Borile 450 Scrambler: RIDING IMPRESSION
Alan Cathcart | June 12, 2013
For the past quarter of a century Umberto Borile has labored to create a series of single-cylinder streetbikes bearing his name, powered by his own air-cooled single-cam four-valve engine based on the World Championship- winning 500cc GM Speedway motor. Until recently, Umberto effectively constructed each handmade example himself in his one-man workshop, which resulted in expensive prices for what were basically freshly minted masterpieces. No two Borile bikes have been the same.
But now the Moto Borile marque, which made its debut in 1988, has been restructured on a more commercial basis, with Umberto entering into 50/50 partnership with the Bassi family at the end of 2010 to form a new company – Umberto Borile & Co.
Hence the new Borile B450 Scrambler, an unashamed tribute to Ducati’s classic 1960s street single of the same name by a man who used to own one, powered by an all-new purpose-built fuel-injected 452cc desmo motor, with belt drive to the single overhead cam.
The powerplant has been concocted by taking the rear 98mm-bore cylinder off an air-cooled 1100DS desmodue V-twin engine, and matching it to a 60mm-stroke Borile crankshaft housed in a specially built crankcase. There’ll also be a 365cc option in the future, obtained by using the 88mm-bore cylinder from a Monster M696.
This new motor has been developed with Ducati’s active approval and the company is even supplying the parts needed for series production of the engine. And there are plans for a future Ducati-engined Borile V-twin motorcycle, employing the Monster M696 desmodue motor mounted in a special frame, with the engine rotated forward and downward to make room for the extra front-wheel travel over bumps.
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