900ss Ie What To Look For

Mechanically they are very much the same.....Just use your noddle, Ben......There isn't much difference really......the only thing I think that might be a hidden snag is the tank breather....they aren't quite as simple as the carbed ones.
AL

 

never owned one I remember a number of people chasing mid-range pick-up problems after fitting aftermarket exhausts and never managing to cure them. Not sure if ECU/ignition module was same throughout, but a bit less user friendly/tuneable than a lot of the later systems. @900streetfighter will put you right.

 

I've had mine for nearly 6 months and have refurbished it over the winter. I'd have to say that it's an easy bike to work on, and the general quality is pretty good. When I was looking, I asked Rick at Luigi Moto for pointers (I didn't specify the ie, but just asked about the 900SS), he said that there aren't any specific points about the ie. Certainly, there's nothing like the frame cracking that you'd look out for on the carby version.

He also said that the ie is actually a better bike, although the styling is a bit Marmite.

My view - the quality of finish is great (apart from the engine paint, that is...); the electrics are pretty good and it's generally fairly easy to live with. I'd want to see receipts for things like last belt change, and to understand the condition of the clutch - new clutch plates and basket are expensive - but of course all of this is common to the carby bike. 2nd hand spares for the ie seem to be easy to find. (but I've never seen the rubber tank pad for sale and I understand that it's no longer available new). But people here will know better. Oh yes - there are differences with the swinging arm - there's an alloy one that's more sought after than the steel ones. And forks vary as well... The '02 machine has the desirable swinging arm and Ohlins suspension, but I don't know about other years.

Lastly, there are two versions. There's the SS900 and the SS900 Sport. I think that the SS900 sport is a lighter version and is slightly less well equipped than the Ss900. Again, someone here will know better!

If you want to see the difference (in a slightly nerdy way) then you can look at the Star Twin parts web site, where you can look through the illustrated parts catalogue for all of the bikes. Star Twin: the online shop for Ducati OEM spare parts and accessories.

Cheers,

Nick

 

I had the alternator nut come loose on my carby version. You won't easly be able to check on it before buying but its worth looking out for if you do buy it.
Symptoms are knocking and dropping onto one cylinder

 

Check around tank hinge for repair. They can split there. Apart from that the motor and electrics are pretty sound. The motor is lumpy in town especially with cans + kn and suspension is hard. They steer quicker than carby which I like but the riding position's more focused.
The bronze framed bikes were built before tpg takeover took effect and allegedly not as well put together as silver framed my'00 onwards.
The dark/900S had steel swingarm and non adjustable forks. Some of these get advertised as SS models.
Most desirable are c'03 model with chunky arm and ohlins shock.
The 16M ecu used on all injected bikes up to the last 900 are a bit undeveloped and hard to tune. A few firms are dabbling with them and getting results so they can be tweaked. I have a pc3 on my bike with a factory map.

 

I bought one last week and can see absolutely nothing that would cause me concern. I did the belts and service myself, took a couple of hours but it was my first time. Riding wise it's great. You won't be disappointed.

 

For me, I would say look lout for an ohlins / chunky swingarm / marchesini 5 spoke model. Ideally a 1000DS. I got a 900 minter with these components for £1900 18 months ago. Someone sold a Senna coloured 1000DS on the SS facebook page for under £2.5k with 12000 on the clock just a few weeks ago. This is going to haunt me as the one that got away forever.

I still don't think all the owners of this model know that these 3 aforementioned components ebayed are worth nearly as much as the bike!

 

personally l would say the main thing to look for
is bad maintenance by previous owners
that are not used to Italian ownership

 

senna half fairing 1000. Best looker to me.