Enthusiasm for Our Ducati TT and F1 Racers

The world of motorcycling is changing dramatically for all manufacturers. Ducati who once was committed solely to the "L"-Twin Cylinder race engines is now racing their "V" 4 cylinder race engines in MotoGP and now in the Superbike series. Then there is electrical power technology on the horizon. Who knows what the future will bring?! The future remains strong for vintage motorcycles and vintage motorcycle racing. 

At Italianiron Classics and our sister company, BritIron Classics, the future is extremely bright as Two Wheel Classics-UK has been purchased by Molnar Precision LTD-UK.  We will remain the US based dealer for this new organization. According to Jim Blomley, founder of Two Wheel Classics-UK, "The fantastic and renowned manufacturing facilities of the Molnar organization will be responsible for the production of our Ducati TT, F1, and TWC's product line and this action will allow the business to develop and to grow." Jim adds, "I will continue as a consultant to TWC for some years to come. As you know, my enthusiasm for TWC remains unabated".

Due to the continued racing successes of Ducati Corse and the direction of the Classic Motorcycle Marketplace in general, Team Molnar Manx will be campaigning a pair of Post Classic TT 1000 Racers with Ducati engines in the CRMC in the UK. "Applying the same principles of high quality and impeccable attention to detail, which have made us the best in the business when it comes to Classic single cylinder machines, we intend to take the Post Classic Racing scene by storm". At Italianiron, we see a great deal of expertise that will be infused into TWC as a result of this purchase by Molnar Precision LTD and we will all benefit from their wealth of manufacturing skill and racing successes. 

It is exciting to see a continued bolstering of the sport of Vintage Motorcycle Racing across the pond and, in turn, here in the US. The Molnar Ducatis will also run in Post Classic Superbike 2 and the ACU Post Classic Championships. Featured below is Richard Molnar pushing racing one of the team's Molnar Manx racers successfully in competition. It will be exciting to see how quickly Team Molnar will get comfortable with the Ducati twins. Similarily here in the US, one of the AHRMA vintage race series, for example, emphasizes 650 cc machines for Pantah and TT based racers. This series for the vintage racer should also encourage the track day enthusiast to entertain the use of one of these light and potent racers. This series is called Next GEN Light Weight Superbike series. This series is addition to the other available classes for the range of Ducati Twin Cylinder machines such as Heavy Twins-Vintage Superbike and Battle of the Twins (BOTT).

At Italian Iron Classics, we are committed to the sport of Vintage Motorcycle Racing as a means to more safely participate in the passion and history of motorcycling in general and racing in particular. Whether using a vintage motorcycle as a racer or as a track day enthusiast, the question is, what if you could take a nimble, highly "flick-able", solid performing, powerful and hard braking machine to the track that used numerous "inexpensive" modern spare parts?  Our "value proposition" is that we can support that Ducatisti with a cost effective means of providing quality race bike items such as our light weight chrome-moly TT race chassis bits with modern metalurgy. Our frames will accommodate Ducati engines from the Pantah series up through the Ducati Monster 1100 cc engines for that vintage racer or track day enthusiast. However, we also support that rider that is only interested in riding a glorious vintage street bike!!

In addition to our own builds, we have been assisting other racers with our Ducati TT and Pantah chassis kits, bodywok kits and a wide selection of specialty race bits. Chasing improvements in Power:Weight Ratios is at the heart of racing. Race bikes that look period but have modern, updated components should be seriously considered as a cost effective way and a safer way to participate in racing's passion and history. 

In 1990's and into 2000's, I was racing my 750 Bevel Drive Ducati. However, this was before the prices of bevel drive spare parts and the value of these old "thoroughbreds" sky-rocketed. Even though I could only participate in 4 to 6 races a year due to career conflicts, it was an expensive venture even back then. Expense and safety is a real consideration when approaching motorcycling in general much less in racing. Taking a modern Superbike to the track is an expensive venture even without crashing it!! 

My Spaggiari Ducati Scuderia Corse inspired 750 Bevel Desmo racer has been parked for years now and I am currently in the process of rebuilding it for only that occasional track day outing. In the photo below provided by Dave Railton in the UK, it illustrates the effect of the evolution of a Ducati race bikes from a performance perspective. In the example below, Tony Rutter leads the race on his Belt Driven Pantah 600 cc racer ahead of Dave's Bevel Drive 860 cc racer. Historically, massive horsepower or displacement is not always the key to success in racing. However, one could argue that the evolutionary step that the Ducati factory took was motivated by economics, enhancements in technology and the inherently superior power:weight ratios of their new belt driven engines. 

At Italian Iron Classics, we are in a unique position to assist the serious vintage racer as well as that track day enthusiast with our chrome-moly chassis and bodywork kits. We also stock Pantah 650, 750 Paso, and 900 Supersport engines. Additionally we also have a large selection of wheels in modern magnesium or aluminum. The different sizes include 16", 17", 18" and 19" rims for example. Finally, we also make our own wiring looms for racing or street application. Let us "Fuel Your Racing Passions" at Italianiron.com