Well having battled with the seat lock ( the locksmith couldn’t get new blades to rebuild it so I have grabbed it back ) and the Genuine Handlebars not fitting ( but a £65 set of black race ones with a 1” rise did ) finally got out this afternoon for another shakedown run on a hot afternoon. Burst straight into life ( even though my first mistake was to let the fast idle cable not seat properly so I had to pin the throttle cracked open with my thumb ) and settled straight into a steady tickover and after seeing 50 on the temp gauge we are away. The temp stayed settled the whole afternoon 80-90 with it at 27 degrees this afternoon. OK still taking it easy on old tyres but this thing takes me back to the glory days of the 90’s superbike. Weight all low down and over the front so you feel every pebble but steers so accurately ( I have to admit I have pushed forks through 10mm and rear fork arm raised one turn ), beautiful torque and fuelling with not a dip or hiccup anywhere at any time, brakes are suited to the road just fine and a noise to die for ( revving to 6 ½ K ). The riding position is so good even my old fat @rse can move about on it ( slightly ) too and with a decent fairing at higher speeds. Best of all it makes me feel great and I got back with a huge grin that just wont go away. Will check it over tonight and will just have to get out again tomorrow for a slightly longer run New tyres needed too I think.
Complete NOS rear seat lock obtained from a guy in Europe in original packaging and perfect. However I think the problem may have caused by the seat being rebuilt with much thicker padding which means the key is tricky to get in and turn, even when new, can anyone recommend someone in the UK midlands who can rebuild the seat with it's original cover but with a good shaped filling that wont just compress down? I love riding all my bikes but working on these classic Ducati's is just so satisfying.
am I mistaken or aren't all 851 mkII and 888 pillion seats tricky to lock in to position - firm compression in the middle of the seat/seat cover over the lock pin should make rotation of the key for locking & unlocking straight forward...??
Yes you are correct. They are a fiddly fit and I needed to adjust the height of the lock on the bracket to make it open and close better. The thicker the covering, the higher the lock needs to be (typically 1 to 2 mm).
Hey Bridgland, tried to pm you, are you still making the SP5 seat pillow frames with your plastic printer? I'd like to order one...?
Yes I do still make them. I have a new printer and haven’t tried one out yet, but it should work well. I can get a print going at the weekend for you. Does that work? Chris
