Falco Exhaust Downpipes

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cmdrew · #16 Post by **cmdrew** » Thu Jan 05, 2017 8:23 am

Funny that - i have a Ducati 851 as well! Bought it late last year after having been stood for 10 years. First thing I did was change the belts, oil and water. Looking forward to the better weather to try it out but to be honest the Falco hasn't been anywhere in the last 3 years so I doubt the Duke will be any different! Great bikes but just so unreliable.

Many years ago I also had a Ducati 888 Strada and loved it. Keep trying to remember / guess the registration but seem to have forgotten it. I'd have liked to see if it was still about.

BTW - all 851/888/916 were fuel injected. They were the first of the new generation of water cooled, 4 valve head, fuel injected Ducati's. The carb models were the 'SS' range.

Greg · #17 Post by **Greg** » Thu Jan 05, 2017 9:40 am

Yup, FI for the Duke, but my KTM was the last of the carbed big twins...

#18 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Jan 05, 2017 10:36 am

Yes, when Ducati went with FI on the 851/888 range it was a bit of a leap in the dark. I think it was done with an eye on racing and homologation for WSBK. Never had a problem with it though - both my 851 and 888 fuelled very nicely, which was why I was surprised at the FI on the KTM 990. I guess that back then (late 80s/early 90s) no-one really bothered about emissions on bikes, so the main thing was getting the throttle response right. Which is how it should be, of course...

I bought an 851 Strada in 1990, but the one I really wanted was the 888 SP3 (the single seat WSBK homologation model). I persevered with the 851 for a couple of years but eventually I had to have her big sister. I bought mine with 1400kms on the clock, chicken strips a mile wide and glazed brake pads from under-use. The PO was scared of it (used to BMW flat twins) and sold it back to the shop. I was the beneficiary. Mine's number 269 out of 500...

All through the 90s and early 2000s I used it as a track day bike (it's what it was designed for, anyway) but more recently it's just sat covered and on stands in the utility room. Time to get it serviced and woken up...

#19 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Jan 05, 2017 11:05 am

Here's a pic of the preparation for the last time it turned a wheel in anger in 2014 (at a Cadwell Park track day). The 888 looks ready to rumble, the Falco looks a bit pissed off at having another Italian interloper in the shed...

Dalemac · #20 Post by **Dalemac** » Thu Jan 05, 2017 3:40 pm

mangocrazy wrote:I mean - you wouldn't polish these, would you?

Meh, each to their own i guess. I'd rather have shiny pipes!

fatboy · #21 Post by **fatboy** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:27 pm

Dalemac wrote:
mangocrazy wrote:I mean - you wouldn't polish these, would you?

Meh, each to their own i guess. I'd rather have shiny pipes!

Heathen !

Greg · #22 Post by **Greg** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:34 am

Mango...

I was trawling through the TDR site and saw that one of my compadres was offering this on Ebags...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172489394960? ... 1555.l2649

Interesting!!

Gio · #23 Post by **Gio** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 12:23 pm

Wow 10k for that!

#24 Post by **mangocrazy** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 7:24 pm

Reading closely, it's not an actual 888 SP5, it's an 888 Strada that has been uprated to SP spec (cosmetically at least). Quite frankly the bloke who did it must have more money than sense, as the cost of all the bits to 'transform' it into an SP5-lookalike would have been enormous. The subframe and single seat alone would have cost a fortune, as would the Marchesini wheels. It would have been quite a lot cheaper to buy the real thing, I suspect.

What the ad doesn't mention is whether the engine has had the full SP treatment or not (I suspect not). That would need a complete new injection system and wiring loom - the SP models had twin injectors per cylinder, the Strada only had 1 per cylinder. Also the SP models had Higher comp pistons, uprated rods, uprated inlet and exhaust cams and larger inlet and exhaust valves. I'd be surprised if all that has been done...

But it looks superb. You'd need to know your Ducatis very well to pick the difference between a real SP5 and that bike. I wonder if it has the numbered plaque on the top yoke that the 'real' one has?

And Gio, the reason these are so high-priced is that until the 916 came out, Ducati were still a very low-volume manufacturer. There are very, very few of these about and scarcity pushes prices up. In contrast there are a lot of 916 Ducatis about - Ducati sold boat loads of them.

Greg · #25 Post by **Greg** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 8:51 pm

.... which is precisely why I was so posthumously pissed off that I wasn't more persistent with the guy who had the one I looked at.

Mang - I see what you mean about the shopping list, but if the motor had been done too would it still be a 'rep' or created real thing?

Having said that a quick Eblag search brings up a standard Strada offered - albeit by a trader - for a similar £9995.00 so maybe the rep's embellishments are worth something after all...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1993-Ducati-8 ... Sw241YWUzL

#26 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Jan 19, 2017 10:16 pm

Yeah, I can understand your frustration. It's hard to know sometimes when to be persistent and when to back off.

Realistically, unless it has the plaque on the headstock and everything tallies, it's not an SP no matter how close it looks. It will always be worth more than the standard bike (as you've noticed), but not by as much as the real thing. A pukka SP5 would probably be fetching north of £15k.

Have a look at the sequence of photos for this 888 SP3; this one bothers me as the fairings are non-original (OE stickers not present and stickers from later model substituted) but one of the pics shows the plaque I'm referring to.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUCATI-888-SP ... 1760996203

With reference to the engine internals, the difference between the standard 851 and the 888 SP3 was massive. The 851 was just starting to run out of steam when the 888 SP was beginning to come alive. It has a top end rush that is completely lacking from the standard 851/888. And as long as the registration document has it listed as an 888 Strada, that is what it will always be...

The "SP5" you referred to is a cracking looking bike and has been built to look exactly like a 'real' SP5, but unfortunately it's still a replica, not the real thing. If you're really keen, I'd find out whether the engine, injector and wiring loom mods have been done or not. If they have then to all intents and purposes it's an SP5, but with a lower price tag. If the engine is essentially standard 888 Strada, then it really is missing the point and is only a show pony.

#27 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Jan 19, 2017 10:23 pm

Now, this is more like it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUCATI-851-SP ... 2647764287

That looks proper, and is the real deal. The SP3 was badged as an 851 (don't ask - Ducati marketing), but was actually 888cc. SP4 and SP5 models were badged 888.

Gio · #28 Post by **Gio** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 3:01 pm

mangocrazy wrote:And Gio, the reason these are so high-priced is that until the 916 came out, Ducati were still a very low-volume manufacturer. There are very, very few of these about and scarcity pushes prices up. In contrast there are a lot of 916 Ducatis about - Ducati sold boat loads of them.

Ok so I'm wrong on price but tbo much as I like some Duc's I'd not part with my hard earned on one, I don't think they are particularly well made.

#29 Post by **mangocrazy** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 6:23 pm

I think modern ones are probably the equivalent of any Jap bike for build quality (in fact they use the same components as a lot of Jap bikes), but old ones are a strange mixture. The engine and most of the mechanical parts are very high quality, but the electrics can be downright awful. I've replaced the regulator/rectifier and the alternator and battery wiring on mine, because the OE parts were rubbish. But the frame is beautifully made and the engine internals are very high quality.

On mine wheels are Marchesini, brakes are Brembo and suspension is Ohlins, so it's all good kit.

Greg · #30 Post by **Greg** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 7:57 pm

Having been to the factory *koff koff* the amount of Ducati made components might surprise you - the bikes are put together with bought in modules such as chassis, looms, wheels, forks etc., but camshafts and crankshafts are machined in Bologna before being assembled into the bought-in cases...