Quick Ride

QUICK RIDE

OVER DUCATI OV-10 Japanese tech meets Bologna Twin

JAPAN IS THE ONE OF THE largest markets for bikes with specialist frames housing Ducati engines, so it’s no wonder that Over, one of that country’s top specialty bike builders, created the Over OV-10.

The OV-10 is the 10th chassis to flow from project leader Kensei Sato’s pen. Our streetlegal example was fitted with Ducati’s evergreen air-cooled 750cc Twin, but the 900SS

powerplant also fits, as will Ducati’s liquid-cooled motors.

Sato’s chassis follows the same basic format as his racing frames, employing distinctive oval-section alloy tubing made to his specification. Over (5-14-28 Sumiyoshi, Suzuka City, MieKen, Japan; fax 011/81 -593-784253) also uses a single-sided swingarm of its own design, which Sato admits was chosen for its visual appeal.

On the road, the OV-IO is proof of the axiom that if it looks right, it is right. Over fitted the four-valve engine with Rennsport exhausts that deliver the trademark Ducati sound in slightly muted form. That and

the engine performance are the only traditional Ducati aspects of this bike.

A Fournales air shock is fitted at the rear, and provides plenty of travel with a very smooth suspension curve. You can feel the shock working while cornering over bumps, smoothing them out so that even as you gradually wind the throttle open on the exit and the rear compresses slightly with the power, there’s never a trace of chatter.

Up front, a WP inverted fork is fitted; the unit provides excellent control at racetrack speeds without being harsh. Over opts for 12.6-inch twin floating Brembo cast-iron discs

and four-piston Brembo calipers. Braking is excellent; you can squeeze the front lever as hard as your nerve and/or the front tire will accept. Rear braking is handled by a twin-piston caliper and 8.3-inch disc.

Wheelbase is a compact 51.4 inches, and with a 23degree rake and 3.9-inches of trail, the steering geometry tells you this is a racebred motorcycle. It’s light, too, weighing a claimed 340 pounds dry.

GP-spec steering geometry means the OV-IO steers faster than a standard Ducati without forfeiting stability. It’s a bike that seems to think its own way into turns almost before the rider has caught up with it. While the penalty for quick steering in slow turns is often paid in the fast bends, the OverDucati is rock-solid at full lean through fast sweepers.

Sato’s Italian dish is a unique combination of a Japanese race-replica allied with the lusty characteristics of an Italian V-Twin. It’s a potent combination that you only have to sample briefly to become entranced with.

Although the prototype is a little small, an advantage of limited production is that the superbly crafted OV-10 which, less the engine, costs the U.S. equivalent of $10,000, can be tailored to exactly the size and tastes of the customer. The bike itself is one that will assuredly appeal to anyone with a taste for sporting motorcycles.

Alan Cathcart