Hi All,

Last week I bought a set of wheels on Ebay to convert the bike to 17" rims when the current set of tyres wears out. The wheels allow to keep the standard forks and swingarm and come complete with a set of bushes, carriers for the discs and a speedo drive. A guy in the Netherlands fabricates these kits every now and then and they look pretty good. I think it's pretty funny that I have to get the parts to keep the bike going from the other side of the world (and my country of birth).

Rode the Paso down to the coast the weekend before last and had a ball! My right wrist only hurt a bit, but the ride definitely made up for it. The bike runs all right but I plan to have a closer look a the carburators to at least adjust the idling.

Last Sunday I went for a ride on a beautiful twisty road not 10 minutes from our front door that runs along the edge of a mountain range called the Brindabellas. I'm still getting to know Massimo, so I don't tend to go too silly. But all the same, I could easily keep up with much newer bikes through the curves. Pretty excellent for an ageing Italian!

Cheers,

Mike

you bought that kit ? I thought it was really expensive.

G.

Could you provide more information? Did you buy this kit from the manufacturer, or did you get it from another seller? Do you know the name of the person or shop that makes the kit?

I don't have access to a machine shop, so a complete kit sounds very interesting!

Good stuff, Mike! Congratulations!

I've been a bit worried about you. You got into this Paso thing in such an optimistic way, and I was wondering how it would turn out for you. But you seem to be doing well. Now just ride carefully! Don't drop her! Make sure your cam belts and chain are never too tight, get the DelOrtos and sparks set right (and I also recommend reversing the gear shift - although if you own several bikes that can be problematic unless you can do it on all of them) and you'll have a beautiful ride:



Only the Air Vibrates

by Erskine Hewett


Metal, plastic and rubber can't talk, I know that.
But they can make music
- music of iron and fire,
and every time I fire her up, she makes music for me.

It's not some high-pitched jazzy Jap jingle,
it's a rich and throaty Italian opera.
She wears heavy Zorst cans that boom,
and with the butterflies open, they boom boy, they boom.

They go WHAP! WHAP! when I crack the whip.
The Dellortos and sparks are set so right,
the Malossi can pick up a single bang. WHAP!

The clutch goes home with just a few revs,
and she sighs as she begins to move.
Miraculously, she moves with no vibration.
Her power is pure.

Only the air vibrates
with her rich contralto voice
rising and rising and rising again,
and then falling, and falling, and falling.

Through the valley.
Across the plain.
Through the traffic.
Free.

The thrill of the corner builds
as we approach.
Joyfully, I crack the whip again.

The Zorsts go WHAP! WHAP! as I crack the whip.
The Dellortos and sparks are set so right,
the Malossi can pick up a single bang. WHAP!

Howdy Mike,

PM

Mike,

there`re obviously differences in Australia and Europe Finding Duc wheels in Germany or the Netherlands is no big issue. Next to numerous internet sites, there`re always numerous listed on ebay.
Regarding the price of the set I think the seller should have offered one with no front wheel brake disc adapters as I would guess that most guys doing a conversion will go with the 300 or 320mm discs that are usually on the 17" wheels. Shipping of all that must also cost a fortune.
But afterall I do agree, such a ready set will definetely makes things easier and give less headaches.

G.

That's some excellent poetry there Skins! I can fully agree with the goosebumps when hearing the thunder coming out of the pipe and the induction roar when those Del'Ortos suck their lungs full of air.

However, my muse has been stifled somewhat today because I had to get it through the inspection to get ACT plates. The little men at the garage that did the inspection ummed and ah-ed a lot when I fired the bike up. For some reason they seemed to think that Massimo was growling too loudly at them! A friendly bike repair shop was happy to open up the can, repack the muffler and put in a baffle plate within the hour. Back at the inspectors they were still not sure about how the plate was mounted ('it's not welded, you could take it out later'...Really? Wow! Who'd have thought...) But the bike is now an offical resident of Canberra and we'll soon give him his voice back.

I appreciate your concern, but please don' worry about me too much. As I mentioned before, I have the GSX for reliability and the Duc is purely to play with. That means that I'm not too worried if things don't go as planned right away. As a matter of fact, getting the Duc has prompted me to start again on my other shed project, a pop-up Katana (called Kitty Katana, if you must know...). I've just realised that all my current bikes are 750s Must be a lucky number.

Jfiore: the ID of the seller of the kit I bought is http://myworld.ebay.com.au/crisdraaisma/ and he was very helpful in answering questions.

Jaffa: I've responded to your PM. I was approached by someone today when I parked Massimo in town. He was looking to buy a Paso, so Canberra could turn in to Paso Central! When I sang the praises of this forum it turned out he had already been browsing here and read my initial postings. Ahh, the price of fame...

Cheers,

Mike

So it has Ducati wheels with it? Any idea what speedo drive unit came with the kit? The reason I ask is because I have a 907 swingarm and the wheels and brakes from a '94 Ducati SS900cr that I may put on my Paso if the need arises. I have been wondering what to do about the speedometer.

I had a test ride on the one that is for sale in Fyshwyck before buying mine. It feels a bit rough and I think 5k is a bit optimistic. When I rode it I had a gearbox full of neutrals for part of the time and a some of the gauges and lights aren't working.

I'm going to be in Melbourne next weekend because we're looking at going to the F1 GP.

Catch you soon,

Mike

Desmo_Demon,

I have to admit that I don't know which speedo drive is included, but I would imagine that it is the one from the donor bike of the rims (to account for the larger size of the wheels). However, if you want to be sure, contact the seller of the kit. He seemed very happy to answer questions and he should be able to tell you exactly which speedo drive he used.

The Ebay ID of the seller of the kit I bought is http://myworld.ebay.com.au/crisdraaisma/

Cheers,

Mike

he listed another set.
As he says there`re still some things to be done like modifying the rear wheel and sprocket carrier to fit new/ different size bearings (not required if you use the set on a Sport).
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ducati-750-906-paso ... 240%3A1318

G.

A little bit expensive, I think...
Ciao

Not "so expensive", if really want to convert....