Featured Threads Archive

After last weekends trip around Scotland's west coast and the Cairngorns, this weekend it's Wales.

Just 2 of us this time over 4 days. I've taken a route through as many of the National Parks and AONB's as resonably practical.
Helga now has new dancing shoes, and is ready for the off.

Had my 748 for 20 years now and am on my third temp gauge. I'm sure they are fine in the balmy summers of Rimini, but swings of -15ºC to +35ºC in the UK seem to put it through a few too many stress cycles. The latest temp gauge finally called it quits. I'd previously got quotes from gauge refurb places but they were up near £200. Knowing these gauges were like rocking horse poo, I decided to renovate it myself. Materials cost, about £3.50.

Before:
After:
The process went something like this...

Stick a sharp knife under the bezel (glued on) and "carefully" break it away, snapping the glue.
Measure the old bezel with callipers, create a profile in Adobe Illustrator and then do a 360 sweep in TinkerCad to get the bezel shape.
3D print it (I have the cheap one from Aldi). Took a few goes but managed to get a decent result. I used PLA+ filament.
Sand the raw print with 400 grit then 1000 grit wet and dry to smooth the 3d print lines. I considered using ABS filament and smoothing...

I recently bought an old (1990) Transit based motorhome, primarily so I could trailer my bike to trackdays, but also because I am entirely averse to planning things and then sticking to those plans, it makes taking holidays a hell of a lot easier and less stressful.

My sons and I went on a 4 day trip to Wales over the bank holiday weekend and I’m now a fully signed up devotee of vanlife. My only regret is that I didn’t get into this earlier. Subject to how the girlf gets on when we do a trip to Cornwall in a few weeks, she and I are also now strongly considering storing most of our stuff and becoming what the cool kinds refer to as “digital nomads” for a while between New Year and Easter as working remotely while wintering on the Cote d'Azur is very tempting indeed.

Thurs: Hertfordshire to Bath for a bit of a wander round then on to the Brecon Beacons, where we wild camped at 2am by the side of a lake. It was so dark the only way to know we were next to it was by looking at the...

New to the forum, not to Ducati.

The collection includes a Monster S2R custom with 1100 Hypermotard engine, S4R996, Streetfighter 1098S and Panigale 1299S.

Still looking for a mint red S4RS to add to the collection.

Also currently on the hunt for an original Ducati Performance racing seat for the Streetfighter 1098S. If anyone has for sale, DM me.

A few pictures of the bikes:

Panigale 1299S
Monster S2R custom
Monster S4R
No good pic of the Streetfighter at this point.

Happy to join the community.

And here we have the reluctant sale of my 853 Ducati, full bike history, most original parts kept, so can be converted back to bog standard 748 Biposto.
853 conversion and suspension by ProTwins. Dyno Tuning by CJS (106rwhp). No expense spared on this little beauty, runs and rides fantastically, not for sale elsewhere as I'd like it to go to an enthusiast.
Highlights include, STM Slipper Clutch, Ohlins rear shock, BMC Air Filters, Ducabike crankcase breather, Magnecour ignition cables, Electrex voltage regulator, Led Rear/Brake Light and indicators, Pazzo Levers, LSL Footpegs, Hel braided Brake and Clutch lines, RSR Racing clutch slave cylinder, ExactStart cables, Motobatt AGM battery, ExactFit belts (July 2020), Rg Racing tail tidy, Carbon air runners, Carbon rear hugger/chainguard, Reshaped foam mono seat, Renthal QR Sprocket carrier, Renthal sprockets, DID Gold X-ring chain.
Full service July 2020 including front/rear brake fluid, EBC pads (organic rear/sintered front), Motul...

After aching over a 999 or a 1098 I decided to go with my heart and get the 999S. Yeah on paper the 1098 is better but the 999 speaks to me in a different way. I brought her home this afternoon and decided to call her Valentina!

She's got around 22k miles on the clock and is an almost original 2003 999S. The bike has been sitting in a private collection since 2015 so I haven't ridden her on the road yet as I'm wary those cam belts might go snap (see below) which will be bad news for the pistons and heads.

Plus points:

Genuine 999S monoposto
In Ducati red!
Bad bits:
No red key or key card. Yeah, this is a bit of a bummer but as I understand it I can get the existing key cloned or I've read somewhere that SOS can be used to code another red key, am I right?
Last recorded cam belt change was in 2013
Throttle is an Active quick-action one and levers are aftermarket
The last muppet who changed the battery must have over-tightened the screw that keeps the holder in place and its just...

Well, tomorrow was supposed to be the beginning of this years trip to Italy, but due to all the lockdowns and uncertainty, the substitute ride to West Scotland starts in the morning.
Helga packed and ready for the off.

5 Days stopping in Oban, Skye, Ullapool & Braemar. Waterproofs packed too. Going with 5 mates and should be a laugh, whatever the weather.
Because one of the lads on the Italy trip has been kicked out of the house next weekend by his wife as he was supposed to be away and she has her mates round, I'm off to Wales for another 4 days next weekend too.

Hopefully all of the restrictions will be sorted for next year and we can have another go at Italy. I'll need to dry out somehow.

1st April 2005 this 916SPS came into my posession with just under 10,000 recorded miles.
15 years and a few months later it now has 50,000 on the clock.
On a Sunny day with an empty road it never fails to put a smile on my face.

Yesterday i was out and about on one of the bikes down on the coastline as you do and had the misfortune of getting stuck with a rear tyre pun?ture,i think it was 21 years ago on a Harley that i had received the last pun?ture on a motorcycle),unfortunately it was a slash mark & not a hole so it couldn't be repaired so they let me store the motorcycle overnight which made a pleasant change from we can't because of the company insurance bullshit.
So a huge thanks to the team at Sykes Harley Davidson at Lowerdicker who gave me a tour of the premises / warehouse etc,great to see that decent folk still exist,they also had a electric bike up for sale at £28k plus,anyway bike collected this morning at 08.45 with a new tyre on it's way tomorrow or the next.

I did the Ducati Track day on the 996 yesterday against a sea of V4/V2 and what seemed to be the uk's V4R owners club, I've never seen so many !

All I did to the 996 was to put Brembo SC pads in, Motul racing brake fluid and Bridgestone S22's and track panels. To say it held its on was an understatement, yes it got eaten on the straights but it was nipping back in the corners and on the brakes and I was just amazed how it's still so competent.

It was Silverstone GP so massive straights, round a tighter twistier track it would have been even better.

I can only imagine how good a really well tweaked bike with a modded/swapped motor would be.

(it did have a massive coolant leak from a loose allen bolt around the temp sensor area, but hey that's the fun of ownership, got it fixed and back out)

First ones. Beautiful SL2 with full carbon treatment, @samieb lovely old school V4R, @cookster Pani R and his mate Gary’s V4R.
Suns out

Currently owned a Kawasaki zx6r that I know longer ride on the road, track day use only! I was quite contempt and never imagined owning another bike, well that was until a 1998 Ducati Biposto 916 popped up on my facebook page for sale.. A week later I am now the owner of a 916!

I'm still in the planning stages on how far to go with tidying her up. So far I will be having all of the main fairings and tank sprayed due to a few marks and scratches, Not sure what to do with the main frame, It has a few marks so it's either a full spray job or try and touch the worse bits up..
Also need to decide on whether I keep the after market exhaust or stick the oem back on, either way I need to sort out the correct mounting bolts rather than the bodge ones on it.

Look forward to sharing the journey with you all

Roadkill

All done, from red to yellow!
70s retro decals

Collected it in a van yesterday ( pelting rain ) and its first 10 mile round trip on country roads to get it MOT'd today. Starts, brakes just fine and the ohlins rear and well set up front mean its handles well but is nicely supple. The 40th rear sprocket suites the strada's power exactly and the engine is just so smooth ( max 4500 rpm as its only just awakening from its slumbers ). Although the bars are low for a fat old git there is plenty of leg and bum room. Best of all it makes me feel a million dollars to ride .. so I am well happy. Hoping for a dry day tomorrow to get more miles on now it is road legal.

Good morning all,

After 1250hrs of design & crafting, I am pleased to bring you my latest creation and new business venture. www.sezionato.co.uk
This is #1 from an extremely limited collection with everything finished by hand, complete with bespoke stainless fittings and fixings throughout, glass top, one-off trellis styled framework and the engine can even slowly rotate by a specially designed and concealed dc motor.

I like steering dampers on my bikes and invariably fit 'em irrespective of what anything else thinks, but fitting one on the Mutleystraddler, has lead to a chorus of chunters, like those usually only expressed when seeing a fat bird bending over in a very short mini skirt.

So I have gone discrete now.

I have taken off this setup using Ducabike bits which kinda looked OK, but was in my face a bit, plus I was never keen on fixing to the plastic tank, even though it gave me no issues...it did stop me fitting a tank bag though - which I can now do
.... cos I managed to find an under-yoke setup. I did look for one of these ages ago, but could only find the OEM enduro rig... and that meant a non adjustable damper. I wanted an adjustable

Now it is all discrete ... the fat sort has put on a longer skirt hopefully ? I get me damper and you ladies don't chuck up quite so easily
Its from an outfit called CNC racing in Italia, albeit via a place in Holland cos they wouldnt...

Picked this up today, it was at the right price so I drove to Maidstone from Derby to pick it up, got home too tired to ride it!, I’ll report back tomorrow.

Just picked this red head up on the weekend. She needs some TLC so my winter project is sorted. Glad to have a motorcycle I can take the children out on.

Great bit of work by Snells today, fitted me in, did exactly what was asked and more.
They Upgraded my v4 to the evo2 software and also upgraded the engine map ready for the Akra....
Special shout out to Dave Phillips really helpful and knowledgable sorted me the bits i needed and advised what i didn't great honest service I would certainly use then again and again..

Managed to get a ride today, first time on this or any water cooled Monster. Been 7 years since I last rode any monster, and that had 65hp and clip ons (my avatar)

Didn’t realise how much I use a quick shifter and auto blipper. Back to clutchless shift and using the clutch for going down the box. Also didn’t realise how much a gear indicator and clock was needed!

I’d forgotten high highly geared these old Ducati’s are. It’s mad. 1st under 30 is a must. 4th under 60 is just about usable for overtaking. Top gear sir? Well over speed limit needed for vibration-free drive...!

But...the right gear and it’s smooth. Gearbox is lovely and tight. No false neutrals or any signs of clunkiness. It’s drives and demands revs. Once I stopped riding like an adventure bike, all upright position, it made far more sense. Needs to be ridden like a sports bike with slightly higher bars: which it is.

Seller said it had a clutch problem. Either slightly worn plates or dirty plates. For...