight, just a heartbeat away from the braking point,
the engine seized and shot me over the high side. The first
step was about twenty yards long and I spent the next couple of
weeks on crutches. That was also the end of the F3 250. The
engine went back to Berliner, to be sent back to the factory for
new cases and never returned. I ran the 350 for the rest of the
season. After initial teething problems, it turned out to be
the fastest Ducati I ever raced. I won two races, the first
being at Willow Springs on June 9th ‘63.
As near as I have been able to determine, this was the first
time a 350 Ducati won a race anywhere in the world. I finished
in the top two or three places in most of the other 350 races,
and finished third in the 350 Championship. By the end of the
season, it was as quick as any 350, and quick enough to beat
most of the 500s, except the very well ridden ones by such
riders as, Tony Murphy, Buddy Parriott, Don Vesco, etc. At the
request of Dr. Montano, then the managing director at Ducati, I
sent drawings and specs of my 350 to the Ducati factory. Ducati
came out with a production version of this machine in 1965, the
Sebring. Unfortunately, it was a very low performance bike and
never lived up to its potential in standard form, although many
have been made into good racers.
1963 was also the year I
started racing 500s. I got a brand new 500 Manx Norton. It was
fabulous. The first time I rode it, at Willow Springs, I
finished third.
1964 started very well, but
ended in disaster. I rode a works Norton Domi Racer in the
Junior race at Daytona. That was a 500 twin in a Manx chassis.
It wasn’t all that quick but the handling and brakes were really
good. I blew the start and by the time I got going the whole
field was gone. Fortunately, the race was a 100 miler and that
gave me the time to get to serious work. The engine developed a
nasty vibration because the top engine mount broke, but didn’t
slow very much until about half way through the race. I worked
my way up to second place and was catching the leader. Then the
bike got slower and oil leaking on the rear tire stopped my
progress. I lost second place to Swede Savage and finished
third. I rode a works Ducati in the 250 race. It quickly
became obvious that the Ducatis weren’t competitive. The
“Gadget” was there as well as works H-D/Aermacchis and works
Yamahas. My engine seized a piston in practice. I volunteered
to work on my bike while the factory mechanics worked on the
rest. When I put mine back together, I put the head from my 350
on it. The works mechanics were furious, saying that these
Ducatis could race for 24 hours in Spain. When I replied that
the Daytona race was 100 miles and we didn’t have 24 hours they
refused to have anything to do with me. An ignition wire broke
a few laps from the end of the race while I was the only Ducati
on the same lap as the winner. That was my last ride on a works
Ducati. The next week I won the Sebring race on my Manx. ‘64
was a mixed season. I raced a 125 Bultaco for the Bultaco
distributor, 500 and 750 Nortons for Berliner/ZDS, and a 250
Parilla---Orin Hall’s famous “Gadget”. Orin entered two bikes
for the race at Cotati, one for me, and the other for Ron
Grant. I won---first time on the bike. That Parilla was so
good. The last race of the season was at Willow Springs. In
the 250 race, a minor problem stopped the Parilla. In the big
bike race, disaster struck. I rode Bob Blair’s 750 Norton.
Well-known American tuner, Tim Witham, built the engine and it
was really fast. Unfortunately, I crashed it in the sweeper at
the end of the back straight, at about 135 mph. I broke my back
and my left leg, and wrote off Bob’s Norton. I would be in a
cast and back brace for about four months---Just in time for the
first race of 1965; Daytona.
The first race of 1965,
Daytona, was also my last race of ‘65. I was riding the Parilla
in the 250 race. Early in the race I clipped another rider and
crashed. I broke my left leg again. This time it was really
bad. The doctor told me my leg looked like a bag full of
marbles and he would have to amputate. After three days of
arguing and refusing to sign the amputation papers, the doctor
agreed to try to fix the leg. It’s not beautiful, but I still
have both legs. All of ‘65 was spent in California, healing and
designing new racers. A friend and I made the casting pattern
to cast an aluminum cylinder for a, short rod, 500 Norton twin.
The bike was quite fast and I hope to get this machine running
again, someday.
For 1966 I moved to England.
I took my 500 Manx and a 350 Ducati SC. I wish I could say I
won some races in England, but the best I finished was a third
at Snetterton, a forth and a fifth at Lydden and a fifth at
Brands Hatch. Racing in England was great---everything but the
weather. For a California boy, English weather leaves a lot to
be desired.
1967 started at Daytona where
I rode a 350 SC for Berliner, in the 200 miler. It was way to
slow to be competitive, but absolutely reliable. I finished,
but well down in the field. This was to be the last time I ever
raced a Ducati, although I did try one of Vic Camps 250s at a
practice session at Brands Hatch. After Daytona I returned to
England with two Kawasaki A1Rs. I was supposed to get 350
barrels, pistons and heads to make one into a 350, but the parts
never arrived so I had to ride one 250 as a 350. These bikes
were beautiful, but they were the worst handling bikes I had
ever ridden. They had a built in wiggle I could never get rid
of. Tank-slappers were not uncommon. In fact I got in one at
Brands Hatch, at the first turn of the Hutchinson Hundred that
was really wild. It happened just as Mike Hailwood went by on
the Honda 6. After the race he said he was surprised I saved
it. When he went by the only part of my body that was still
attached to the bike was my left hand. My right hand went
through the windscreen and a piece of it hit Mike. I told him I
didn’t save it---it was just pure luck that I didn’t crash. I
never won on these bikes, but I got a couple of seconds and
thirds and some fourths and fifths.
In 1968 I went back to
England, got married and bought a racecar---a Formula 2 Lola. I
brought the Lola and the wife back to California. Both are gone
now, but I did win my first car race. It was at the old Ontario
Motor Speedway in 1969.
I was concentrating on car
racing in 1970, but I did ride the Ontario motorcycle race on a
very badly prepared Norton. It broke and I didn’t finish. I
also raced a beautiful, and very red, 100cc Aermacchi road racer
for Jack Krissman, the inventor of the Filtron air cleaner and
the man who ran the H-D desert racing team. I won some races on
it in the early 70s. The color photos I sent to you are of the
Aermacchi.
At the end of 1972 I returned
to England to race cars. I raced a Formula 3 Ensign in 1973 and
1974. The racecar photo I sent to you was me racing the Formula
3 car at Brands Hatch.
Well, that’s about it for my
racing career. I hope this info is what you wanted.
Frank Scarria
<[email protected]>
Frank is living in
Southern California enjoying the good life...... Thanks Frank!
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