Ducati 450 aftermarket motocross frame.

[firko]

Yeah I know, this is a little left field but in all my years of involvement, this is one of only two aftermarket frames I've ever seen for the Ducati 450 wide case motor (the other being Dave Mac's Cheney). The big downer for the stock 450 scrambler is the heavy frame that also offers shitty geometry as a no cost extra. This chro-Mo frame would have to be an improvement and is perfect to the bloke who wants something different for pre 75 and possibly pre 70 if you can authenticate that the frame is pre 70 manufacture.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DUCATI-SINGLE-BEVEL-DESMO-450-AFTER-MARKET-FRAME-VINTAGE-AHRMA-/261299983783?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cd6b155a7
                                                                                           
                                                                                           

AFTER MARKET DUCATI WIDE CASE FRAME THAT HAD A 450 IN IT NOT SURE EXACTLY WHO BUILT THIS I WAS TOLD MAYBE A GUY BY THE NAME OF RICHARD AHRENS IF SO HE HAD BUILT 5 OF THEM THERE MADE WITH CHROME MOLY TUBING AND HAVE A LIGHT FEEL THERE IS SOME REPAIRED AREAS HAS TAPPERED STEERING HEAD BEARINGS IT COMES WITH THE SKID PLATE PEGS AND MOTOR MOUNTS & BOLTS ALSO REAR AXLE ADDED IS A PICTURE OF THE BIKE WHEN IT WAS TOGETHER WILL SHIP TO THE LOWER 48 ONLY THROUGH FED EX GROUND PLEASE EMAIL WITH ANY ?   
                                                                                         
                                                                                            My own Harry Hindall framed 250 Ducati narrow case

[Eldert]

i found a tiny bit off info on the Ahrens built frames / bikes :

http://graeterartgallerybuildingspeed.blogspot.nl/2012_07_01_archive.html


Eldert

[firko]

Interesting, Dick Ahrens seems to be a Pacific Northwest version of Harry Hindall. Both worked in the Aerospace industry and both built very light frames and both utilised Titanium components years before the metal fell into regular use. I bet they knew each other. As cool as the Ahrens frame is, it's nowhere as neatly made or well designed as the Hindall IMHO (but I may be seen as being a tad biased owning three Hindalls).

[FourstrokeForever]

Nice little Duke Firko. A credit to your skills as a bike builder.
I agree that the Ahern frame isn't as neat as the Hindall in the way the rear loop is intersected with the frame cradle. Looks like a bit of afterthought engineering.....
Still, it would be a neat build with a B44 donk in it for pre70.....

[firko]

Nice little Duke Firko. A credit to your skills as a bike builder.

Thanks but my skills lie in getting them to look good, I'm a bit short on the actual race prep side of it as my sojourn to last years Nats showed. This year they'll not only look pretty but will actually be competitive or they don't leave the shed.

Still, it would be a neat build with a B44 donk in it for pre70.....

At one stage I had my Triumph 500 engine sitting in it waiting for me to fabricate engine plates but my mates all squealed that I'd be wrecking the only Ducati Harry Hindall ever made so that swap was thankfully abandoned. Harry made four B44/B50 frames which are very different to my Ducati frame. Here's my old mate the late Bob Neilson's Hindall B50. It was Bob who introduced me to the genius of Harry Hindall, at one stage he owned five Hindalls. Bob's widow Linda still owns the jewell in the crown for Hindall collectors, Harry's unrestored personal #1 framed 650 Triumph that weighs in at around 220lbs....unbelievable for a Triumph.......lots of mag and ti in its construction.
                                                                                               

I found this piece regarding another of the ex Bob Neilson's Hindalls, the gorgeous Triumph T100r powered machine he restored 10 years or so ago. I'm in superannuation heaven if it's worth $85k. I somehow think it's a typo and should read $8500.
http://www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/section.asp?catid=74&docid=6408#.Us6G3s_xuUk

[firko]

The Hindall Triumph 500 that's up for auction. I could have bought it for 5K but knocked it back for lack of funds....Doh.
                                                                         

[FourstrokeForever]

Man I do like that B50 Hindall. The frame looks QUALITY and very similar to the Monark design at the headstem. It should be a pretty rigid set up. I also like the rear shock position. The shocks might actually work 

As for your race prep skills Mark, The best thing to do is leave yourself plenty of time to do the work. I find leaving things to the 11th hour always leads to problems. Probably because I get in a fluster of frustration when things don't work out the first time and I'm already running late 

[firko]

The Hindall frame is almost a cross between a Metisse and a Cheney with Harry's own innovation thrown in to balance it out. Here's Skip Otto's 650 Hindall decked out in Metisse bodywork. I was once pitted next to him all day at Sandhill Ranch in California and I didn't realise it wasn't a Metisse until he told me when I was helping him load it at the end of then day. The first Hindall I ever saw was Marsh Runyon's 650 Triumph which has been raced by a couple of Aussies including this forums own Yamaico Pete who beat Rick Doughty and his 750 Metisse on it at Livermore California back in the 90's. Below it is Hindall #1 which was Harry's own rolling test lab/ desert racer. It has titanium bolts,nuts, axles, handlebars, Hindall designed mag hubs front and rear and all sorts of unique and innovative (for the time) stuff. The bike is in as found unrestored condition at Linda Neilsons house and the last time I spoke was still for sale for not too stupid money. Unfortunately despite their better quality, Hindalls don't get the money Rickmans or Cheney's achieve because they simply haven't got the cult following that those brands have. Punters that do own Hindalls are a pretty tight bunch though. Harry made less than 100 frames in his time in the business and less than half of them survive so many of us are in semi regular contact with each other. Dave Boydstun from AMS has two DT1 models, I have two DT1 and the Ducati, there's a Trumpy 650 version in café racer trim in England, a couple in Japan and there's even a very nice 650 Triumph Hindall living in sunny Brisbane......Sorry to get carried away on this thread deviation but Hindalls have become a bit of a passion. It's as if the ghost of Bob Neilson and Harry have taken me over and appointed me the keeper of the Hindall flame .
                                                                               
                                                                                     

[shelpi]

Good onya Firko

[FourstrokeForever]

A man has to have a passion Firko! Great little yarn about the Hindall frames.

[Eldert]

this is a home made Cheney look alike for a Ducati narrowcase



engine is a  250 cc to comply with the pre 65 rules . it got a 350 crank and barrel and measures 344 cc

i did a little cilinderhead work for this engine . moved the inlet to middle to line up with the aircleaner . put valves in with a 7 mm stem and a coil spring conversion . welded up the sparkplug hole and put a 10 mm plug as high in the combustionchamper as possible
put in scrambler camshaft first but i had very little power . changed to a Mach 1 camshaft and that really  woke up the engine



Eldert

[FourstrokeForever]

Very interesting bike you have there Eldert. The brackets you have to move the gear lever to the opposite side look like a trick bit of engineering on their own.