Ducati 750 F1 servicing
1985 to 1988 · 748cc belt-drive Desmo V-twin · Greenwich, London
Ray Petty Meccanica services, repairs and restores the Ducati 750 F1 and the limited Montjuich, Laguna Seca and Santamonica editions (1985 to 1988) at its independent Ducati workshop in Greenwich, London. Some F1s have been crashed over the years and repaired with poor or non-original parts, so RPM checks what is actually fitted to the bike as well as what it needs.
About the 750 F1
The 750 F1 was a road version of the Pantah-based TT racers, launched in 1985, the year Cagiva bought Ducati. Its 748cc air-cooled 90° V-twin (88 x 61.5mm) is a stressed member of a chrome-molybdenum steel trellis frame from Verlicchi, with a 16-inch front wheel and an 18-inch rear. The 1986 update brought a dry clutch, an oil cooler moved under the headlight and an adjustable fork. Three limited editions were named after circuits where the racing F1s had won: the Montjuich of 1986, with 200 built, the Laguna Seca of 1987, with 296, and the Santamonica, of which about 200 were made. All three had hotter camshafts, 40mm Dell'Orto carburettors and a Verlicchi exhaust, and the Laguna Seca used the Paso 750's wheels.
Servicing your 750 F1
Like the Pantah it grew from, the F1 has two toothed cam belts and Desmodromic valves, so its routine engine work is belt renewal and setting both the opening and closing clearances with shims. The standard bike breathes through 36mm Dell'Orto PHF carburettors with no airbox, which RPM cleans and balances. Ignition is electronic, a Bosch system on the standard F1 and Kokusan on the Montjuich. Early F1s have a hydraulically operated wet clutch and later ones a dry clutch, so the parts depend on the bike's build date. Used-bike reviews say the electrics often need attention, and many owners replaced the original two-into-one exhaust. Before you buy an F1 or one of the specials, RPM can look it over and tell you what is original.
Book your 750 F1 in
Tell us what it needs, or how long it's been off the road, and we'll take it from there.
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Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Sunday and Monday: closed