Monza Jr - What direction to go - As is, Restore, Something else?

[gregwils]

I am new to Ducati ownership having just bought might first. In fact, this is my first bike in over 30 years, been into older Porsches. This is barely putting my toes in the water, but a bought a Monza Jr that I am not sure what direction to go.

The bike needs cleaned up, but is really complete. The odometer shows 1042 miles, but don't know if it's correct...yet. I am trying to decide whether or not to leave it alone beyond cleaning. Restore (not a 100 point) to factory correct. Or last, do a few minor mods that suit my taste.

I would leave it alone only because I would feel guilty screwing with something that has already survived 45+ years. There is something appealing about the original patina and all that good stuff.

I would restore because this isn't a historically significant bike, and it would be fun. It wouldn't have the original patina, but would at least be honoring some historical accuracy.

I would do a few minor mods - cafe-type seat and clubman's and change a few colors because that would also be fun, plus it would look a little cooler than the simple 160 the factory created.

Anyone have any suggestions?

PS - I have the correct tank, but it has a pinhole that needs repaired. I have the right side cover, need the left.

[captpaul]

I have a good selection of parts for yours, side covers ect, I could use the tank on yours for a 250 Gt project I am working on, let me know what you need, and what you want for that tank Capt Paul

[captpaul]

After enlarging the picture of your tank,I see it's a Benelli tank, not a Ducati.

[Mad Dog]

Ugh, the patina kind of sucks. Cleaning it up would be my choice, leaving as it will probably just draw guffaws.

[DesmoDog]

Unless you have a burning desire for a restored 160 Monza Jr, I wouldn't worry about being factory correct. A few years ago I bought a 160 Monza Jr in slightly worse shape than yours. Here are a couple somewhat recent pics to give you an idea of my take on the question:



I'm putting the engine in now.


More details:
Ducati 160 Home Page

Or a build thread here:
1966 Ducati 160 Monza Jr Rebuild - ADVrider

The 160 will never be worth much as far as Ducatis go. The support for parts isn't as good as it is for the larger (175 and up) bikes. The components used aren't at the same level as the larger bikes. So basically if I was going to do a restoration on a Ducati single I'd start with a 250 or 350 instead.

It can be a fun project bike though. I had planned on making mine into a 125 Sport clone but it morphed into this instead.

So.. if I were in your shoes I'd probably put some lower bars on it, put a fiberglass tail on it if you want, then paint it up however I wanted and have fun with it. I'm not a fan of the orginal styling at all, but I saw one that was basically stock except for clubman bars and it looked pretty nice.

Some people might give you grief for using clubmans with no rearsets, but Ducati did basically the same thing on some models so I'm going with it on mine. The bike is so small you don't really move your feet much with rearsets anyway!

BTW - I just sold a bunch of 356 engine stuff I was planning to put into my 1960 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet. Already had 356A brakes on it but I sold it all off earlier this year after having it in the family for about 30 years...

[gregwils]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I came to the same conclusion as most seem to be suggesting. The bike isn't historically significant - sort of like owning a '65 Ford Galaxy 4-door sedan - so no guilt will be suffered in any changes. I too don't care for the styling in it's current state. My project goal is to have fun without loosing too much money. Desmo Dog - I had seen your restoration thread. Lot's of good documentation that I will reference over time. I like the styling improvements on your bike too.

I like the look of the picture attached. It's an upholstered cafe seat as opposed to a glassed one. I may use this bike as my design goal. I am not sure about the rear sets, after all, it is still a '65 Ford Galaxy 4-door sedan underneath. At this point, I am thinking change the color, clubman(?) bars, and change the seat.

Where do I get tires? It currently has 2.75-16 front and 3.25 -16 rear. I have never seen tires so dry rotted in my life, it's possible they are original. My brief internet searches for the right tires haven't been productive. Any direction here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for your responses. As I learn a little more, I will try to be an active contributor to the board.

Capt Paul - I need the left side cover, so I will be in touch. I believe you are correct that the tank is a Benelli, but I have the original. It just needs repaired.

[DesmoDog]

The bike you've shown looks nice, but the rearsets are mess. Check out the angle of the shifter and imagine sitting on a small bike with your toes higher than your heel on the shifter... I think he'd have been better off leaving the stock controls on it.

That's the same problem I ran into on that side. The shifter has to be high enough to clear the muffler which rasies your foot up pretty high if you want any sort of angle between the peg and the shifter.

On the other side you have to have a folding brake lever and peg to celar the kickstart. It's all doable bit not as easy as it might appear at first.

I have no idea where to buy tires for a Monza Jr. I went with 17" rims, so I didn't need to find them...

[gregwils]

Desmo - Thanks. I hadn't thought about the issue you pointed out with the rearsets - my general inexperience - so thanks.

I did find a decent source for tires from the UK. Shipping is only about $17/tire, so not too bad to find what you are looking for. Much better selection of older sizes. Wheel House Tyres