Barn Find 748 SPS In need of a lot of love!

Talking of covers I do have a rare Ducati Corse racing engine cover to go over a spare engine, now they are decently made, I wonder why!

 

Get the motor looked at before spending on anything else.

That's where all your money might/will go and its the most important part.

 

As above, belts, rockers and valve clearances are all worth getting done at the same time. Rockers get hammered on these models because of the higher lift cam, and because they have the older chrome rockers they are liable to flake off quite easily. I needed 5 on mine when I had it checked and also a new clutch pushrod as they are the older style and liable to break.

Get the nut checked on the crank as well as they need regular stripping and checking and doing up with fresh Loctite.

 

A full rebuild might be best, I did that with my SPS and went through everything to get it running properly and knowing that everything had been checked and made good.

It's sometimes easier to strip and rebuild a bike than it is to try and work around it, so to speak. I can build a bike in about three days from all the bits and it's quite straightforward, the hardest part is getting the wiring loom in the right place.

 

I am certainly happy to help and I do know a bit about SPS's as it was the first 748 that I rebuilt, so I did a bit of research first. They are quite a straightforward bike and to be honest you could probably rebuild the bike in anything from 6 weeks to three months.

I would say you have to have a plan or a vision of what you want to achieve and of course the cash to make it happen. I spent 9 months saving to sort out my SPS and then went out and got the lot done in one go. It took me three months of very carefully buying parts off eBay but in the end the actual bike was completely gone over in 6 weeks and then rebuilt in three days.

Painting etc. was probably the longest job because I changed mine from Yellow to Red and kept all the original panels, so I had to collect a whole new set etc. If you want to PM me at any time then please do so.

A good workshop manual with all the layouts of wiring and cabling makes a big difference, there are several plus pages that just cover cable and wire routing and you really do need this information.

 

If youre gonna strip it down yourself then take lots and lots of pictures to help with reassembly.Plus its nice to have a record of whats been done to the bike,plus its nice to show us lot what you've done to your bike!

 

Nice cover, does it say Ducati 748 on the side as it doesn't look like it. The covers that came with the SPS did have that written on them. I am not sure how authentic you want to be, but thought I would mention it. You are lucky to get a such nice cover though as they are so rare and as mentioned in a prior post they do literally fall apart. I was pretty annoyed when my just went very thin around the mirrors and then start to split and then just turn to dust.

Maybe a good wash and plenty of fabric conditioner will preserve it as it's a nice item and now so rare you wouldn't want to see it fall apart.

Good luck with it anyway, it certainly adds something to the package I think.

 

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It's still a nice thing to have especially if it is in good condition, mine wasn't perfect but it was very good so it was disappointing when it fell to bits!!!

The paddock stand should be easier to find and you can use the later silver ones if you are prepared to paint them gold and if you cannot find a gold one. They are a very solid stand but having no wheels makes them awkward to get the bike on by comparison, and the rear wheel on the bike does not turn freely as there is no bearing in the stand. Might be a good idea to keep it for "best"

All this does is just to make the bike complete and possibly make it easier to sell or add a tiny bit more to the value. Do you have the 748SPS handbook, which is unique to that model as it was produced only for the 748SPS series, so probably only produced as a limited edition. An item often overlooked and it then helps to provide some provenance of the bike.

 

Strikes me you could use a knackered cover as a pattern and then get someone to knock a few up in a high quality material - probably nothing that a decent seamstress couldn't organise. Then you could all have nice new ones. Then everyone else would want one with some different colours or graphics for their bikes... Someone could get a nice little sideline running.

 

Surely there will be all sorts of things that the new house needs doing to it which will prevent you from starting your project for weeks or months...