Just got back . . . Still grinning.

The bikes are beautiful, the Paso MUCH bigger than I remember my 750 Paso . . . but hey . . . maybe it is much bigger. The damn thing has less than 2,000 miles on it and it's like new.

The 916S looks like a razor blade crossed with a missile - Ahm in lurrrrrvvvvv.

Fired them up - they both run well but I'll still have both of them re-commissioned just to be safe - if there's new, good quality, oil in there then I know that there's new, good quality, oil in there. (A wise man once taught me that the most important moving part in any engine is the oil. He was right.)

I didn't ride either of them (the whiplash wouldn't allow it BUT) - the rain was coming in off the Atlantic, horizontal, at 60 mph and it was freezing. There will be nicer (and SAFER) days.

Glad to be back in the fold guys, glad to be back.

(Oh yes, sorry guys but none of the photos were any good; yes she's gorgeous but she's also blonde, and I mean BLONDE)

re tyres, make sure that what ever you choose suits your riding style.

A sports tyre will not warm up quickly so would have less grip at low/legal speeds than a sport touring tyre that is designed to warm up very fast, but of course would have less grip at track speeds.

the manual states 41psi front and rear, there appears to be great debate on that! I have a period road test where the tester put the pressures up to 41 and remarked on the large improvement in steering and handling.

High pipes are a great look but not for adding panniers for touring!

Hi Paso 750 - good point about not starting them, both bikes were granted MOT (Ministry of Transport fitness) certificates very recently so they must have been run before the auction to be granted their MOTs. They were both supposedly serviced properly but I have seen no service records for either bike for this year.

I'm having them both fully serviced next week because I am very, very fussy about engine maintenance. I have spoken to the garage that re-commissioned the Paso and they said that it had been standing for more than 10 years so it took them two days just to clean her internally before they serviced her! The entire job took (apparently) four days.

The Paso was in a private collection which the owner has now sold. According to one of the auctioneers he feels he is too old for bikes now that he's in his seventies - so he is concentrating instead on his classic cars and classic aircraft!

The Paso chassis number, ZDM 906 PI 2 002198, is about 100 short of the last one produced (according to: I Falloon 'Std Cat. Ducati Motorcycles 1946 - 2005'.)

The 916S has done less than 5,000 miles but if the torn and shredded rubber that is all that is left of the tread on the front and rear tyres is anything to go by the last owner sure could lean his bike. The tyres are worn clean past the edge of the tyre! The tyres - can't remember the make - are as sticky as warm second-hand chewing gum. I've never met the guy but I'm prepared to bet he has either no brains or testicles the size of coconuts (or both)! There is a record of two (or is it three) major services, completed as per the accompanying manual/record book.

For those of you who want to know how much - I would - and to save you looking it up - I would - I paid, sterling, in round numbers, £3,000 for the Paso and £7,500 for the 916S. I think the Paso was cheap but the 916S was expensive - don't care - thrilled witless with both.

Still not regretting it.

(Yet!)

I don`t think a MOT really means that much. It only says the vehicle is roadworthy.
The belts could still be older than 2 years, cracked and snap one day or the water content of the brake fluid could be too high. The service history isn`t checked. Ebay sellers often say a lot. If there`re no bills or other proof I personally don`t believe it and would do the service also if the guy would tell me it was done a week ago. Unluckily I made my ebay experiences.

The father of a schoolfriend had a Fiat Dino. The car was stored for about 8 years under a big blanket in a factory building together with his Morgan +8 and some others. One day he just started it and took it for a spin including a drive on the Autobahn where - no need to say - the Ferrari engine went up in smoke as the head gasket blew.

So what you`re doing is definetely the right thing.
Be sure that the full service includes also checking/greasing the swingarm and steering bearings. If the bike stood for years with old fuel in the tank flushing it may be a good thing as there may be sediments in the tank which can clog the filters or injectors.

G.

Thanks Paso 750 - I will definitely follow your advice. Both bikes will be treated as though they had both been standing for 10 years - and I know one has - and all fundamental work (re-greasing etc.) will be done. It will cost me more but better that than an expensive bill 50 miles down the road or a catastrophic part failure and a high speed meeting with the hedge!

I'm going back to Wales this Friday and will get the bikes serviced (fully completely and totally) and I will ensure that everything is checked. I will try either: to get some nice photos of the bikes OR, failing that, some nice photos of the blonde (she's 1" shorter than me and her inside leg is 5" longer! Thank you Lord, Thank you). Did I mention that my wife doesn't like her?

Your point about the M.O.T. NOT meaning she's truly roadworthy is well taken and you are right - however it does mean that, in this situation - we knew that both machines had been safely run and tested recently so there was no danger of trying to start a bike that had stood without service, love, oil or a battery for over 10 years.

Claude - Many people would call you "sick". Me? I'm with you!
Do you want pictures of my girl-friend or her daughter, or - Hell why not - both?

And

Will the moderators allow it?

As a small but - ahem - personal issue, a freezing West Wales in December is not really the place for wet T-shirts!! If you see my point - or perhaps - both of them!

some pics of the Staintune Conti replica pipes vs the other shape.

Rhino

I've got a bike through an MOT that hadn't run for 15 years until ten minutes prior to the test ! You can make somethig pass quite easily !

My bike in the hands of its previous owner also went through the MOT with the clutch slipping so badly it wouldn't pull away up hill and an oil leak bad enough to leave a lasting impression outside of Paso750's house 1500 miles later !

Who are you using to do the recommissioning work by the way ?

There are some really good Ducati guys around and there are some INCREDIBLY bad ones.

On the subject of exhausts my bike has Laser Cans on it (aluminium sleeves) which are ok - twins sound best with Stainless or titanium cans sleaves as the sound is a little crisper - carbon and alumiun can be a bit dull and "woofly"
My bike runs a modified chip and a modified airbox and definitely needs the chip with the cans on.
The fuel injection is not good enough to fully compensate for the cans on these bikes - it will always run lean at some point without being setup properly.


If you can get hold of the cans I've always used TTS performance in the past who I think are still goign although my bike was set up by PDQ who did a good job.