Well life has been too stable recently so I needed to make another questionable decision. I sold my r6 track bike and my k1100lt like a year ago because I needed tuition money, but I just finished a 4 month internship so I had a little cash laying around. Bike was listed at $3200; he came down to $2400. It's being shipped here (Indiana) from Georgia, has 4900 miles on it, and the only issues are a cracked tachometer and the right and front fairings were stolen and replaced with a 748 fairing and a Chinese nose piece. Never been down. The guy was a Ducati mechanic so my main concern is that I'm gonna open it up and find a buncha flaking rocker arms, otherwise I'm not sure why he would come down to 2400. He said he wanted to sell it to get a BMW sport tourer before riding season is up. Well my brain shut off when he sent a video revving it in his garage and I had to have it. Man, she sounds beautiful. Anyone who's owned these, please shower me with advice on owning them. I'm in school for one more year so I'm just gonna pray that she doesn't give me any issues in that time.
How many miles? Make sure you get some feeler gauges for the valve adjustments you will be doing...regularly.
get out your wallet and take it to Matt at IndyDucati. other than than that, enjoy the timeless aesthetics and sound!
Belts, roller bearings and adjuster nuts now Valve shims and new rockers in a couple of months Full Termignoni in half a year La pavoni espresso maker in a year
4900 miles. I'm not too worried about the service intervals. Working on my bikes is half the fun of owning them for me. Plus, a year from now I'll have a jap bike or another bmw to ride when the Ducati breaks down haha. I'll definitely be visiting them, depending on how long I plan on keeping this bike. I've ridden a 748 and loved its character, nothing like any bike I'd ever ridden before, but that was just a test ride.
Also don't worry I've already covered the basics of owning a Ducati. Ball cap, coffee mug, team shirt, riding jacket, keychain, and most importantly the ass-tat.
Timing belts at a minimum. They arent that expensive and are easy to swap. Valve adjustments on an early 4 valve are a lot more finnicky than on the 2 valves. The process is the same but the 4v bikes are far more sensitive to valve clearances; close doesnt count, especially on the exhaust valves. The bikes are really quite simple if you learn to take your time but just require a lot of attention. CA cycleworks and EMS Duc will become your best friend.
I know it's been mentioned but even if you work on your stuff (I do too) Indy Ducati is a great resource for parts/info.
Here is my 1995 916 Varese built. I got it used in late 1995 from a 60 YO guy in Des Moines who couldn’t ride it because of wrist discomfort. It only had 738 miles on it. I always wanted to get a 916SP (955) model but they were hard to find. There is an interesting wrinkle to the 916 story, and one that makes this bike even more special. In 1994 Ducati was ramping production of the 916 to meet with unprecedented demand (most 1995 bikes were build in the latter part of 1994) – the rumor is that every first-year 916 in the US was spoken for before it ever left Italy. The factory in Bologna was running at full song. But a tragic fire (which started in the paint shop) shut down the production line at an inopportune time. Scrambling to continue building the most important motorcycle in Ducati’s history, manufacturing was relocated to the Cagiva-owned MV Agusta factory in the city of Varese. Here, approximately 2,663 Ducati 916s were assembled (predominantly by hand) to keep the dream alive. The Bologna factory returned online in 1995, and production was reestablished there for the remainder of the builds. In addition to the base 916 model, approximately 310 SP spec bikes were also assembled in Varese.
I own one as well. As mentioned, timing belts. They're $100 and a few hours to change. Change the oil and when it's drained pull the screen off the right side. Any rocker flaking will show up there. May have already been addressed, but the nut holding on the flywheel has been known to work loose. Updated design or red Loctite works. Start a savings count for back tires. Have fun. Great bikes and likely the best looking sport bike of all time IMO.
That 916 is beautiful and it seems every time I hear about these bikes there’s another bit of history to them. Sadly mine will be living in the parking lot under a cover this summer, although there are little storage units next to the car garages that I’m going to see if I can rent. (Apartment living SUCKS) During the winter I’ll bring it back home to Indy to store in my dad’s heated garage. OR if I can get it down 6 or 7 steps using a truck ramp or 2x6 then she’s gonna sit in my living room. I think this is the first time I’ve looked forward to taking a bike apart as much as I have to actually riding it haha. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
6 steps. They come up to my bottom rib (approx 3’9). Seems plausible on a day where I’m feeling adventurous.
Mines been a sun room piece going on @ 10 years now. I think the last time I rode it was in 2007 or so.
I was keeping an eye on it, was curious about condition, etc but never got around to checking it out... glad to see it going to a fellow WERA guy. https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/mcy/d/auburn-1999-ducati-996-low-mileage/6887035525.html