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48 SPORTIVA (2010)‏ :: Radical Ducati

By September 1, 2013Motorcycles

Pepo Rosell & Reyes Ramon operate Radical Ducati out of Madrid, Spain. As their name implies, they specialize in customizing Ducatis to the extreme. Oh, and they’re super human when it comes to productivity – it seems like every month they’re bringing out a new build. I saw this 1963 Ducati and wanted to know more about this unique looking bike. Pepo kindly sent over details.

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“With the passage of time, the 48 Sportiva has become an icon and I’ve really liked it a lot. An Australian bought the bike from me and I suppose that it’s sitting in the living room of his house by now. I shipped it to him in pieces by mail so that he could see just how simple and small it really was!”
– pepo rosell

 

More on the 48 SPORTIVA after the jump below…

 

 
1963 Ducati 48 Sport by Pepo Rosell

The base of the bike is a 1963 Ducati 48 Sport. This one in particular is Spanish made (there was a factory in Barcelona called MotoTrans that was licensed to build Ducatis).

We modified the chassis so we could install a rear racing cowl that we bought at the Imola Biker Rally in Italy, but we don’t know which motorcycle it came from. The fuel tank is the original from the 48 Sport.

In the suspension, we checked the fork and put in some new Betor shocks (like the ones that they used to use in the 250 racers).

The engine is the original from the 48 Sport (50 cc). It’s a two stroke engine. We installed an exhaust from the Spanish brand Jazen that was originally meant for a Rieju 50 Supermotard.

As for the brakes, the rear is the original, but the front is a double cam magnesium. It’s a racing break that GP bikes used back when the 50 cc category existed. The magnesium brake alone costs more than the entire J motorcycle.

The handlebar is the original, only adjusted to have a more sporty position.

The footrests are fabricated by us. On this engine, the gears don’t go down by the feet; instead, the gearshift is located on the left grip (like Vespas, it only has three gears).

The wheels are 17 inches (which is the original size), but we put on some wider Morad (the old Akront) aluminum rims. The tires are Dunlops which are used in moped racing.

I built this bike to participate in an expo in Padova, Italy and wanted to do something that hasn’t been done yet. Instead of making a great-big Ducati, I felt like building a racing moped (a great Ducati on a smaller scale).

We didn’t win any awards because the judges didn’t get it; it seems that in contests, you’ve got to go with a big and sophisticated motorcycle. On this bike, everything is simple and basic, it probably doesn’t have more than 200 pieces in all…it’s the essence of a bike: an engine; a seat and two wheels!

With the passage of time, the 48 Sportiva has become an icon and I’ve really liked it a lot. An Australian bought the bike from me and I suppose that it’s sitting in the living room of his house by now. I shipped it to him in pieces by mail so that he could see just how simple and small it really was!

Here’s the original Spanish version – in case you want to rag on me about my translation…

La base de la moto es una Ducati 48 Sport del año 63 , esta en concreto es de fabricación española ( había una fabrica en Barcelona que fabricaba las Ducati bajo licencia, se llamaba MOTOTRANS).

Modificamos el chasis para poder montar un colin de carreras que compramos en la Feria de Imola (Italia) y que no sabemos de que moto era. El deposito es el original de la 48 Sport.

En la suspensión, revisamos la horquilla y montamos unos amortiguadores Betor nuevos (como los que montaban las 250 de carreras).

El motor es el original de la 48 Sport ( 50 cc) , es un motor de dos tiempos (two stroke) . le montamos un escape de la marca española Jazen que era para montar en una Rieju 50 de Supermotard.

Respecto a los frenos el trasero es el original pero el delantero es un doble /doble leva de magnesio , es un freno de competcion que llevaban las motos de GP cuando existía la categoría de 50 cc. Solo el freno de magnesio vale mas que toda la moto J .

El manillar es el original pero dado la vuelta para que tuviera una posición mas deportiva.

Las estriberas son fabricadas por nosotros. En este motor las marchas no van al pie ,sino que el cambio se encuentra en el puño izquierdo ( como en las vespas) tiene tres marchas nada mas.

Las ruedas on de 17 pulgadas que es la medida original, pero pusimos unas llantas de aluminio Morad (la antigua Akront) mas anchas. Los neumáticos son unos Dunlop que se utilizan en carreras de ciclomotores.

Esta moto la hice para participar en un showbike en Padova (Italia) y quería hacer algo diferente hasta la fecha, en vez de hacer una gran Ducati me apetecia hacer un ciclomotor de carreras ( una gran Ducati a escala mas pequeña).

No conseguimos ningún premio porque el jurado no la entendió ,parece como si a los concursos estas obligado a ir con una moto grande y sofisticada. En esta moto todo es sencillez y básico, no debe tener mas de 200 piezas en total…es la esencia de una moto , un motor un asiento y dos ruedas ¡!!.

Con el paso del tiempo la 48 Sportiva se ha convertido en un icono y ha gustado muchísimo. La moto me la compro un Austyraliano y ahora supongo que estará en el salón de su casa. Se la envie por correo desmontada en una caja para que veas lo sencilla y pequeña que erala moto ¡!!.

Cuando tengas el articulo listo, dimelo y hacemos un enlace con tu blog.

+ Source: Radical Ducati