Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/850369
FEATURE DUCATI DOUBLE-DUCK P58 structure. We knew the weak- est point would be in the center where all points meet. Also, each side had to be removable to be able to install and extract the engines. I have my certifi- cates for stick and MIG welding but I'm inexperienced in TIG, so Tim and Carl did most of the frame welding, and I took on the front end and the exhaust system. I figured I may as well practice on my life, instead of someone else's! "Lots of cross bracing and torsional bracing went in to the frame, and the fuel cell became a structural component, along with the battery tray and top chest pad support. Everything eventually fell into place but with two of everything—two batter- ies, two fuel pumps, two throttle cables, two radiators, two oil coolers and two ECU engine management computers—but four round instrument gauges because they needed to be plugged in for the engines to run. I tried running the engines and then unplugging the gauges, but they both died immediately. Each gauge package had 25 small wires, meaning I would have to cut and splice and solder a total of 100 butt joints, so I decided not to! But then I couldn't find a reason- able location for them to live, so that's where they ended up, above each engine. Unfortunately, it's drawn a lot of questions from people over and over again! I found that 1975 Chevy truck heater cores made perfectly sized radiators— the engine never ran hotter than 190 degrees, though the 25 feet of rad hose probably contributed to cooling volume! "The real head scratcher was coupling the engines together. We studied the crankshaft ends and they were tiny, so we decid- ed to extend the countershafts off the transmissions. This would entail shifting both transmis- sions at the same time, but also helped keep the drive chain cool by running at a much lower rpm than off the engines. Tim made these great threaded extensions with 16-tooth sprockets and an outer bearing support—it's quite handy having a good friend next door who's a master machinist as well as a genius! I managed to get lugs on the frame just right to hold the outer bearing support, and found some nice thrust bearings that could handle the load. I could go on and on about every little component on a totally unique motorcycle, but let's get to the racing, which is the whole point of it all! "I finished tightening the last bolt exactly eight months after starting the project, and three days before the 2014 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials. The bike had never been ridden. I They're there but you can't read them, not when they're behind you. "I'd lain awake at night for three months…going over every detail in my head about how to build a bike that I could run over 200 mph on at Bonneville, and join the 200 MPH Club."