A 851 trying to look like a SP4 with that side numberboard? https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1095623
I drove 6hrs each way in the van with a pocket full of money to look and collect this 851 on Tuesday afternoon arriving at 9pm. Yes I went because it was listed within the hour, looked reasonable in the pics and cheap. I wasn’t expecting to give it a wash, charge the battery and be riding it this week but it really does need pulling back to bare bones to make anything like a bike we are all thinking off. Perhaps not masses of money to spend but loads and loads of time. If you’ve ever done anything like this costs creep up as you may as well do all the bearings etc whilst in bits. As the owner said on the phone, the bike had been stored in very damp conditions and the photographs showed it in a way better light. Possibly the 3 cans of WD40 lashed on top of it, some strategic photo positions and slightly out of focus shots. It smelled good anyway. To be fair the owner said he didn’t want to take the buy it now until it was viewed as there was a lot of surface corrosion. Unfortunately it looked liked it had been stored under the ocean in real life. It was all there but needed completely stripping not just a quick ‘t cut’ as the photos gave me the impression. Every piece of alloy was furry beyond belief under the paint- wheels, engine, throttle cable seized solid, frame bent on left hand foot peg pointing to 5:30 not 6 o’clock, no spark plug in horizontal cylinder, both special seat padding screws missing, electrical terminals near corroded through, left hand fairing in fibreglass, both fairings with heavy storage marks and tail section all micro blistered surface rust under paint in every corner of the frame, discs etc. One mirror damaged and a piece missing from the plastic. The owner could not find the log book or any documents Which didn’t help it wouldn't have stopped me. I did hpi it on my way up and 17000 miles 6 previous owners, last owner since 6/2001. Semi-good bits were It has an elephant screen, original Ducati elephant exhausts but both were marked/ medium damaged. I’m not knocking the guy, he was pleasant enough to deal with it’s a shame there weren’t more detail and some more realistic photographs. Anything can be repaired and rebuilt but the time and effort required for this one was too much for my current workload. Yes it looked cheap but you would have another £1500-2000 with paint, tyres, belts, damaged parts, battery etc and a good bit of time. We often get snow blinded with the prices of bikes that are advertised but often these seem to have been advertised for ages. Chassis number was 851 S3 less than 500. As always it will make a great bike but at what cost is for the buyer to decide.
Thanks for that Chris, what an adventure. It goes to show that you can't beat seeing the goods even now, despite high quality pictures almost being the norm. I've done this many times (although not many 12 hour stints) and can say overall it was worth it, although it's much harder to find a genuine bargain now compared to even 10 years ago plus i seem to have lost "the knack" as I get older. What is the mileage? - I hope you got him down to a price that reflects the deep corrosion and engine unknown quantity aspect. I didn't take the time to check, but you almost certainly have the welded-on-plate type of peg mounts? They are a definite weak point - my Strada had been dropped on the left (and peg plate tweaked back) and then I went and did the same on left and also had to tweak the plate back, I don't think it would take a third time.
I didn’t buy it Chris W. And it’s not like me no to walk away without coming to a deal. I always go to buy not look. Seller keen on 3500 as there was massive interest and it was the first day of the advert. I would have done the same. To be fair, I thought there was just so much to do it wasn’t what I thought I’d gone to look at. I went because it looked cheap. I thought service, battery tyres & starter plus a bit of tinkering and it would be in use to tidy up as time went on. But not to be. In comparison there are dealers with bikes advertised circa 6.5k, for sale that you can ride home. I’m sure cash is king in this current environment and every dealer loves a bit of cash so 6.5 may be 6k. I would have had similar money in something that I’ve never heard run or spent circa £600 and a week freeing off cables and brakes and have a rat bike. Neither suited me but I’m sure it will be somebody else’s dream and this forum will help and encourage them along the way.
Sorry for not grasping as not quite with it Chris, from what you say, he's got that wrong about only needing a "k" to get running.. 17000 miles, I guessed about that.
I think you're being generous. If you took that to a garage, I bet you'd be near 4k in the hole, and you'd still have an imperfect bike with no documents. The kind of corrosion and damage you describe goes very deep. I've been taken for an absolute ride on cars like that, end up spending more getting them right than I would have buying one at a premium. I tend to go the other way now and will pay over the odds for a pristine one from a reputable dealer. I just can't hack the endless drip of bad news these things bring into your life.
Reading this one with interest @Chris ,is it possible for the sidestand to puncture the crankcase.?..if left down when riding away from a stationary position.
You are right, it definitely happens but mostly you find out a bit later in ownership that the forged side stand “bracket “and/or the fixings are distorted, or worse still the threads are stripped and/or the crankcase cracked but not enough for it to leak.
Another 916, it's on bid No reserve!! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ducati-916-Strada/124227224671?hash=item1cec85045f:g:Ko4AAOSweFhe6xx2
That's a very early bike. If it's one of the Varese ones they fetch silly (IMO) money, it'll be interesting to see what it goes for although the screen needs replacing and the tank needs sorting out and it was clearly used frequently in the first 6 years of it's life - 30,000Km. At that time there were a few importers and I'm guessing that one wasn't originally ever intended by the factory for the UK market (Kmh speedo and degrees C temp gauge) unless someone says all early models were like that, although that's not detrimental. Also, perhaps it's just the light in the photos but the rear wheel looks like it's been sprayed, doesn't seem to be the right colour on my screen. I do think that would make an interesting resto project though, depending on price.
I think it’s an import Paul as it shows as registered uk in summer 96. It is a Varese. Frame number 312. Gonna be interesting this one.
The first 2 photos are old, he says he took them when he first got it 18 years ago. The rest, the dusty ones, are more recent.
