A mate and I had a daft idea of buying a cheap bike to work on together and stick on YouTube. We were looking at a 748 track bike that popped up on eBay (and on here in the eBay bikes thread) but lack of timely buy-in from SWMBO meant someone got to it before us. Luckily, it turned out (I think) as I came across an old post on Facebook marketplace relating to a 916 that hadn't started for about 8 years and the current owner was thinking of selling. After a little research into what the bike actually was, a price was agreed and it came home with us in the van. It also came with an additional frame which will be used as it's currently on a Q plate. From what I can ascertain so far, the facts are as follows: It has a 94 engine (unknown mileage) with P8 ECU and 94 swingarm. The bodywork is post 94 as is the tank + tank cap. Wheels are post 94 (no Ducati Racing lettering) and the bike was sprayed yellow at some point. The wiring is a mess and has been chopped about a little but the engine cases look in pretty good order. The bike was stored in a marine engineer's workshop so lots of wood and everything was pretty dry. Anyway, on to some pics: Once home 20190226_133619 Minor wiring mess: 20190226_133638 94 Motor: received_618582421929984 94 Swingarm: received_878664782525156 Spare Frame: 20190226_133646 The plan currently is to work with what we have and do an appropriate rebuild - it will never be and original 1994 unless we obtain a frame, tank cap, screen, wheels and other age specific parts so it will be rescued with the main parts we have and hopefully all recorded and uploaded. Matt
'94 Stradas are getting rarer. Great project. Looking at that butchered wiring harness is grim viewing. Get it nice and clean with upgraded gauge to the stator & starter.
Has the frame you are intending to use got a V5, if not it’s a risk, I have fallen foul of the DVLA in the past, they are morons, took almost a year to sort my issues out, also get it checked for straightness before using it, cheers Mark.
Excuse my ignorance, but as long as he has a V5 for the bike, who would know if the frame were changed? It is surely possible to get those VIN stickers redone somewhere? Or maybe I'm missing something?
Hi Jez, it’s illegal to swap a bikes identity, it’s taken from the VIN number stamped/engraved into the headstock, swapping a bikes identity is called “ringing”, do it and your for the high jump, besides the V5 he has on the frame that the current bike is built with is a Q plate which he is trying to get away from, now if he were to have a damaged frame with a V5 and cut the headstock off, then weld it onto the spare frame he currently has then that (as far as I am aware) is legal!, it’s a bit like chopper builders, they buy a donor bike, then cut off the majority of the frame and replace it with their own custom tubing, but the bike retains its ID because they use the original headstock, it all makes a mockery of the whole registration thing IMO.
Hi Mark Both the current frame on the Q plate and spare have a V5. Even though the build will be fully documented for all to see, the retention of a Q plate is far less desirable than the fact the bike will be rebuilt in my opinion. I do want to make enquiries with DVLA to discover any more history on both frames so a V888 will be submitted once the V5's arrive with me. I'd like to speak to them regarding a new frame plate as the original VIN is hard to make out at present, I presume due to sanding prep prior to being painted red. The Q was registered in 03 so substantially newer than the rest of the bike too. The spare frame is a 98 so still a 916 model year which I prefer, if not the ideal choice - it appears 94 frames don't come up that often! Matt
Great, look forward to seeing the build, please post a link to your YouTube videos when you get going.
The first two episodes are live - a few teething problems but you've got to start somewhere! Link to Ep 1 below: Any feedback on the build and the vids is welcome. Ep 2 is shorter than Ep 1 and we had an issue with the mics - I have no idea why but the sound was in the toilet throughout. I'll take my laptop next time and do a sound check before we get going. Currently the bike is sat engine-less ready for a full service. The forks and shocks will be refurbed although if anyone has an Ohlins shock for sale I'd be interested. The beauty of this vintage of 916 is that they could have come with any collection of 'extras' according to them in the know so an upgraded shock will only make it better. I'm on the hunt for some 94 wheels too as I'd like as many period correct parts as possible as we go along. The panels are all 94 too as it happens which was a great discovery!
Some snaps of the progress: SPOILER - Neutral light! neutral light by Interim bodge on the power amplifiers - they were connected using speaker wire with bare wires! power amplifier plugs by The tired wiring loom 20190309_204856 by An hour or so later... 20190305_155939 by
Thankyou my good man! I've been eyeing up your project too and as it happens, we'll soon have a spare frame and quite possibly a 748R lump sitting around gathering dust. I wonder what that could be used for? Great work though - really looking forward to the updates on it - subscribed.
A little help with stowing the engine while it was out and being messed about with meant some welding was to be done: FB_IMG_1553033581681 by
hopefully mine won't shit itself first touch of the button! If all is ok for mine I'll happily share all of what I've done and what's needed to do an 853. It'll be cheap to do too, if the 916 bits are sourced cheaply. I love to see any neglected bike get a second chance and admire all that do the work to make them good again.
We managed to grab another few hours on the bike and got enough footage for a couple more episodes so I can release one now and one in 7-10 days time. By then, something interesting might have happened! That damn swingarm bolt was a pig but we were lucky to get it out in about an hour without the proper (or fabricated) tool. The bike is now down to a bare frame so it's on to painting next. I'm hopefully picking up some genuine 94 wheels tomorrow so they'll get painted along with the current wheels and possibly both frames. I've never painted before so it will be a learning exercise methinks. I know we could get it done professionally from the start but I'd like the satisfaction of doing as much as possible ourselves. The engine looks to be pretty good apart from some minor wear to the rockers. The shims are out a bit too but that will be sorted with the engine rebuild.
While you have the heads apart I would check for excessive wear in the covers for the rocker pins. Wear here can allow the pins to rattle a bit.
Throw absolutely nothing away. What you may see as "worth replacing" might just be the bit someone else in here is missing so you might make some sheckles to help the build fund.
