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My Baines Imola

Discussion in 'Supersport (1974-2007)' started by Dave, Mar 12, 2017.

  1. I'm desperate to be a hipster ;-)

    Trouble is I've got no beard (or hair for that matter!) so I can't easily get the look ... and none of the current crop of factory retros really appeal. Each to their own and all that but I have an almost allergic reaction to their lack of authenticity.

    I was actually hunting for a 900SS bevel when I found my 888 SP4 and ended up buying that instead. The itch didn't go away though so I've been keeping my eye out.

    Trouble is at the back of my mind was the worry about how high maintenance a bevel might be ... I've got my hands more than full with bikes to look after already. It's more than I can do to keep them all on the road as it is. I need to reduce the burden, not add to it!

    I was thinking about turning my ST4s into a flat tracker ... but sacrificing such a minter would be nigh-on sacrilege and I can't help thinking that a two-valve engine would be less effort to maintain and look better sans fairing.

    Then I spotted this for sale ... built around a 900SS it is no 7 of just 38 produced (only 10 if them in black!) and I reckon it ticks all of the boxes for me. I admit that in reality it isn't really much more authentic than the current crop of factory retros. However, the fact that it looks more like a bevel but is lighter, faster and more exciting to ride, and much rarer than any of the modern bikes, more than makes up for that in my mind. For me it has all of the pros of both the original bevels and the modern retros but without the cons of either :)

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    These things hardly ever come up for sale so I got in there quick and made a trip to check it over. It is all present and correct, in tip-top condition but it has been off the road for three years and though it would turnover it would not start. I've secured it with a deposit on the understanding that it is in good running order before we close the deal so the owner has taken it over to his local independent Ducati specialist for a once over.

    If all is good then new belts and fluids should see it on the road in time for the Bristol Italian day ... and all my hipster dreams will have come true! Now just to get my order in here Theatrical Beards, Theatrical Moustaches, Fancy Dress Beards, Fancy Dress Moustaches




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    #1 Dave, Mar 12, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2017
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  2. Get yourself a scrambler and an open lid, get a stick on beard and ride in tweed and ray bans... job done [emoji6]



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  3. Well it's not a bevel, and for me the appeal is having a gear gazer. Love them.

    Looks alright but a nice tidy SS in stock condition would float my boat more merrily.

    Horses and courses though. What I really responded to say was, chromedome and sideburns/beard. Hipster win.
     
  4. I like it for being different and being a small independent build run too :upyeah:
     
  5. I like these a lot, a cheaper, lower maintenance and more reliable version of a black and gold 80's SS. Good choice.
     
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  6. With such a great power to weight ratio should be more exciting to ride, faster and better handling too I dare say :)


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  7. Yes indeed. The only snag is that your other bikes are the genuine article, but this one would be a pastiche.
     
  8. True, but one has to draw the line and bow to the demands of practicality somewhere ... and it is a genuine Baines Imola ;-)


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  9. They are pretty sweet imo
     
  10. Your denim jacket will look fine with this one :)
     
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  11. The old Bevels aren't that unreliable tbh. They just need frequent oil changes using the correct grade.
    The main issue is kick start only but when you get the knack it's fine.
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  12. ... or get a Darmah or Mille with electric start as standard.
     
  13. So Pro Twins are on the case ... new belts, replacement fuel pump, carbs cleaned and she should be good to collect in a week or so :)


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  14. New carbs were needed so the seller paid for those as well. She's done and dusted now. I just need to find time to collect - I'm working the next 10 days solid :-/


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  15. Does anyone on here have an S2? It seems that they were despised, but I still don't really understand why. I almost bought one once.
     
  16. In 1983 Motor Cycle News described the S2 as "a dog", which was widely agreed at the time. Mick Walker tested one and wrote that the performance was seriously restricted by the exhaust system, the bike was excessively overgeared, the riding position was the most uncomfortable he had ever ridden, and the seat was disintegrating even while new, among other problems. The icing on the cake was the bizarre and ugly colour scheme. The S2 was "a mere shadow of a once truly great motorcycle". Anybody who wanted a Ducati in 1983 was better off buying a real 900SS, or a Darmah, or an MHR, or a Pantah. You had a lucky escape.
     
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  17. That's probably why they had that reputation, then. But I wonder...
    An exhaust system can be unrestricted (most are...).
    Overgearing? Change a sprocket or two.
    Riding position - really that different to an SS, or a comment by someone used to early 80s sit up and beg riding positions?
    The seat surely wasn't that different to that on Pantahs. Not exactly comfort city, but any worse made?
    I really liked the colour scheme. The gunmetal grey, with the red, orange and yellow stripes was quite different. I copied it (or tried to - Dream Machine gave me something rather browner than gunmetal which wasn't quite it) for my own Pantah.
     
  18. As far the seat goes, remember the early Moto-Guzzi 850 Le Mans? The seat was a just block of foam with no cover on it, so it rapidly split. The S2 was similar; no seat cover.
    As far as the riding position is concerned, Mick Walker knew and loved the 750SS/900SS riding position so his complaint was that the S2 layout was quite different.
    And as far as turning an S2 into a 900SS, almost all the frame and cycle parts are different except for the swinging arm so the conversion would not be all that easy. And you would finish up with a fake 900SS when you could have more easily bought a genuine one.
    As regards paintwork - well, there's no accounting for taste.
     
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  19. Both the incorrectly called Mark One and the correctly called MkII suffered from the same problem - plus it was hard foam and damned uncomfortable - which is why most who owned them fitted the 'custom' seat which although comfortable-ish, got rather slippery over time or if it got wet.
     
  20. Anyway - back to my Baines Imola :)

    Anyone know somebody who owns one of the other 37?


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    #20 Dave, Apr 4, 2017
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2017
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