New Ducati 649R special

Sean Kynnersley had to go to extreme lengths to race a Ducati in the UK MiniTwins series.

Why? Because the awkward Italians never made a 650 – the maximum capacity eligible for the ultra-competitive championship. So he made a Ducati 649R himself.

Kynnersley said: “I bought a couple of blown up 748 motors, and then a SV650 cylinder and piston to see how Suzuki did it – it soon became obvious the two wouldn’t work together.

“In the end I sourced the bore and stroke of every belt-driven-cam Ducati to see how close I could get to 650cc.

“What I ended up with was Ducati 749 pistons in a bored out (+2mm) 748 motor with a mega short-stroke of 51mm from using a 400SS crankshaft.

Read the full story of Kynnersley’s engineering bloodymindedness – and a road test of the bike itself – in next week’s MCN, out on August 18.

THE FACTS

Ducati 649R
Power: 82bhp
Kerb weight: 194kg (est)
Fuel capacity: 17-litre
Seat Height: 810mm
Engine: 649cc (90 x 51mm), 8v desmodromic, liquid-cooled 90° V-twin. Ducati 748 shower-form fuel injection. Six gears.
Chassis: Tubular steel frame. 43mm Ohlins USD forks, fully adjustable. Ohlins monoshock, fully adjustable. 2 x 320mm front discs with 4-piston Ducati 1098 front radial calipers, 220mm rear disc with single piston caliper