Ebay has a Barnfind 888 SP5 up for grabs, and everything looks quite honest until you get to the last photo. Thoughts? (My mind is screaming out "Runaway!", or break it for parts)
I flagged it on the ebay bikes thread last week ( based in Hartfield ) and regretted not viewing it as very cheap, but would you buy a Monet with the water lilies missing,sale price was £7500 & thank christ i didn't go down there.
Do we know what the restamped prefix actually says. Give me some cupric chloride in hydrochloric acid, a copper probe, cotton wool and a 9v battery and I will recover the original stamping.
That bike (and the one in the background with Astralite wheels) were both up for sale last week at £7500 in WestSussex. As @XH558 said, the SP5 looked like a good project for the money. It would appear that “Daz” from Clitheroe bought them both and immediately relisted the SP5 at £11997. Perhaps the overstamping is legit but looks a bit dodgy on initial review.
Interesting thread https://www.hkpro.com/threads/sp5-serial-numbers.504248/ The nearest 19** serials are 1950, 1954 and 1955
I have a perfect frame laying for this. A new in the box replacement frame,so also with no number. You could buy them from ducati like that. Only thing to do is put the number better in than in that frame on the SP5. Henk!!!
Perhaps the only correct way is to contact the factory and ship it back to them for stamping the headstock properly, if that service is available of course.
“It is what it is” Easy to get wrapped up in numbers and investment potential and what is stamped where. When paying top money, or where a bike is masquerading as something it isn’t, I understand that of course; nobody wants to pay over the odds, but when paying a fraction of the “collector level” price, and the defects are clear to see, if it is to be used as a bike, rather than an investment, surely more important is that it does / when recommissioned will; perform, run, ride, handle, feel and look like an 888 SP5, as that is what it is. Or did I miss the point of owning something special like an SP5? I am only kicking myself that I did not spot it when sold for the first time on ebay. At this new price, if you want to make it really immaculate, it would be quite easy to get up to the cost level of one without the stamping issue.
For me personally when booking up the Rolling Stones for my big weekend bash i don't want a tribute band showing their faces.
Personally, I reckon that the bike in question is a genuine SP5 however, for some reason, the frame number has been meddled with. As @Jon Wright says, if one wants an SP5 to ride then it doesn’t matter two hoots that it has a question over the numbers. I think a number (excuse pun) of us are all a bit peeved that we missed it at £7500 as that was a good price that allowed for getting it back to nice condition, while also meaning that it would have some residual profit if it were to be sold on. I am kicking myself as the original seller was only about 20 miles from me. Oh well.
And if the numbers have been tampered with, there is a strong suspicion that the frame at least, is either stolen or an insurance write off. If stolen, when the police come knocking, you have no redress. Even if it was a Cat S write off, I’d have doubts about the repair and if it’s a Cat A, same response as stolen. Andy
I bought my first Ducati in France (748BP) back in the 90’s - it had had a new frame and had an agricultural overstamp job done on the frame number. Never had a problem getting it registered etc. Plus, it was about £2k less than buying in UK.
I saw them (not the tribute band) play at the 100 Club. Hardly anyone there really, most thought the surprise/ secret gig was fake.
Notice that the part of the frame number that has been tampered is the bit that should say "ZDM888S" (for a SP5), and not the number itself. It has been overstamped with "888S1" (which really ought to be "ZDM888S1"), which is a 888 Strada prefix. If the intent was for it to be untraceable, then the whole number would have been obscured. It's possible is that it was a SP5 that was previous parted out, or otherwise written off and the individual or organisation involved didn't want the frame to be used for creating a "fake" SP5.
Yeah, I've seen them a few times, Nice, London, Denver, Albuquerque and hope to go again if I get the chance!
