Been thinking about this for years and the decision has now come to be, time for an 853 project… The bike is my 2002 748s bip (with mono seat) owned since new, effectively standard other than a 45mm set of end cans and DP Eprom, plus some carbon faff and bit’s of functioning / non-functioning bling. The parts I have so far: Full 50mm termi exhaust (Also have the 45/50mm link as it’s suggested the 45/50mm setup works better) ECU needs re-flashing. Carbon Airbox Carbon Fairings Ohlins FG811, Brembo M4’s and 1198 semi-floating disc’s 848 rear brake setup The things I’d like to do are: 853 kit, blue printed engine, lightweight flywheel, R cams. Enlarged Rad (need that for UAE where I live) and addition of an oil cooler. Slipper Clutch 748r Shower injectors (if I can get them, and can be made to work) Quickshifter (SP electronics) Lightweight rear subframe & breather box (Relocation of ECU required) Longer rear swingarm Maybe drop in an 848 motor instead… just a thought?!! So, the big question is who should I get to do the work? Moto Rapido Louigi Moto Cornerspeed Ducati John All of them have history with these bikes and I can’t see much between them in all honesty, so any advise would be grateful. Thanks guys
Another option is @PGP Paul Goodall performance who is sigma trained and great at the old motors. May be worth dropping him a line to discuss options if your serious
All my engine work, starting with a full ex works 748RS and an EVR 853 HC kit (they do a standard compression kit as well) was done by Baz at Moto Rapido and I have been extremely happy with the end result. He paid certainly as much attention to it as he does to the BSB Panigale race engine. Andy
i can recommend louigi moto there very good,worked on a couple of my bikes now, ive had 2 853's built now cracking engines to be honest but .... in some cases i still found them a bit lacking, in the long run i should have gone with the bigger engine fitted in the bike, my 748bp 853 was up to 120bhp after costing a small fortune to build and i was still looking for more power as some 600 4's are are still quicker. my 748r was also 853 and that was a lovely bike 130bhp that one. if your building a track special i would look at fitting a 1098/1198 engine unless your happy with the lower powered machine @Android853sp has a 748/853rs built engine i belive he may beable to shed some more light on it. good luck with your build
Why not keep your lovely original 748 as standard and buy another bike as well ? You could probably buy an 848 for what your proposed work will cost.
I think cookster hit the nail on the head there. Lot of money for something an R6 or 848 will see off on track. Unless you have your heart set on one for the 'characteristics' then it's a waste of money power wise IMO.
If you want the looks and power, then the 848/1098/1198 in the same frame/bike route would be better....Wanna buy one?
That's actually a lot cheaper than I've seen in recent months. Been as high as over £600 . I bought a pair last year or maybe the year before complete with TPS, injectors, loom and pipework for about £350. I'm not sure that the shower injectors fit in the standard airbox and 9*6/748 frame. Wasn't that the point of the Kyalami frame to get a bigger air box and accomodate the shower injector support framework ? Andy
Thanks for taking the time to reply guys. First off, I know an R6, ZX6 or 848 are great bikes, but I'm not interested in the inline 4's and if slotting an 848 into the 748 was straight forward, then that would be an option. I have a 1198SP, which is also a track bike and get my "big boy" thrills from that. The 748 is great little bike and the chassis is clearly capable of much much more. Sure, this will not come cheap (these projects never do), but I've been wanting to do this for many years. So far, MR and LM get a mention and that's what I thought might happen. Both are excellent builders with proven history. If anyone has any tips on the 853 conversion, or installing any of the other parts I've mentioned please do let me know. It will be helpful. Thanks again.
the last one i had built mate i used 996 sps ti rods, 748sps cams and pistal pistons, ported heads and machined combustion chambers, lightened crank and removed the fly wheel completley, fully blue printed them custom mapped. i must admit if i do it again id like to do a 955cc build or tune my 996sps.
This will be fantastic if built to your 1198's standard Like Andy said fitting the stock shower assembly will need the 748R 2 piece airbox (all the gubbins sit inside it not just the trumpets) this won't fit in the standard BP frame because the central V brace isn't deep enough. Of course you could always have it adapted or even have a custom shower setup depending how far you want to go and how much money you want to throw at it. I'm just about at the end of my 748/1098 conversion nearly all of it's bespoke there's actually very little 748 left in/on it, a labour of love but not really something you can farm out to someone else to build without a huge bill
@Tobytyke - thanks fella, that is the intention as a minimum, although this 853 might be of higher quality due to the engine rebuild. I can very much understand the efforts your going to - the 1098 lump in a 748 is a challenge! Did you do a write up on here about it? I may have missed it. Been looking in the shower injectors and whilst nice, may be over kill and very expensive for small HP increase. I'll talk it over with the guys when I choose a builder! @cookster that sounds like some build. Been heavily browsing the internet for info (when not playing golf...) and re-found all the info on what Sigma Performance did. Wow, I'd forgotten about them. I must have spent hours and hours reading their website, trying to figure out how to afford their "Full Monty" service on my 748s. I never did come up with the cash and the team stopped to focus on other things. Shame. Sigma Performance - Ducati 748-853 Also found G-Tec. What an excellent website and certainly imparts a love for all things Ducati with the experience and knowledge to back it all up. I think what I'm best to do is contact MR, LM and G-Tec and see what they say. Timescales maybe an issue as it's getting close to the UK riding season, not to mention racing season...
has @Nelson still got his track slag for sale?? could be a good base to start from if you want a project?? g-tec built the engine in the above, geoff doesnt work there any more as hes moved to oz.
I had mine done just over 3 years ago now, engine built by Protwins in surrey, and then tuned by Chris at CJS Racing in Bristol, both did a fantastic job. See the Dyno chart for evidence.
Hi mate. Great to see you and others taking on these projects. Would love to start my own soon. It might be worth you contacting @tom.i from fuel race in London. I'm sure he'll be able to help out / advise with the parts you need.
