A 1981 Ducati Mike Hailwood Replica is a piece of racing history, and most owners would restore one to factory spec. Owner Glenn took his MHR to Ellaspede in Brisbane instead, with a brief to honor its past while reworking the stance, performance and details.
Ducati introduced the MHR in 1979 to mark Mike Hailwood’s Formula One TT win at the Isle of Man, earned on his return to racing after more than a decade away. Brisbane’s Ellaspede has history with odd briefs, including a custom Honda Zoomer.
The engine went west to Vee Two in Western Australia, where Brook Henry, whose history with the marque and the MHR stretches back decades, handled the bevel-drive twin’s rebuild.
A Modern Front End on Original Wheels
Glenn wanted the front end from a later Ducati 848 for its modern suspension and brakes. The hard part was mating those radial calipers to the original Fratelli Pedrini Sarezzo wheels, never up for replacement.
FPS sand-cast those wheels for marques including Porsche, BMW and Ducati. Instead of its usual offset brackets on standard rotors, Ellaspede commissioned custom offset floating discs, stamped with its own name, to align everything.
The swap also opened the door to geometry work with Henry’s input. Original MHRs could feel slow to turn and unsettled at speed, so the aim is sharper corner entry and stability at pace.
Hand-Formed Aluminum and CAD Details
The original tank stayed in place, refurbished, lined and repainted. Behind it sits a hand-formed aluminum rear cowl with an end plug modeled in CAD and CNC-machined from ABS plastic.
The wiring was replaced end to end with a Motogadget mo.unit, key fob and matching analog gauge, while a proposed transparent tail light was dropped as a step too far from the original look.
Headlight mounts were CAD-drawn, CNC-machined and ceramic-coated to position the lamp precisely. The exhaust went two-into-one over two-into-two, with a Conti muffler modified to tuck against the chassis.
Tucking everything in trims a silhouette some considered whale-like when the MHR was new. The original tank, wheels and engine stayed, and that restraint is what I admire most.
Ellaspede contributor Gaven Dall’Osto grew up with Glenn and followed the build through the shop. The two have ridden together at the Isle of Man TT.
“It’s even more fun working on beautiful old bikes that represent a piece of history close to your heart,” says Leo from Ellaspede.
Source: Pipeburn
