Mark 3 ID?

[Jordan]

What date is stamped onto the front brake torque lug, on the forks?

[ducwiz]

I do not fully agree with 1972. At that time, the silver shotgun Desmo already was fitted with a 35mm Marzocchi fork. Shouldn't a MkIII from the same year have the same? And: In 1972 the Desmo's tank was supported on 2 brackets welded to the gusset plate behind the steering head, by 2 vertically mounted rubber buffers. Earlier models had 2 screw sockets welded into the steering head tube, from both sides. One of your photos seems to show only a hole on the very spot, and no bracket. Finally, afaik Akront rims were never used or offered for italian Ducati singles of the 70s.
Unfortunately, I could neither find any dated photo or brochure for a 1972 MkIII on my HD, nor in the web. Can somebody outthere point us to a web link or upload some pics?

Hans

[Duccout]

To me, the bike looks to have a 1968 feel about it. How is the tank held on? There are no brackets and the threaded holes in the headstock look to have been bored out.

[graeme]

And,,,, what are the drill holes in the down tubes next to the battery for?

[Ventodue]

Just for everyone who is also scratching their heads on this one , here's the data from the BH/Robert Miller registry.

The "350GT" bikes are in red. The OP's bike is the first one, in red + bold.

Note the homologation codes. Most strange ...

350 data.jpg

[Ventodue]

I<snip>The history I was related on the previous owner was that he was from Quebec and rode the bike out here to BC.
So that rules out the Sebring and, as a bike sold in Canada, makes sense of the stamped numbers too.

No, not necessarily. The possibility of the frame originally being a Sebring frame remains 'live'. While American bikes didn't have a frame number 'cos of the different registration requirements state-to-state, it seems possible/probable that Canadian bikes DID.

Ok, I say that on the base of one record only (number 870). And that record is for a n/c Sebring. But ...

I was looking through the Bevel Heaven list as well and at least one of the bikes with the matching frame prefix also listed the engine prefix as DM350M3. It doesn’t list the year, but is in a group of 350s from 1972. Based on all your input and weeks of research, I am leaning towards this being a 1972 350 Mark 3.

Engine-wise, yes (see below). But as far as the frame is concerned, that doesn't explain why you would have a homologation number that had been out of use for 2 years by 1972 - ?

Have a look at this record for a Canadian 1972 Mark 3 - frame number first, engine number afterwards. Note that none of the frame info matches yours: not the prefix code, not the number sequence, not the homologation code.

Canada Mark 3.jpg

What we DO know, thanks to Eldert, is that your engine is 1972 or later . And that fits with the other Mark 3 records - see below.

Mark 3 data.jpg

I think a Scrambler could be ruled out as well based on the ‘ears’ for the headlight too. Aside from what might be a cut down pod for the tach mount,the black CEV tach itself, an Aprilia switch and the horn those are the only stock accessories left I believe. Would those items help to confirm this conclusion?

I haven't really been looking at the ancillaries, to be honest, just concentrating on your mystery frame .

Trouble is, all those things are replaceable - especially on a bike that has already suffered more than a few changes like yours! (What is a supposed race bike doing with a horn, any way? ).

But to eliminate a Scrambler frame, look at where the top shock mounts are. On the Scrambler, they're supposed to be about 20 mm lower than on the Mark 3.

[Ventodue]

Unfortunately, I could neither find any dated photo or brochure for a 1972 MkIII on my HD, nor in the web. Can somebody outthere point us to a web link or upload some pics?

Hans

See if this helps, Hans. The colour photo is from Marc Poels, L'Histoire de Ducati. The two black & whites are from the owner's handbook dated May 1972.

[ducwiz]

Craig,

thanks for the pictures, but I'm afraid this does not help uncondionally. I have an italian user manual dated September 1981, and that shows the model on your b/w photo from the '72 manual - very strange. My other manual is dated April 1974, also an italian version. Unlike the 1981 version it shows the blue/gold MkIII with the Marzocchi forks and the last (steel) tank used also for the Desmos.

Hans

[ducwiz]

Craig,

thanks for the pictures, but I'm afraid this does not help uncondionally. I have an italian user manual dated September 1981, and that shows the model on your b/w photo from the '72 manual - very strange. My other manual is dated April 1974, also an italian version. Unlike the 1981 version it shows the later blue/gold MkIII with the Marzocchi forks and the (steel) tank used also for the Desmos.

Hans

[Mark3Cam]

This is awesome, thanks again everyone for the input. I am dying to figure out what this bike actually is! I snapped some more pics of the frame that identify some modifications(read-removals) from the frame. Iva slapped a tape on these areas for reference.
The top tube has what looks to have been a previous welded gas tank mount perhaps?
The head tube also has a additional hole that has been plug welded and you can see by the picture of inside the head tube a collar that protrudes.
Pic of rear top shock mount with measurement and finally stamp from fork lug....
Hope this adds to info needed to figure this mystery frame out!