OSCAR STORIES: MAX HAZAN

I think genetics played a major role in my talent, drive and the ability to work with my hands. My dad was always an inspiration even though I grew up dirt biking with my friends. He rode motorcycles but stopped long before I came into the picture. He had them all; old Ducati’s, BSA’s… he was a total gear head. I remember, every now and then I would come across some sort of problem and he would always say, “Oh yeah, that happened to me back in 19 so and so…”

I was an artist before I became a builder and it has helped in the process of custom motorcycle building. I started working with a foam model never really seeing that type of work done anywhere else. It allows me to see what I am working with without introducing any permanent mediums. It is such an easy step. I literally find this material at Michael’s Craft Store. As I said before, everything is fair game in my world. The first few bikes that I built I would rely on found material. I used anything from a kitchen sink screen to a bar mitzvah chalice.

This Ducati 998 will always be my favorite though. This was the cleanest most refined bike and it had a different engine than the rest. When it came out I literally had no money and would always tell myself, “someday.”

What attracted me to this bike was it’s elegant shape; it didn’t have any crazy graphics and it didn’t have air ducts that the 916 had, the exhaust and the features were all kind of cutting edge back then. It always just rubbed me the right way.

This bike is such an effortless ride. A lot of the artists, including artistic people that ride, space out, you know? I’ve left my keys in the fridge while thinking about how I could create a design and it is something that is definitely hard to switch off. But if you go out on a Sunday morning on an empty road and you just let it rip, that is pretty much the only way for me to switch it off. You completely forget everything and that is my favorite thing about this bike.

If someone were to ask me “if you could have anything else in life, what would it be,” I would say…keep it continuing as it is, there is no monetary amount or any material objects that I feel I need or that I want right now. This bike is definitely a testament to that. I have dreamt of it for years and now it’s mine.
I walked out on my back porch the other day and I thought there would be a bit more of a longing for more financial success or something like that…but I am more than comfortable with where I am in my life.

Ducati 125 Grand Prix

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Once again i cannot resist to repost a fabulous Bike i found on the amazing Bike Exif site and once again i have to say thanks Chris for your deramin' work.

I’ve often thought that the appeal of racing motorcycles is in their sculptural qualities. And despite the charmless name, there are few things more elegant than a ‘dustbin’ fairing from the 1950s. This one is an exceptionally beautiful example, and a testament to the metalworker’s skill. It was created for a 1955 Ducati 125 Grand Prix prototype, a machine based on the 100cc Gran Sport designed by Fabio Taglioni. Nestling in the frame is a single-cylinder DOHC ‘Bialbero’ engine: in Grand Prix trim, it produced a 16hp at a heady 10,500rpm... Read more

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Ducati 750 Imola replica

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Via : Bike Exif

Perhaps the most famous racing Ducati of all time is the 750 that took Englishman Paul Smart to victory in the 1972 Imola 200 race. And with a machine as iconic as that, you’re going to get people wanting to copy it. One such man is German Hajo Barth, and to make life easier, the starting point was his SportClassic Paul Smart 1000. Ducati already did a pretty good job in emulating the original Paul Smart bike, but Barth wanted something even closer—not only in looks, but also performance. So he took his bike to the dealer Ducati Rhein-Sieg in Waldbröl, and they set to work... Read more

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Just a Pic

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Giorgio Storchi on his Ducati

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Ducati 750 Imola Vs Reggiane Re.2005

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The Ducati 750 Imola Desmo

is a race motorcycle built by Ducati that won the 1972 Imola 200 mile race at the hands of Paul Smart. This win is considered historic by Ducati and its fans in that it helped define Ducati's approach to racing.
On March 20th, 1970, Fabio Taglioni (September 10, 1920 – July 18, 2001) made the first sketches for the layout of a new Ducati V twin. By April his drawings were completed, and by July, there was a running motor. By August 1970, there was a complete prototype motorcycle. Taglioni engaged Leopoldo Tartarini, the founder of Italjet, to refine the styling aspects of the new Ducati. (When these two worked together, a memorable Ducati usually emerged.)



In October 1970, the decision was made by Ducati to re enter motorcycle competition. Director Arnaldo Milvio and General Manager Fredmano Spairani, were enthusiastic about racing, and had encouraged Fabio Taglioni to develop the 750 V twin.
Taglioni experimented with four valve heads at this time, but failed to produce better power figures than his two valve heads, so the two valve racers continued. He continued to experiment with four valve heads right up to 1973. In 1971 race results were spoilt by a run of gearbox and ignition problems. Phil Read's second to Agostini in the San Remo Grand Prix, and a fourth, also by Read, at Monza in the Grand Prix delle Nazione were the highlights of the season.



A Seeley frame 750 cc had been tested by Mike Hailwood at Silverstone in August 1971 with a view to competing in F750. Hailwood decided against it, saying he didn’t think the handling was good enough. Taglioni had already produced a new frame, for the production bike, incorporating some of the Seeley features. He later said he felt the Seeley frame had been too light for the V twins. They used the production frame for the 1972 Imola bikes.
The 200 Mile formula was first run in Italy in 1972, at Imola. Ducati prepared eight 750 cc bikes for the event. Paul Smart, Bruno Spaggiari, Ermanno Giuliano, and Alan Dunscombe were secured as riders. By now racing fever had set in, and the factory wanted to win. The bikes had the new factory frames and 750 engines, and were once more prepared in a very short time. Wherever possible the bike was lightened, and new 40 mm Dell'Orto carburetors with accelerator pumps were used. These engines delivered 80 hp (60 kW) at 8,500 rpm.



The Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario



(English: Archer) was an Italian monoplane fighter/fighter-bomber produced for the Regia Aeronautica during the later years of World War II. Considered by many "the most beautiful plane of second world war" [2] it was, along with the Macchi C.202/C.205 and Fiat G.55, the Re. 2005 was one of the three "Serie 5" Italian fighters built around the famous Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine. Only 48 examples were built. "The Re 2005 was altogether a superb, potent, aeroplane", observed Group Captain Duncan Smith, DSO DFC.



Design and development
The Reggiane 2005 was the last of the Reggiane aircraft line to be built in World War II. The project which started in 1941 was carried out by a team led by Roberto Longhi, and included designers Alessio, Maraschini, Toniolo and Pozzi. Preliminary work was completed before the end of the year despite being a new project, and not simply a revamping of an existing aircraft design such as the Reggiane Re.2002. The DB 605 engine still had to be delivered when the airframe was ready in February 1942.

The resulting machine was not only rated as one of the best Italian wartime aircraft, but also one of the best if not the best-looking. Its semi-elliptical wings, long nose and large tail were all distinctive features of this small, nimble fighter.



The prototype MM.494 first flew 9 May 1942, but the day after, a heavy landing led to an undercarriage failure which caused serious damage, and consequently was unable to fly again until June (MM.494 was damaged two other times in tests). This prototype had four Breda 12.7 mm machine guns and one Mauser cannon and was primarily used for testing, and then for the aerial defense of Naples.
After a fierce competition, in which the C.205N was quickly abandoned, and the G.55 considered marginally better, the Regia Aeronautica ordered the production of 750 Re.2005 aircraft.

Ducati 750 GT - 1970

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Production 750 GT

In June 1971, the first Ducati 750 GT models came out of the factory, distinguished by silver frames, metal-flake paint, fibreglass fuel tanks, 30 mm Amal carburettors, and twin leading shoe rear brakes.

At least one machine from this initial run is thought to have arrived at the US importer, Berliner - another early machine (possibly the test mule - complete with Dunstall dual front discs on gaitered Norton forks) was pictured much earlier, on Vic Camp's display at the 1970-71 winter UK national motorcycle show .



The Imola 750 bikes

Taglioni experimented with four valve heads at this time, but failed to produce better power figures than his two valve heads, so the two valve racers continued. He continued to experiment with four valve heads right up to 1973.

In 1971 race results were spoilt by a run of gearbox and ignition problems. Phil Read's second to Agostini in the San Remo Grand Prix, and a fourth, also by Read, at Monza in the Grand Prix delle Nazione were the highlights of the season.



A Seeley frame 750 cc had been tested by Mike Hailwood at Silverstone in August 1971 with a view to competing in F750. Hailwood decided against it, saying he didn’t think the handling was good enough.

Taglioni had already produced a new frame, for the production bike, incorporating some of the Seeley features. He later said he felt the Seeley frame had been too light for the V twins. They used the production frame for the 1972 Imola bikes.



The 200 Mile formula was first run in Italy in 1972, at Imola. Ducati prepared eight 750 cc bikes for the event. Paul Smart, Bruno Spaggiari, Ermanno Giuliano, and Alan Dunscombe were secured as riders.

Ducati 750 Imola 1972

By now racing fever had set in, and the factory wanted to win. The bikes had the new factory frames and 750 engines, and were once more prepared in a very short time. Wherever possible the bike was lightened, and new 40 mm Dell'Orto carburetors with accelerator pumps were used. These engines delivered 80 hp (60 kW) at 8,500 rpm.