Justin’s Ducati 900SS Mike Hailwood Replica

Justin has owned this magnificent device for 40 years, after which time the wires were starting to get a bit ambiguous.

This is the reason we first met. He’d managed to get a replica loom which the seller assured him was correct, and asked if I could fit it. It sounded simple enough and, as I was booked for months, I suggested my colleague Rupe Farnsworth could do it instead.

I went round to Rupe’s as he was starting the job and found him not entirely happy. Long story short, the loom was for a much earlier 900SS model, with a simpler dash, simpler switchgear and no electric start. (The 1983-onwards MHRs, we learned, all had electric starts. Ducati only made 1400 of them.)

We had a long chat with Justin, who just wanted a properly sorted-out bike, and invited us to use our judgement. Someone had recently fitted a Sachse ignition (which is good), but left on the original 1980s Bosch coils with rotten leads (which is terrible). The bike also had a race master cylinder which fits the right clip-on so tightly that there was no room for the switch cluster. So that had been transferred to the left, along with the switch which was already there. It did not look great.

We went for a pair of new Dyna Mini Series coils, because they work with the Sachse, and are small and easy to fit. The double switch issue was solved with separate Run/Kill and Start switches: Start on the left, Run/Kill on the right.

There is no shortage of suitable-looking switches but like so much cheap stuff on eBay the quality is atrocious. Both used wildly inadequate cable: 15 x 0.1mm copper strands in one case, and 17 in the other. That’s enough to carry about an amp of current. I’d want to see six amp capacity at least. The answer is a) to keep the original cables, but run the switch through a relay; or b) replace the cables with decent ones. Needless to say, the eBay sellers never mention this.

Getting stuck in to an old bevel like this shows what an afterthought the electric start addition was. The Hailwood Rep has to run open carbs cos it’s a race rep, innit. But that means you have to put the fuse box and starter solenoid in the tail unit, because they can become ignition sources in certain conditions. I considered putting both these components in the middle of the bike. It would be so much more efficient! Then I woke up.

It’s great fun sorting these issues out and giving Justin a bike that looks good and works properly. It reminds me of my old Darmah 900SS, which also ran this electric start system.