[weeveetwin]

Up until an hour ago (!) I owned both an 888 Strada and an SP4.

Back-to-back riding shows up their differences quite starkly. The SP is spitting and growling the whole time it's moving (animalistic almost) - whereas the Strada feels quite tame by comparison and more composed. Maybe it's to do with the Strada's single injectors and more civilised chip/cam timing, but even with loud cans fitted it can't quite recreate the manic snarl of the SP. (I hate to say it, but after dismounting from the SP and swapping onto the Strada, I'd quickly become bored with its monotone blat, blat blat).

Gearing on the Strada is more sensible for the street. Bottom gear is lower, and top gear is higher than the SP equivalent. In fact, the SP's sixth gear equates exactly with the Strada's fifth. This makes the SP feel more hurried at higher cruising speeds - and the Strada much more relaxed. The SP gearbox would be preferable for the track though.

Despite the SP having fully-floating front brakes, I found those on the Strada to be as good if not better. (This may be more to do with the particular type of pads I had fitted than anything else). The rear brake on my own particular SP works quite well - but the Strada's rear is (traditionally) poor.

Handling? When I first bought my SP4, I found the handling to be way better than my Strada. The bike was far more chuckable, and it was much faster steering. (I've since learned that much of the 'inertia' in this particular Strada's steering is down to the rubbish tyres it's wearing). However, the quoted 30lb difference in weight between these bikes is on the conservative side in my estimation. Difference feels greater. SP seems loads lighter.

All-in-all, on a warm sunny day I'd take the SP out of the garage far more often than I would the Strada. I just love the rawness it oozes. Moreover, having had more bikes than I care to count over the years, I've never ridden anything that turns heads like an SP4. You just can't sneak about on one of these!

Steve