Cycle parts
On the advice of Pantah enthusiasts from the Ducati Owner’s Club, I took the expensive new Marzocchi dust-seals off again and fitted MZ rubber gaiters (which are an exact fit), in an effort to reduce stiction. I don’t think this made much difference to the stiff action, but at least the gaiters covered those pathetically-skinny 35mm tubes and gave them better protection. I’ve since changed the MZ gaiters for BSA A10 ones, which are neater and have closer fins. This type required special spacing sleeves made for the tops, and I fashioned lower clamps from stainless hose clips, replacing the bulky worm-drive with discrete screws. The result looks great, and so much more substantial than the original forks. Rather retro, perhaps, but then so am I!
At the rear, the original Marzocchi shocks needed alteration to suit my light weight. The easiest option was straight replacement with some basic Hagon units with slim chrome 16Kg springs. These worked fine but I didn’t like the appearance, so they have recently made way for new Hagon shocks with black-over-polished-shrouds, also with 16Kg springs and medium fixed-rate damping. The quality of the Hagons has improved in the last five years, and the damper rod is heavier gauge plus the rubber bush sleeves are actually the right width! Again, the look is retro, but the black shroud tops match the black frame, and the units look suitably chunky.
While specifying the new Hagon shocks, I decided to raise the rear ride- height by fitting 320mm units rather than the 310mm originals. This was done because I know from my Ducati ST4 that increasing the ride-height at the back improves the bike’s turn-in, but it was also a part of my plan to raise the back of the bike generally, for the sake of the looks. Units longer than 320mm might cause problems with the chain rubbing the swingarm top, and chain lash might be excessive too, as it is vital to allow more slack in the chain as the geometry is altered, to avoid loading the bearings on full-bump.
There is another useful consequence of raising the rear ride-height, and that is that the change in geometry makes it appreciably easier to put the bike on its centre-stand. The rear tyre now sits less than 1⁄2” above a flat surface, so uneven ground will see it touch. The bike also has to lean more for the side-stand to touch down, but the Alazzurra’s side-stand is longer and has a wider arc than most, so it doesn’t appear to need a fixed booster below it.
The final drive set-up has taken a while to get right. As the bike came to me, it had a 15tooth steel front sprocket and an alloy 37tooth rear, giving higher gearing than any other Pantah derivative. I changed to a 38tooth rear, complete with new 15t front and unsealed chain, but these, despite the fitment of a well-known-but-feeble chain-oiler, did not last long.
This winter, I decided to try the ratios listed in the Alazzurra manual, and ordered another 15t front and a 41t rear, plus an IRIS X-ring 530 chain. While this gave a brisk response in the gears, first was virtually redundant and top (fifth) was useable within the lowest speed limits, due in part to the soft nature of this engine. Quite simply, on a 41t rear, the bike had lost all of its long-leggedness, and felt desperate for more gears.
As I could not find 39t in steel, I returned to 38t at the rear, and find that suits me very well. 15/41 seems an odd choice for a touring bike like this, which needs to have a relaxed manner. If screaming revs for an ultimate top-speed is the desire, go for a geared-down Pantah sports bike. If 15/38 is a little high, but you can always change down from top for a bit more zip. I’m happy to sacrifice some theoretical top speed that I’ll never use for a laid-back low-vibration ride.

Pro-Oiler self-aligning twin nozzle fitted to stainless hanger-plate attached to shock mount. Wheel pushed well back in slot. Sprocket bolts wired. Aftermarket 38T steel sprocket.
The X-ring chain was an obvious move, but as it is broader across the rivets than the original unsealed type, it was a struggle to find clearance behind the front sprocket. This was made even worse because a previous owner must have had a chain break and/or a sprocket come adrift, as the damaged cases were plastered in epoxy resin. After careful grinding and more epoxy, I hope I’ve got the clearance I need, plus an oil-tight case! The front sprocket-retainer bolts are now drilled and wired, and the holes already present in the rear sprocket bolts have been put to good use with more lock wire.
To preserve the new final drive, an effective chain oiler was a high priority, and I’ve chosen the best one on the market: the Pro-Oiler.
Pro-Oiler pump installation behind side panel: reservoir behind, square black connector box, then electric pump in front (with arrow). Card in tray gives concise on-the-road details for setting PO controller.
Pro-Oiler visible through the wheel, reed-switch cable exits from forward end of calliper mount plate. All very discrete...
I fitted one of these on my ST4, and am very impressed by its twin self- aligning nozzles, and precision-controlled pumped delivery. This is dependant on rear wheel rotational speed, so oil is delivered to the chain based on its actual motion, rather than being governed by engine speed/inlet manifold depression as in other units. The thought put into the PO by Pablo Crofts, its creator, is awesome, and very apparent from the extensive literature he provides with the unit. A magnetic reed switch mounted in the rear calliper support-plate senses the wheel speed by counting pulses from a neodymium magnet fitted to one extended brake- disc bolt. Up front, a microprocessor controller allows the delivery rate to be programmed to the chain dimensions, and permits on-the-move adjustment in dusty or wet conditions. I use thin ATF oil reinforced with an anti-friction additive, which spreads well and doesn’t hold road dirt, and the system is adjusted for the minimum delivery rate that will keep the seals wet, the temperature down, and preserve the internal lubricant.
Performance with a properly-lubricated chain is noticeably better, and though there is still some fling-off, it is very much less than my previous Scott chain oiler, which was an all-or-nothing disaster.
The wear-rate of the Pro-Oilered chain on the Ducati ST4 is negligible, even though it is a narrow 525 type transmitting twice the power. Since there will therefore be little need to adjust the Alazzurra’s 530 chain, I’ve been able to shift the rear wheel back into the rearmost third of the axle slot. This looks better than having the wheel right forward as it was, and it makes it much easier to extract the wheel spindle without disturbing the silencers. The silencers themselves have been lifted up tight against their alloy brackets to give yet more spindle clearance, with the added bonus of emphasising the attractive tilt of the exhausts.
Nice OSCAM wheel easier to remove as spindle has plenty of clearance below silencer. Hagon shocks have just three spring settings and fixed damper-rate but work well.

My bike has the early five-spoke Cagiva/OSCAM wheels which have a touch of Alfa Romeo about them, and their 2.15”/2.50” rims are shod with Bridgestone BT45 tyres in 100/90 front and 130/80 rear. I opted for these sizes partly out of confusion with the specs in my manual versus the actual wheels on my bike, but also because I just fancied a fatter rear tyre! Nevertheless, the bike still tracks absolutely true in all conditions, at least up to the level of my riding capability.
I find the archaic forward position of the front brake callipers strangely pleasing, probably because it makes the bike look longer, but their poor performance has always been a concern for me. (I’ve heard that the industry-wide repositioning of callipers behind the forks was based on some notional concept regarding steering inertia, rather than braking performance) The sportier 600cc Pantahs had larger 08 Brembo callipers, but the half-faired 650TL/Alazzurra had to make do with the 05 units of the 500 (at least in Europe). A previous owner had attempted to improve them with braided-steel/Teflon lines, but neither this nor a subsequent full rebuild of the callipers produced acceptable braking, despite careful alignment to ensure the discs ran true. Finally, I fitted GoldFren type 038HH pads, and the improvement is dramatic. They still don’t compare with modern multi-piston/large diameter disc brakes, but I now have something approaching two-finger braking, albeit two strong fingers! Whatever the subsequent wear-rate of pads or disc rotors proves to be, this has been a successful modification, and the back brake will receive the same pads shortly.
I’ve made some small modifications to the hydraulic systems for brakes and clutch. One of the three original hydraulic pressure switches had failed, so I’ve replaced them all with stainless banjo bolts that incorporate a small-diameter switch, sourced from Goodridge UK. These need much less fluid displacement to operate them, and the reduction in lost motion meant that I had to modify the front brake lever to bring it back within my hand-span. The drillings of Goodridge hydraulic fittings also provide much better fluid-flow than the OEM components, so their banjo bolts are now fitted at both ends of the clutch line.
Another significant improvement to the feel of the clutch lever, if not the actual back-pressure, is the fitment of needle-rollers to the pivot. Originally, a steel bush within the blade ran on the surface of the 6mm screw that retains it, but both had corroded badly, so friction was high. The sleeve was pressed out and a modified caged needle-roller put in, running on a new 6mm stainless bolt shank. Friction is now zero, and the lever has a very smooth action, with the same mod to the brake lever improving the feel of that too.
Anxious to find some mirrors which were not too ugly, I tried various styles, including fairing-mounted ones, before settling on Tech7 bar-end units in black. They do vibrate somewhat, and the internal clamping arrangements required a complete redesign to be roadworthy, but they are neat and do the job. The bars themselves are the originals, but fitted with some comfortable barrel-shape enduro rubbers from Pro-Grip.
Left bar, with Tech-7 mirror, ProGrip enduro 714 grip, and excellent Ducati 996 switch block with push-to-cancel indicators.
...continue in next post.
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