My first Parilla back in 2001 was bought to take part in the Motogiro D'Italia. Originality was secondary to function & after the first years experience with the caustic nature of the Italian petrol on paintwork it seemed pointless to waste my time with cosmetics until such a time as its use in the Giro was at an end.

For reasons more to do with the direction the Giro has taken under the organisation of DE/Ducati than any lack of enthusiasm on my part I decided to "retire" the MSDS last year & get on with restoring it to as near to original as possible whilst retaining the reliability of modern electrical components such as the Vape CDI.

My MSDS came with a set of non standard forks , some say Ducati, with alloy sliders & 32mm stanchions. The damping action was great (dare I say better than the OE set now fitted) & they rode well but I wanted the original 35mm equipment on there with logoed clipons, correct headlight brackets & fork gaiters.

With the help of Enzo, my good friend & fellow Parilla enthusiast, we have located the forks & the missing clipons. The clipons needed replating along with seal holders, the fork tubes were hard chromed, sliders yokes & headlamp brackets powder coated. As many original fasteners as possible were located & replated. Dry assembly prior to refinishing ensured no upsets when all came back shiny.

As well as the forks the headlight was replaced by a "flat back" 130mm unit & a neat NOS "peaked" chrome rim. A "D" shaped rev counter & OE bracket completed the front end. 

I made a bracket for the stainless steel replica MSDS silencer & welded that on. The silencer is huge & is one of a number I had made some years ago when an original was kindly loaned by Kerry Klein in the USA. ( I wonder how many are now fitted to running bikes?)  The result looks just like the pix I've seen of the UK market MSDSs and it certainly does a great job of muting the dogs bark...unfortunately !

The bikes first outing was at Mallory Park in July '07 at the Festival of 1000 Bikes. Despite the sun in the picture the weekend was virtually a washout. 3 outings which proved that:

A) One should ensure that all gears are selectable before venturing out onto the track.

B) Fitting a huge silencer is very likely to bugger up the carburetion settings made for the bike to run on a straight pipe.

C)A 175 MSDS is one of the best ways to embarrass Brit bike owners on 250/350 4st singles.

D) Its very uncomfortable.

The restoration to standard is not yet complete. The alloy tank is to be replaced by an OE steel MSDS/GS tank. A NOS one came to light in the UK & its been repainted locally to a template given to me by PJ in the USA. Not sure its 100% right for a 175 but I like it.

Its not been fitted yet but neither has the correct seat, 22.5mm SS1 carb, battery retaining clamp....and a host of other details which I will attend to over the winter . Along with rebuilding the Wildcat 250, 250 race bike, 175 Ts &..&..&....

More when there is progress.