Thanks for all the help guys - what a great forum !! The chat about the forks is interesting because Aprilia owned it from November 1994 to January 1999 so perhaps they did mess about with the front end. Once I hear back from the Aprilia and Ducati factories, I'll give you an update. G
G, one thing I would do is inspect all the plastics for manufacture dates. Each of the fairing panels, mudguard, seat panels, and the seat itself should have a manufacture date marked discretely on the hidden face, some are written, some are moulded. The dates should be all within a couple of months of each other - for your bike probably spring 1994. Also you can check the frame assembly date to a specific day if you check the frame carefully. There is a date marking on the frame cross member behind the vertical cylinder in front of the seat. The marking is on the front of that tube and quite difficult to read. Obviously if any dates are more than few months out from each other that may have been replaced for some reason, usually a prang, sometimes a replacement to restore the bike when something like a CF mudguard has been swapped (and the original sold). For example my MY02 748 was registered in April 02, the plastics all have June/July 01 dates and the frame 28 May 2001. Ducati assembly date was Aug 01 just before the UK spec MY02 bikes went on the market. Your bike is likely one of the 310 SPs assembled in 94 in the Cagiva factory in Varese, although the engine was probably built in Bologna (Borgo Panigale).
Hi Denzil. Most of the plastic panels that I've taken off have 94 dates moulded into them (June, November and December) apart from one panel which is February 96. I'll look at the frame details next week as well as the front fairing. Cheers, Gareth
This is exactly the detail I checked out when nearly buying a 1994 Strada a while ago - every panel was either 96, 97 or 98 on the bike so I walked away.
Gareth, the fire that delayed production was in early 94 and is supposed to have affected the paint shop so my guess is the panels would normally all be June/July and perhaps the Nov Dec ones were part of that delayed production. I think the fairing side panels are the last bit that is fitted. The nose fairing, screen, V piece and seat fitted during the main assembly prior to testing. The bike was probably delivered in Dec - how is the colour match for the 94 panels? If you have a look at the VIN, if the frame is original the VIN should include the letter V or B at the 11th character just before the sequence number, B is Bologna and V is Varese. Something close to this ZDM1SB8S1SV******. However if the Vin is of the later style one that plant code may be missing and the frame is not original. Still confused by its colour but that may become clear soon.
Nitride forks didn't start until 2000 plus did they? My SPS wasn't nitride and that was a 98 MY. It did have 65mm callipers, and the frame gold. The frame, wheels, shock and forks all look wrong for a pre 2000 bike. Although this wheels look the same gold as an RSV. Good luck finding out
Well as far as I understand the long VIN numbers didn't appear until much later (2002 for non-us bikes?) and mine has a different structure : ZDM916S*001370* That's not the actual number but it is very close, and all the mid 1990 bikes I've seen at auction and in museums have this structure. The colour match of the panels seems quite good but I'll check in better light this weekend. I feel like Sherlock Holmes!
Gareth your right, I gave you the pre 02 US vin spec, not a lot of use for a UK bike of that age, disregard
Ducati have come back to me and confirmed that the bike "is properly identified as a 916 MONOPOSTO Model Year 1994. This bike was one of the first model built in Varese."
