For Sale 748bp

One owner, very low mileage (3300), 748 Biposto with Termignonis and chip, VGC, new tyres, brakes, cam belts, battery, just fully serviced. Datatagged and a Datatool alarm fitted (but presently disconnected).




The time has come to offer my 748 for sale. It’s a UK bike and was first registered July 99 when purchased new, by me, from Frontiers Motorcycles in Wimbledon. I have been the only owner over the last 20 years and it has done just 3304 miles. From the end of 2001 to 2011 the bike was stored in a garage, admired, started periodically to turn it over and ridden around the block occasionally. In 2011 it was shipped to Ireland but has never been registered here. Due to work commitments it was never used in Ireland until last year, hence the low mileage.

With a change of personal circumstances, in August/Sept 2018 I recommissioned it and got it running again and back on the road. This involved, new oil, brake & clutch fluid, new air filters, new cam-belts, new spark plugs and a new battery. Several areas of corrosion on the crankcase covers and weld spots on the frame were treated to prevent further corrosion. It was insured and used, gently, on the road, albeit on the original tyres (20 years old) brake pads.

In December 2018 a complete strip-down was begun and all components were removed to strip it back to just the frame and engine and the following work was carried out.

• Crankcase covers both sides were removed, stripped and re-coated.
• Flaking paint on the crankcase itself was stripped and the crankcase treated with aluminium engine paint.
• Whilst the alternator crank case cover was off the alternator nut was checked to ensure it hadn’t (and wouldn’t) work loose.
• All valve covers were removed, stripped and re-coated.
• Whilst the covers were off the head of the engine the valve clearances were checked - all within tolerance.
• Whilst the clutch side crankcase cover was off the main oil seal behind the clutch housing was replaced.
• The swing-arm pivot bolt was removed, cleaned and re-greased.
• The rear wheel and rear wheel pin were removed, the rear wheel bearing checked for wear and corrosion - all clear & good and the rear wheel bearing re-greased.
• The rear sprocket and cush drive carrier was removed and the rubber cush drives checked for wear and deterioration - all good.
• The front wheel was removed, the front axle cleaned and re-greased.
• All bobbins on the front disks were cleared of any gunge and/or corrosion and made to move freely again.
• Front axle, rear axle, swing-arm bearings, steering/headstock bearings all checked for wear and loose play; as to be expected with such a low mileage they’re all good.
• Brake pads front and rear were removed and replaced with new EBC HH sintered pads. Calipers were cleaned and ensured they were fully functioning.
• All radiator hoses were removed, cleaned, checked for splits and wear - all good. On re-installation Samco stainless steel jubilee clips were used.
• Fuel pump assembly was removed from petrol tank, all hoses checked for splits and a new fuel filter fitted. The tank itself is in VGC internally and free from any rust.
• The original forks were removed, stripped and overhauled with new seals and 7W fork oil. However, due to one of the outer stanchions having corrosion, which has caused the outer coating (anodised or lacquer, I’m not sure which) to have lifted, the forks have been replaced with another set of Showas from a 2000 model. The benefit of these whilst not original to this model year, is they have the gold TiN fork legs.

All nuts and bolts, with the exception of the engine mounting bolts, were removed. The majority of which have been replaced with stainless steel or titanium ones.

I’m sure I’ve probably forgotten or missed out some of the work that has been undertaken on this bike over the past 9 months but I do have an extensive photo album of the bike, before, during and after the work.

In summary then, this is a 1999 MY 748 Biposto, one owner from new, with just 3304 miles, with:

New Tyres, Bridgestone Battlax BT016 120/70(f) 180/55(r)
New DID VX2 525 Gold chain
New JT sprockets front and rear - rear is QR with a new carrier
New fuel filter - clean and rust free tank
New air filters
New oil filter
New sealing ring behind clutch
Clutch overhauled and cleaned no need to replace as no wear due to low miles
Brake & clutch fluid replaced
New brake pads - disks well within wear limits
Valve clearances checked
New ExactFit CCW cam belts
New Yuasa 16AL battery
ExactStart cable upgrade kit fitted
New Dzus fasteners installed on fairing
98% of nuts & bolts replaced with stainless steel or titanium
CF Termi exhausts plus originals and original chip
CF rear hugger and chain guard
CF heel plates
CF clutch cover
CF front sprocket cover
2 original keys
2 datatool fobs
Datatool Veto Plus alarm fitted (but not connected as it was driving me mad whilst doing the refurbishment work). If you want it reconnected I can do it or tell you how to do so as all the wiring is in place in the loom just disconnected.
Full set of books and paperwork including original invoice

Ducati service history:
Service A 6/8/99 640 miles
Service B 5/9/00 2321 miles
Service C 7/9/01 2610 miles
Service D 4/8/04 2841 miles - Desmo check done at this time as well

£5950 ono

Please note the following:
1. For the benefit of those not 100% up to speed on the 748 range the 1999 and earlier models are a similar spec to the 2000 and onwards S models in as much as they came as standard with 3 way adjustable Showa forks, adjustable Showa rear shock, adjustable headstock (road or race setting) and steel braided brake and clutch lines. Oh, and also, yellow is MUCH faster (and rarer) than red.

2. Now the bike is refurbished it will be used (weather permitting) so the mileage will increase but as it's not my only bike it's not likely to increase by much.

3. It presently has a Kmh speedo fitted showing 7400Km. I have a date stamped photo of the original mph speedo and the Kmh one side by side taken before they were swapped over. If sold to someone in the UK I’ll put the Mph one back on and provide a date stamped photo of the two side by side again. If sold to someone outside the UK I’ll leave the Kmh one in place. Note that the Kmh one shows the bike has done more mileage/kilometrage than it actually has.

4. The manky front disk retaining bolts as seen in the photos will shortly be replaced with s/steel ones.

5. All original nuts and bolts will be provided with the bike.

6. Tyres to be removed, the wheels sent away to be stripped and repainted and the tyres refitted - EDIT - This won't happen now before winter 2020.

7. Any corrosion on the frame was on the weld spots and has been treated and touched up with the correct colour paint (bronze satin + satin lacquer) but is noticeable close up as the original paint has faded slightly. I will, at some stage, strip it all down again, drop the engine out of the frame and send the frame away to be vapour blasted and then powder coated, provided I can be assured of the correct colour match and the original frame stickers can be preserved.

8. There are a few other little bits of detailing which need to be done and which will be done over the coming weeks. EDIT - these have all been done now

9. The bike is available now and, if you’re interested you can wait until the above jobs have been done, however if someone wants to buy it before all or some of those jobs are done I will sell it, so don’t hold out for too long.

10. Delivery can be arranged if you don't fancy collecting it.

Now the bad bit there's a series of scratches on the rear left hand side of the seat unit, shown in the last photo. These are courtesy of Storm Ophelia which hit us towards the end of 2017 and which blew the bike off its paddock stands and onto it's side. This will be repaired and made good prior to delivery to the new owner.

EDIT - All scratches/blemishes on the fairing & seat unit have now been repaired and resprayed.

PM me for any more information you want.

More pics

 

I've no need to sell it really, hence it's only being advertised on here (for now) but if I'm honest with myself I've hardly used it and realistically won't use it that much in the future; the Monster will always get first choice simply because it's easier to ride on the roads around here. I've really enjoyed refurbishing it (including the sprocket episode) and I've got some other plans and ideas hence I've put it out there.

I forgot to add that I've a spare front sprocket for it which I'll throw in to the deal as well. Hardly used, only one careful owner

 

Thanks. It came from MP Production, at least that’s what I think they’re called but Ill take a look next time the rear wheel is off as the sticker is on the inside. I believe they used to make all the CF stuff for Ducati back in the 90s. They’re a US based outfit I believe, probably find they were owned by TPG at the same time as TPG owned Ducati hence their use. I bought it through the Ducati dealer I got the bike from shortly after getting the bike.

 

yep, thanks Ian @bettes it’s MS Production, not MP

 

I just edited the first post as I forgot to add I’ll consider something in PX such as an old 2 stroke or an air cooled Duc that needs refurbishing, cat S, N & X also considered.

 

Good idea Richard, thanks, I might just do that

 

Thanks for the tip XH. I’m not in any need or hurry to sell it so was just going to put it here and on the DOCGB site for now. If I’ve still got it next spring then I might start advertising it more widely but with winter approaching I didn’t want to have it sitting on a ‘public’ site for months on end as it just smacks of desperation, which I’m not, or makes people think ‘hmmm, why’s it not sold yet?’. However, I’ve never really looked at that site so will do some research. Thank you.