1974 Ducati 750 GT

Johnny
You will love this bike.I have a 73 750 GT that's had a "mild restomod...CNW style "treatment done to it as well My Ducati was a 50 th birthday present from my awesome wife ( it was supposed to be CNW build # 66 ),that's a whole nother story....I did wind up with A CNW bike too (#012)...I love my wife. ! I love my Duc too...!! I saw a 74 GT sell for 21 K recently at mecums Las Vegas,they are becoming kinda valuable,I like the tasteful mods yours has had done to it,though the duc is sweet,sweet,sweet... I'd pick my commando first as my "go to" bike,the Ducati feels much heavier...if you get on it right after getting off the norton! You'll see,I think that's a pretty good problem to have... Choosing between a 71 commando or a 73 round case Duc....... Such a dilemma ! Really sweet motorcycle,enjoy it,be safe,and expect as big a crowd gathering around your Duc as does when the Nortons out,as far as parts and knowledge on the bike, They're some good people that have good info and parts too... "Bevel heaven"'has been great and " big sids" could be another good resource.
 
I will be curious to see how it performs compared to your commando. I imagine it is a bit faster
 
Thanks guys! I hope to get her out and on the road today or tomorrow. The weather here has not been cooperating.
 
I am always afraid I might weaken and buy a Ducati. My friend had a business working on them. He told me that no bill he ever gave his customers was under $5000.
 
acotrel said:
I am always afraid I might weaken and buy a Ducati. My friend had a business working on them. He told me that no bill he ever gave his customers was under $5000.
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And that was just to change the spark plugs!
 
Johnnymac said:
bill said:
they are a horrible lump . I would be happy to relive you of if before you get dissapointed in it :lol: you better hope it has an EI as maintaining the points is a PITA .

PS I do have the tool to mount a degree wheel in the crank to set it up. :mrgreen:
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Thank Bill. It does have Electronic ignition. Incidentally, I am getting boxes full of stock parts and tools which include the degree wheel and crank. This 1974 was completely overhauled in 2012 and I'm buying from the second owner who's had it since 1980. I think it's damn sexy and I can't wait.
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This was on Bevelheaven, wasn't it?
 
swooshdave said:
Johnnymac said:
bill said:
they are a horrible lump . I would be happy to relive you of if before you get dissapointed in it :lol: you better hope it has an EI as maintaining the points is a PITA .

PS I do have the tool to mount a degree wheel in the crank to set it up. :mrgreen:
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Thank Bill. It does have Electronic ignition. Incidentally, I am getting boxes full of stock parts and tools which include the degree wheel and crank. This 1974 was completely overhauled in 2012 and I'm buying from the second owner who's had it since 1980. I think it's damn sexy and I can't wait.
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This was on Bevelheaven, wasn't it?
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Yes it was.
 
acotrel said:
I am always afraid I might weaken and buy a Ducati. My friend had a business working on them. He told me that no bill he ever gave his customers was under $5000.
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If I only bought/rode bikes that were cheap to maintain and super reliable, I'd be riding a suzuki.
 
How about a Zero?
Easy to maintain, and reliable.
All you need is an electric cord.
:lol:
 
Johnnymac said:
acotrel said:
I am always afraid I might weaken and buy a Ducati. My friend had a business working on them. He told me that no bill he ever gave his customers was under $5000.
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If I only bought/rode bikes that were cheap to maintain and super reliable, I'd be riding a suzuki.[/quote

I hear ya. I have a Kawasaki. It's also extremely fast.
 
Johnnymac - can you feel the envy? All the way from Los Angeles, from me, right atcha.
I too am among those who once had a round case 750 - '72 Sport with pumpers - and a girl friend with a '73 GT.

Use it in its element - fast roads. Not saying go fast, just that the really tight stuff is less fun. Lots of wheelbase and lots of trail, so it likes sweepers, the faster the better. Just remember - "Cook Nielsen won at Daytona."

Congratulations. Good buy.
 
xbacksideslider said:
Johnnymac - can you feel the envy? All the way from Los Angeles, from me, right atcha.
I too am among those who once had a round case 750 - '72 Sport with pumpers - and a girl friend with a '73 GT.

Use it in its element - fast roads. Not saying go fast, just that the really tight stuff is less fun. Lots of wheelbase and lots of trail, so it likes sweepers, the faster the better. Just remember - "Cook Nielsen won at Daytona."

Congratulations. Good buy.
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Thanks guys! I took her out for her maiden voyage a few days ago and let me tell you it rides great! I didn't get on it too hard but it pulls hard. I felt like I was on a modern bike with the stiff Works suspension. The new Brembo Master Cylinder and Brembo Hydraulic Clutch also made it seem like a modern bike. It's going to be hard to compare it to my Commando though. My Commando is set up with a single carb (Mikuni) and the Ducati has very well tuned dual Dellorto pumpers. I'd venture to say that the Ducati might beat it off the line. It would probably beat it top end too given the 5th gear.
 
Roadtests of the time didn't put a standard GT as any faster than a Commando,
especially if the Commando had the gearbox sprocket changed to something taller out of the showroom.
You had to buy a the 750 Sport or 750 SS if you wanted faster.

If you have pumper carbs, yours is not standard though (?)
I looked at the length of the wheelbase, and decided it mightn't fit in the garage I had then.
Went with a LeMans instead, well post-Commando era by then ....

Sounds like the Ajay is not going to get too many miles, with all these other toys.
It was Ajays plural too, wasn't it ?
 
I sold my '71 Commando to a friend to help pay for my '72 Sport in 1973 and on our subsequent rides it killed my old Commando, especially at the big end. 20 tooth on the Norton. So, yeah, Rohan, gearing.
 
all but the early GT's had 30 MM pumpers sports had 32 MM pumpers and SS had 40' s only did the early GT's had amal's

Rohan said:
If you have pumper carbs, yours is not standard though (?)
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Not that pumper carbs make them any faster though.

It just improves acceleration if you crack the throttle open.
And reduces fuel mileage...
 
Agreed again, Rohan . . . . but . . .

I had several desmos as well as hair pin spring singles and over time I put pumper carbs on all of 'em except the 250 Diana because it had the smoothbore Dellorto. My concluding opinion was, and remains, that a pumper carb is especially helpful on a single precisely because it IS a single AND that it is more helpful the bigger the displacement of that single.

The thing is, when you crack the throttle mid turn and near the lower end of your midrange, a lot of time passes, relative to your pals on twins, or two strokes, or triples of fours, before the mass of air in your intake tract reacts, speeds up, and pulls more fuel from the float bowl. Same bike with a pumper, however gets that fuel a beat sooner, and yes, while the mass of air is still slow, and the mixture is likely rich because of that, you still do get a quicker response. Further, if you tune the carb to be a bit lean in steady state in the absence of the pumper's shot, then that shot can hit and deliver a perfect mixture at that exact same beat, or moment.

The twins, two strokes, triples or fours, as such, once the throttle is opened more, all will hit power strokes sooner and more often than a single, and therefrom they get their advantage - a moment sooner than your single can - of that increase in air mass delivered by that cracked throttle. The pumper evens the field, just a bit, with proportionally more help to the single, than to the others.

Next, with that big twin, it too gets better crankshaft acceleration albeit not as proportionally large as with the single, from the pumper than without it. It is, after all, a twin against, fours, typically, so it too gets an edge, just not as pronounced.
 
xbacksideslider said:
Agreed again, Rohan . . . . but . . .

I had several desmos as well as hair pin spring singles and over time I put pumper carbs on all of 'em except the 250 Diana because it had the smoothbore Dellorto. My concluding opinion was, and remains, that a pumper carb is especially helpful on a single precisely because it IS a single AND that it is more helpful the bigger the displacement of that single.

The thing is, when you crack the throttle mid turn and near the lower end of your midrange, a lot of time passes, relative to your pals on twins, or two strokes, or triples of fours, before the mass of air in your intake tract reacts, speeds up, and pulls more fuel from the float bowl. Same bike with a pumper, however gets that fuel a beat sooner, and yes, while the mass of air is still slow, and the mixture is likely rich because of that, you still do get a quicker response. Further, if you tune the carb to be a bit lean in steady state in the absence of the pumper's shot, then that shot can hit and deliver a perfect mixture at that exact same beat, or moment.

The twins, two strokes, triples or fours, as such, once the throttle is opened more, all will hit power strokes sooner and more often than a single, and therefrom they get their advantage - a moment sooner than your single can - of that increase in air mass delivered by that cracked throttle. The pumper evens the field, just a bit, with proportionally more help to the single, than to the others.

Next, with that big twin, it too gets better crankshaft acceleration albeit not as proportionally large as with the single, from the pumper than without it. It is, after all, a twin against, fours, typically, so it too gets an edge, just not as pronounced.
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Interesting that you chose to fit pumpers to your Duke twins and singles. I have run a 40mm pumper carb for years on my 450 Desmo which still has the old race motor. After I put it back on the road a few years ago, I blanked off the accelerator pump to see if it made any difference. None that I could perceive (with a Conti silencer) but that's just my observation of one bike and not a generalisation. One bike that needs them in my view is my 75/6 Beemer, which has the Bing CVs. Pumpers on that could be fun...

Dave
 
P.S. Johnnymac, I love your 750 GT. Those would be the sort of careful and discreet mods I would want to do. The previous owner clearly put a lot of thought into them and executed them well.
 
daveh said:
P.S. Johnnymac, I love your 750 GT. Those would be the sort of careful and discreet mods I would want to do. The previous owner clearly put a lot of thought into them and executed them well.
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Thanks Dave! I appreciate it. I am having a lot of fun with this bike!
 
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