Ducati four-valve TT2
With Phil Aynsley
Less well known than the two-valve Ducati TT2 based racer that Kevin Magee used to campaign for Bob Brown in the early ‘80s is this follow up design which was originally fitted with four-valve heads.
As the TT2 was approaching the end of its development Bob and engineering student Darren Andrew Smith (who used it as his thesis), set about designing and constructing a set of four-valve DOHC heads from scratch (this was before Ducati’s own 851 was released).
Conceived from the outset for possible street use, the heads were designed to be fitted on to a standard Pantah motor with a minimum of fuss – wider belts and pulleys and raising the barrels by 5 mm being the only requirements needed to have them mounted.
Testing revealed teething problems (some cracking) so the four-valve heads were replaced by two-valve items after some time (as photographed).
Rod Tingate was responsible for the twin spar monocoque alloy chassis and swingarm. The fuel is pumped from the lower sections via two diaphragm pumps (pulsed from the exhausts) to the built-in header tank behind the steering stem, then by gravity to the carbs.
The front guard design predates that of the Kawasaki KR500 or BMW K1.
These images are of the improved Mk II version of the four-valve heads, cast from the original patterns by Steve Howell. It is fitted in a lightweight Browell frame – designed by Howell, Doug Dunn & Graeme Brooker in the early 1990s.
