Tecfar Ducati 900
With Phil Aynsley
The Tecfar project came about as a result of noted Spanish rider Salvador Cañellas requesting a better frame after crashing in practice for the 1981 Barcelona 24 race. He was more than happy with the 950 cc 90 hp Ducati V-twin engine.
Ricardo Fargas (ex-racer, manager and head of the race team at Mototrans) and Harry Walker of Technoquip (an auto and moto parts import company) commissioned Antonio Cobas to design a new frame but the project was delayed due to Mototrans slowly going out of business – resulting in the new bike not being completed until after the 1982 race.
The prototype (this bike) ran at Calafat in June ‘82 with a slightly modified 860 motor (complete with electric starter cover).
The frame and swingarm (not with the rear shock) together weighed 8 kg. Total bike weight was expected to be 140 kg.
However the bike’s wheelbase was a very lengthy 1550 mm (as measured during the photography), 50 mm longer than the standard 900SS.
Another chassis was completed by Cobas in ’83 with a 20 mm reduction to the wheelbase. The rear sub-frame was now welded tube, not the original bolt-on square section alloy.
A different swingarm was also used. It was with this TF-2 frame that Carlos Cardus won every round he competed in during the first Motorciclismo Series (a Spanish superbike championship).
Later two additional frames were built (but not by Cobas, probably by team manager Tavi). One was a TF-2 frame that journalist Dennis Noyes owned and raced fitted with a 900 bevel Ducati motor.
The fourth frame (the TF-3) was the last built and used a 750 F1 belt-driven Ducati motor. This was raced by Falo Ferandez.
