Thats beautiful mate, love the silencer, im thinking of getting a Sil Moto twin system, would love a Zard or Termi, but cant afford it right now. Its amazing how bikes get recognition, i heard that the MH900 was seen as a bit of a dog, and remember that ugly thing Bimota made (mantra) i think, even they are collectable now. Dont worry i will be putting a few miles on it come the summer time.
If 60 or 70 were registered in the UK then there could be well over 100 sitting in private collections and never ridden. There were 2000 made worldwide and 200 were imported into the UK. I contacted Ducati to see if each one had a production number but they don't apparently. Bit of a shame really it would be nice to know. I have a collection of magazine articles and original brochures to go with the bike, they appear on ebay from time to time. A bit of an anorak I know. As far as tyres are concerned, Neil from Cornerspeed recommended & fitted Pirelli Diablo Rosso II's. DIABLO ROSSO II, motorcycle Tyres, winter Tyres - PIRELLI UK I haven't had chance to ride it yet, still too cold & wet but anything would be better than the pair that were removed. There is a great Italian day in Bristol with cars & bikes, well worth taking the bike along. April 19th this year. BIAMF
I agree, tyres first priority then exhausts. I have heard that 999 wheels will fit, easier to keep clean and can pop the originals back on whenever. Pirelli's look good, thanks mate.
In my opinion, yes. Alloy wheels are commonplace, even really attractive ones but the spoked wheels really contribute to the bikes appeal. The quality of the chrome is abysmal though. I had mine re-built with stainless spokes, much easier to look after.
I remember a couple of years after they were launched JHP Ducati Coventry still had a couple in stock, couldn't shift them. I wonder if they were returned to other countries as not selling over here. 200 seems a lot for the UK, they only sold 20 of the later 1000S ( so I was told by Ducati ) which makes them even rarer. I've just fitted some Dunlop SportSmart 2's, they look amazing ( something sexy about new tyres, sorry ) but like you not ridden them in the wet. The BIAMF is a must this year.
I think the spoked wheel are an integral part of the look, lots of people change them for various reasons- unsprung weight and use of tubeless tyres being the two most often quoted but I think the bikes just dont look as good afterwards. Tyres are a subjective matter, just get ones to match what you'll actually do on the bike not what you think you ought to be doing, I've seen a couple of folk report coming a cropper after being unable to heat up their sports tyres properly. I opted for Pirelli Angels on my S, Metzeler Z8's were suggested but at the time I couldn't get any feedback from anyone who'd actually used them so stuck with Pirelli, which have suited the bike well. I've linked this site before but here it is again. Sport Classic - Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum Although annoyingly cluttered with adverts slowing it down its still the best Sport classic forum around and pretty much all of the issues have been found and dealt with by someone, it is very US centric and they problems they face with ethanol fuel and lack of dealer cover is less of an issue here but it's the first place I's ask a question. You'll get less derailment too. I'd like to hear how you get on with it after riding it, its not the most comfortable thing around but dont despair if you find it a strain, there are a few ways to alleviate its extreme ergonomics which were the cause of a lot of buyers selling them soon afterwards. BTW Keihan also make a good exhaust option for the SC range and are fairly modestly priced compared to some others, they suit the style of the bike too.
Question re exhausts: I like the originals for the look. I've never heard them, but they may be too quiet. On my 851, I had standard zorsts, but my dealer had opened out the internals a bit for more sound and better breathing. Do you think you can do the same thing with the Sport Classic originals, rather than changing the whole system? This is just a theoretical question of course, as my time for a Sport Classic has not yet come (no cash). But it will one day, and I want to be prepared! I suspect that this is a bike which it would be as well to keep as original as possible. If people were that worried about performance, they'd buy something else.
The OE exhaust sound OK compared to many bikes but aren't the most aesthetically pleasing things to look at( they also contain a cat which makes them even bigger). They can be altered to bring out some more noise, the most common mods involves drilling a circle of holes around the existing outlet, but I'd question whether it was worth the effort. On my other bike(an S2R) I like the shape of the endcans so I thought it worthwhile to alter those (though I've since gone back to using standard ones with a cat bypass which frees up more noise), the ones on the SC range look rather unbalanced and a more svelt look improves the bike by a big margin.
I also have my bike fettled by the excellent Nelly at Cornerspeed. One of the things I've always liked about the Sport Classics is that they can be treated as a blank canvas & there are so many options for modifications. As has already been said, do keep the OEM parts if you do any modifications. They will pay dividends if you can ever bear to sell the bike later. Exhausts: I have the Termi set up on my GT, but these are hard to find these days. There is a supplier who posts on the Ducati.ms site who can source the silencers, but you still need the modified airbox lid, Ducati Performance ECU & appropriate set up (TPS may need adjusting) for optimum running. Zards, Keihans, Staintune are amongst a number of other options. Tyres: I'm running Dunlop Roadsmarts & I'm very happy with them. My bike isn't standard (but I have all the standard parts) as it is definitely for riding, and I do ride during the winter. I also clean it after every ride...:wink: Wheels: The spoked wheels do look lovely, but even with the alloy wheels from the 1000S & the Paul Smart - the spokes are prone to rusting. Alpina & Kineo both manufacture spoked wheels that run tubeless tyres & they also have rust resistant spokes. My pockets weren't deep enough for either Alpina or Kineo so I bought a pair of ST4S spec Marchesini 5-spoke wheels as I really wanted to use tubeless tyres. The rear was a straight bolt-on, but the front set up uses the axle from a Monster S2R & disc rotors from a 749R (to accommodate the 10mm offset). Each to their own, I like the improvement in response I felt from this & the wheels are also a doddle to clean. Other wheels are available. Carrozzeria make some lovely forged aluminium wheels. Haven't tried them myself, but they look pretty: Carrozzeria Wheels - webBikeWorld BST carbon wheels could be nice too, but not sure about their longevity on the poorly surfaced local roads... Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Paul Smart.
Thanks for all the replies and words of advice/wisdom its greatly appreciated, what a helpful bunch us motorcyclists are to our fellow riders. I agree with most of whats been posted about the exhausts, im a sucker for originality and if i were to change the exhausts and wheels the originals would be kept safe in order for me to return it back to original. The 999 Marchesini wheels do look rather smart and i have pictures of PS and Sport Classics with them on and they look very nice. My main issue with all the Ducati's i have owned is that they really sound and feel alive with a set of open cans, i hate the muted sound of standard silencers, and if the PS has a power sapping CAT then all the more reason for fitting something more free flowing, I like the single Termi and Sil Moto options at the moment, if i can get hold of the former. I have been offered a set original black PS silencers quite cheap, so may use these as a something to butcher.......any idea's how to make them sound fruity without being too loud, guess thew CAT will need drilling out. If/when i begin riding the bike tyres will be the first point of call, all yr advice is taken on board, will opt for something that suits my style of riding.........steady and slow The only factor really letting the bike down is the front wheel/spokes these are quite badly rusted and i dont believe any amount of Autosol and elbow grease will work, yes i agree its an integral character of the bike, so will see how the spokes fair once replaced, i think the steel option is the way to go. Not decided what to do with the bike just yet, a si mentioned earlier in my thread, i have never had a 'garage queen' so i will be itching to ride it one the weather improves.
Try here for Termi's. They got a hold of a full system for my RC' Motorcycle Exhausts | Performance Parts | BR Special Tuning
I'd have a go at Ducati about those wheels, they can see the bikes only done 300 miles and obviously been in a garage. I've had warranty work done on my Ducati's which are 7 years old. It's worth a go, nothing ventured ............. Also always look on ebay.de that seems to have good SC stuff up for sale, think there's Zards at just under £1000 last time I looked.
Tric That's a good idea mate, will take a pic and mail it off to them, you can only ask, seeing as the bike has been kept in a warm garage and such low mileage. Cheers
This is the tender trap of buying a 'collectible' bike or car with extremely low mileage - you pay over the odds (naturally) for it but then you're afraid to ride it because the very act of riding it depreciates it's value. It's a bit like paying £1000 for a fantastic pair of shoes and not wearing them outside the house because they'll get dirty! I know how you feel, I have seen very low mileage bikes at a premium price but avoided them because I want to ride them , not place them under a dust cover in the garage. There was a PS recently advertised - 2009 model but never registered , 0 miles of course. They wanted £18k or something like that - advertised as an 'investment' ... in other words it is 'dust-cover fodder'. But,to me, it's a bit of a gamble that your £18k investment would grow that much in 5 years since the asking price is high enough already. Also who would be brave enough to ride it for more than 100 yards? The realisation that you don't dare put a single mile on the odometer and break it's 'virginity' would drive me mad - and mock me with guilt every time I saw it under it's cover in the garage! David Attenbourgh once starred in a film called "The Ship That Died of Shame"... in my opinion a moth balled SC would somehow die of shame under it's dust cover!
This is a very interesting concept. I see collectible Ducatis (like collectible whisky or any other collectible consumable) in almost physics terms. They have a store of potential fun and desirability, like potential energy. You can keep this potential fun intact, by not having any fun, or you can start to have some fun and use it up. Just owning stuff is the lowest form of fun. If you were diagnosed with some fatal disease, you wouldn't much care that you had a garage full of pristine Ducatis. And when you die, you can't take them with you. The idea of living your life to the max rather than just owning stuff makes you a more interesting person and more sense of your life. What is the point of simple accumulation? You could argue that a rare Ducati, like a rare malt whisky should be sampled parsimoniously and savoured. That sounds reasonable. Maybe you shouldn't binge out on it. But there is no real reason to suppose that he PS Rep can't do many thousands of hassle-free miles, so it would be a pity not to do them.
Totally agree Glidd! It's like the Genie's curse in the pantomime... "You can have anything you desire...but you cannot touch it!" Also on our death beds (hopefully several decades in the future) will we say "I remember that Ducati I bought as an investment and made a 20% profit on" or "I remember that Ducati I bought - by cracky we had some great times together, rides and tours I'll remember all my life!" :biggrin:
Actually I have a story that (spookily - I wonder if it was the same seller?) that echoes SP4s tale... Some years ago I was thinking of an MV S4 - never had an MV before, when I was younger they were 'millionaires bikes' and saw an ad for a very low mileage one not too far from where I was working at the time. The seller wanted a fair bit for her but I hoped I could negotiate down - I was wrong! The chap was in his mid 30s and lived in Chelsea as well - in a drop dead huge townhouse with a double garage attached. In the garage was a Bentley and a Merc sports... this man was not short of money! The MV was in the corner and when he took the cover off it was showroom fresh and only (I think) just over 400 miles on it (it was about 5 years old) - gorgeous - but he would not budge on price - not a penny. I thanked him and left empty handed. I later found out through a friend that the seller was quite well known in the City and worked for an investment bank (surprise) and was a total mathematical genius that could work out profitability ratios of failing companies and turn them to profit in a few years (well at least his bank could) therefore his annual bonuses were several times larger tham the price of my house. I guessed that he bought the MV as a bit of 'bonus bling' , rode it to see jis mates in the country, rode it once more to show off at the local Starbucks and then covered it up never to be used again. More money than sense - very true but these sort of people who probably earn 200 times what you and I do have an understandably different view of money. For instance my daughter asked for £10 yesterday to get a meal out - I gave it to here no problem, what is £10 after all... The seller could give his daughter his earnings related equivalent which would be £2000 !!! For him , buying a MV for £10,000 would be like me buying a meal for two for £50! Bernie Ecclestone anyone?
