[Bhodrolok]

Wow! Kudos to your pure love for the machine but my head explodes at the short cuts the first two owners took to save a few thousands... Why spend money to import a state of art machine and then skimp on its repairs to basically put the entire original investment at risk?

Anyway I am glad this amazing machine has a found it's loving home, kind of the feeling one gets when a pet dog has been mistreated by its first owners & then abandoned but it finally gets a home that appreciates it & gives it the love it deserves.

[asbshyam]

The machine looks splendid and I wish you the best of times with this beautiful bike!

I got tired reading through your effort, I admire your conviction and perseverance!

[mak.prasada]

When I read the first few lines wherein it was claimed that this rebuild was going to be better than a Bollywood flick, I really doubted it, but thank God I was proven wrong.
Not a fan rebuild series in general but really enjoyed reading this thread.
Reading through the thread, I went through an entire range of emotions, being suspicious when the bike was offered, inquisitive as OP found out history, curious and scared as they paid for the bike, laughing in between with the puns, horrified when they milky mixture came out of the engine, anxious when the second wave started during the repair and after everything the coolant was still leaking after a test drive and finally joyful once the entire ordeal ended and the bike was back in pristine condition.

OP's narration and the entire story did live up to the Bollywood hype! If reading the thread only made me go through all this, it must have not been easy on the OP himself. Until this morning, I was not aware of the legacy of 1199R, congratulations and wish you many happy and safe miles on this monster.

Why indeed? I do not have a good answer for this. Maybe it is ego, maybe hunger, or maybe pride. But deep down, it is just rage. I love motorcycles. Bikes bring out deep primal feelings in us, the sense of unbridled joy, adventure and freedom. It is the purest form of motion; 2 wheels, an engine and open roads. Biking is a quasi-religion and a motorbike is the conduit to our inner faith. Now I am venturing into philosophy but when I am on a bike, nothing else matters. I am complete.

It pains and angers me that people abuse and neglect motorbikes. Ever since I have taken up biking, I come across neglected bikes every day. When I grew up, the idea of owning a Ducati, Suzuki or Kawasaki superbike was an outlandish dream. My father rode on a Bajaj Chetak to work because he could not afford anything else. We are now blessed to own many brands in India that were fantasies 20 years ago. Yet, people seem to take all this for granted. We can afford to buy a 60 lacs bike, so we feel that we can misuse it and get another one, simply because we can.

There is something seriously wrong with our collective psyche when it comes to maintaining or paying to care for things. It shows in our public and private transport, infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings. New trains come out, and people pelt stones at the windows. Airports get built, and people steal the luggage trolleys, vandalize the art installations, and spit everywhere. People buy new cars, they get keyed and scratched. Government and residential buildings are never cleaned, owners never pay for the maintenance costs and just hope someone else will take care of the problem.

Well, no more.

I cannot change peoples' mindset, but I have the determination, so I will fix things I like and care for. If that means doing the impossible, so be it. But I will get it done.

Cars or bikes, this is what unites us all in this place. Thank you to the Movengers and you, Captain (or insert your favourite avenger in here).

[//M]

I spent an hour reading this report early in the morning today and since then I just could not find adjectives to complement you and your team on this fantastic build. I am still out of complements though.

Firstly, many many congratulations on this super rare acquisition. The Panigale R and the Panigale Superleggera are the rare stars in the Ducati lineup and they deserve all the TLC. Glad that this example went into good hands.

Now, regarding the build. Well I am truly baffled at your level of commitment regarding this build. All of us motorcycle enthusiasts know how difficult it is to pull some strings to get that one part which is unavailable locally, specially on a low-volume motorcycle. And here you managed to source an array of parts for a super rare motorcycle that was not even officially sold in India. I am certain you are a man of extremely strong networking skills !

This ownership report has been a truly rewarding read. Congratulations once again to you and the entire team who were passionately involved in the restoration work. Hope to see this rare beauty around someday.

[refaircargo]

Just reading through your labour of love calls for massive patience. Understanding each sentence is yet another job in patience. Having lived in Hyderabad for almost 50 years and having gone through the torture of working with the local labour, I marvel how you got these people to "work" in the first place. Anybody wanting technicians in Hyderabad to "work" is a big criminal. I have myself folded up my HVRAC workshop after struggling with the labour for over 40 years. Hearty congratulations on the final achievement mate. Please KEEP the bike with you and don't ever think of parting with it, as a living token and proof of your achievement.

[skarface]

Boy am I glad that the beauty was rescued and extremely glad that you found it, it is not everyday that the correct bike lands up with a person who has the means and the sheer will to take up a rescue job.

Kudos to you and the entire team involved in this. I'm sure that the bike is in the right hands now and cheers to you and it and for the many miles you get to enjoy from here on.

[Crow]

@no_fear I am not a biker. I used to despise all bikers in India because of the “no-helmet, no-safety-gear, slippers” riding culture that I see on the road most of the time. However having read your posts on this forum (including several of the track debates you mentioned), I’ve developed a huge respect for bikers and the riding culture. Just because most people don’t care doesn’t mean the culture is bad. There are examples like yours, and many others I’ve since come across, which restored my faith in bikers. Thank you for this amazing post and the many other excellent posts you’ve made in the past.

I know your profile doesn’t say it yet, but for me, you are a Distinguished BHPian.

I really really want to have this level of knowledge and understanding about my car now. I might start with reading the service manual and doing the basics right. Thank you for the posts once again.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by no_fear

On top, I consider myself very lucky that the 1199R engine has titanium con rods and better pistons. Due the higher quality materials used, the rods or pistons were not bent even if the engine had overheated previously. That allowed me to work on the engine and not source a new one.

True, Half way through the thread reading about the low-rated waterpump that was installed, I myself was praying that the whole thing doesn't end up with a warped internals or casing! I guess my late prayers got heard!

When I started to explore the rebuild, I faced a lot of online criticism from folks overseas. Disparaging comments like "India! You have Ducatis there? I thought you don't have roads" or "Everything in India is broken. The bike is broken, nothing new. Sell it for scrap" were the norm. Encouragement was scarce. There was a lot of sarcasm and schadenfreude for this Indian dude trying to fix a broken bike. Restoring the 1199R, one of the rarest bikes in India, is my way to channel my anger and proclaim that we as Indians can outcompete and outmatch others on a global scale. I am very proud to have restored this bike. It is a feat that no one undertook before in India, and very few have done it globally. To add icing to the proverbial cake, this was a job that was done with the bike built in Hyderabad, supervised by me in Delhi and by my brother in Singapore. A remote rebuild. I am certain this has been done the first time for a 1199R. All through phone calls and video conferences. This is proof that you do not need to be at "work" to work. Work from home works just as well.

Hats off. I just don't have anything more to say or add. Thank you for your passion and dedication and taking the pain to document it here.

[Jhinchak]

It feels like I have completed a course on Ducati school of engineering going through this post. Its nice to know there are such passionate people out there for motorcycles. you must be the only 1 out of 1 billion people who was willing to go through this painstaking process. Like you mentioned easiest solution was to send the bike back but you took the challenge.
Hope the process is completed now and you are finally able to ride the bike. Wish you happy miles

[Tokengrip]

Wow.. That was some write-up. I was glued to the screen hoping the post was longer.

On a serious note, the logistics involved to source everything must have been crazy. That is without even accounting for the pandemic. That was truly a labour of love.

[Pramathyu]

What a great read! I enjoyed every bit of it, so much passion for the bike.
I got goosebumps in some parts. Kudos!

[KP56]

Oh My God ! the amount of time and moolah that you've spent on reviving her back to life is truly remarkable and shows how much you love the biking life. IMHO all this pain that you've gone through is surely worth it sir ! Also, there's no doubt that this incredible story would put movie scripts to shame.( The viscomite in me has already got major inspirations for his first script)

My heartfelt congratulations on this ONE of acquisition and wishing you only smiles to every mile you put on this beauty sir !!

RIDE HARD ! RIDE SAFE !

[AtheK]

Wow mate, that two posts are more information then the collective knowledge about bikes I have had in riding them from 18+ years. ENLIGHTENING, REFRESHING and above all a living proof of PASSION. You my friend have just made history, and makes me proud to know you personally.

This also serves as a stark reminder of how money is not the only thing that you need to pick a bike, don't buy it if you can't care for it, other ways to get popular on instagram also exists. I hope this ducati lives forever, and with you incharge i am sure it will.

I can write so much more, but then i would be repeating majority of what has been posted before, you my my friend have all my respect and your brother, less said about him the better, what a gentleman!!!

Keep at it brother, and the new startup of yours when people read thread like this, they should not even care to venture to anyone else to pick a pre owned bike anymore. Wish you the very best, and ya remember you still have to call me

[SnS_12]

Well done once again Arya!! When one knows his subject well, the results are always favorable.. From knowing how to counter the seller when he says he has a buyer who is arranging a loan on a bike which was never sold in India to seeking advice and arranging parts from the right sources. Rebuilding bikes, which were never sold in India is a task and I have first hand experience with the RD 200. The amount of research/reading sourcing parts is mentally daunting, but its our passion for motorcycles and saving the neglected ones that really keeps us going.

The original owner went to the extend of getting down a Italian bike to India which was manufactured in limited numbers for the global market and should have known that he ensured that the technicians handling his bike even for basic service known what they are doing on this magnificent machine. Like Athek mentioned on his 959 the rear tyre and caliper had to be removed to perform a brake bleed to ensure no air remains in the system. Knowing these small details is what makes the difference in running and maintaining the bike healthy. And here we have a bike with magnesium, titanium parts and even a specific titanium screw needs to be electronically torqued and the owner decides to get it done at non authorized workshop eventually overtightening a screw and damaging expensive engine components.

In the end this lack of knowledge/passion is what worked against the first and second owner and worked in your favor in multiple ways.

a) The First owner definitely lost lacs in order to save a few thousands. The biggest being importing a one off limited edition Ducati in India and then painting it in a special livery and in the end crashing it and selling to the second owner at a huge loss??

b) The second owner i am amusing also must have lost a lot of money since he had to sell a bike with an engine issue.

c) And finally yourself even though you went through a lot of pain and sleepless nights I guess this is an overall win win situation for you.

• You got to learn a lot of valuable information and process and expand your network further.
  
• Got an exclusive mental race bike for the streets and the only one in India at that.
  
• And finally the most important one all of this at a bargain price considering the bike was sold with engine issues and even with the amount you spent on getting it in factory state your overall outflow I guess would have been far less against buying a well running model? Also, you having opened the engine up it gives you a peace of mind with a used bike that all is well inside and no nasty unexpected surprise will pop up in the ownership.
  

Wanted to know if you have maintained the plastic gear for the oil pump?

Also, I guess you should change the crank case to the used one as its structurally more intact internally and you never the welding can give due to a stressed area.

Finally, I guess it would be a good idea for you to focus more on the Italians with your new venture. Given the amount of knowledge and resources/contacts you already possess it would create a unique model for yourself and distinguish yourself from the rest in the same line of business.

a) You can hunt down and save and pass on well kept examples, with service support post sale using your contacts PAN India. Hence, serious buyers will benefit and can have a single point of contact to buying exotic Italians with relative peace of mind.

b) The negative point with this structure is that its capital intensive and money rolling might not be as fast as maybe with the Japanese.

I have to add an extra day to my next visit to Delhi whenever that happens. All the best and thank you for sharing your journey with your Italians as always

[clementw]

Magnificent, insane, obsession, running out of adjectives for this post. Keeping the money part aside which I am sure is a big mountain in itself for ordinary folks, this effort is stupendous for the kind of passion that it needed.

Well done!!

Happy riding!