Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 851 / 888 > When does 888 bling become tacky

[aka.eric]

Imagine you either go totally original,concours or modified.Read the thread on SS department regarding Cyclecat top yoke,does this work on 888.As I have a pair of 4 pad calipers knocking about,thinking of 748/9-- forks.What else is involved,front wheel etc?.Also,the position of the footrests is ok height wise,but the actual footrest just doesnt feel comfortable.Rather than shell out on rearsets,thinking of cutting off the existing mounting lugs and using a bolt on race type footrest,any thoughts on the wisdom/foolishness of the idea.
Will a Suzuki TL 1000 engine fit the frame?

[chicken]

Jools, there will always a segment that wants things exactly as they left the factory. I'm happy to say that I've never been in that camp.

Very few things in this world have been made with a "money no object" approach (Prince Jeffries' with the whale foreskin-covered bar stools spring to mind). In those cases, items have been selected because they were the best available at the time. If technological progress has improved things then I see no problem with upgrading.

Everything else has been made with price in mind.

Keeping the originals for a possible sale in the future is prudent because, as something becomes a classic, the buying market (not the dreaming market) will place emphasis on originality.

These comments are only for performance parts. Anything aesthetic is purely down to personal taste.

my two cents.

[RightSaidFred]

Good points. There's no right or wrong answers here, which is the important thing.

I've bolted a lot of bits to mine which I, PERSONALLY, deem to be improvements to MY OWN bike, in order that it fulfills what I want from a bike. It's not up to anyone else, is it? Although obviously it's nice if people like what you've done.

It can be a shame if someone goes absolutely mad with modifications, think streetfighters or 'All the Gear, No Idea' type butchering jobs, on a machine which is now becoming very rare, but even in these cases, no one else should judge the owner. After all, if it makes them go out and use and enjoy the bike more, QED.

I think what we as 888 custodians (we never own, we just look after for the next generation ) will find the most improtant thing of all, with residuals in mind, is to try and at least keep the stock parts in case of the need/desire to return it back to standard. Ok, some mods can't be reversed, but it would probably be a little hasty to change it beyond recognition and then flog all the left over bits after. The market does show that people prefer stock machines, especially with rare stuff. Although sensible small mods like braided hoses probably make no difference.

Anyway, keep the faith and all that!

[loony888]

i guess if i owned a genuine SP i would think twice about modding it too much and keeping the stock stuff. but mine is a strada and its only real worth is the enjoyment it gives me, so i've modified it. i've also sold off all the stuff i don't need, foolish? maybe, but i need the cash to buy more bits!!! i've kept it mostly period oriented, with ohlins and spaghetti system etc, SP5 seat, iron brakes. but i put goldline m/cyls all round as well as billet brembos. nickel plated marvic superlight rims with black painted magnesium hubs finish it off. my only hard and fast rule has been the original decals are all in their original places so if the uneducated look at it it's kinda familiar and just a nice example.
that's my thinking anyway, and yes i'd post a pic if i could get it to work.
cheers,
paul.

[Edited on 19-2-2006 by loony888]

[RightSaidFred]

Thinking about it, 888 bling isn't tacky with sensible and period mods.
It becomes tacky with the addition of:

Loads of brightly coloured bolts;
Coloured screens, and coloured headlamp protectors;
Coloured plastic 'spiro-wrap' round all the brake lines;
Any stickers other than a tasteful 'Agip;'
In fact anything 'stick-on' apart from a tank pad;
Undertrays!!
And those ghastly 'mini indicators.'
Oh and anything 'carbon-look', where it's plastic but printed up to look like carbon (what IS that all about????)

[loony888]

o.k, thanks to charlie i can now post pics of my bike (wish i knew how!!) so.........here she is!

[bitchinSP4]

I tend to agree with what fred say's except the undertrays, I made one up that followed the lines of the subframe gets rid of that horrible original one and cleans the lines of the rear beautifully. I had to have the mini indicators
no where to bolt the originals!!

[Jasper]

Looks nice with the black frame.

[TP]

Originally posted by loony888
o.k, thanks to charlie i can now post pics of my bike (wish i knew how!!) so.........here she is!.....

Hi loony888

Are those taken at the Italian club in Newmarket (I think)? The DOCQ day?

[Jools]

Pretty much confirmed what I'd thought myself. After all, if I'd wanted something to cover in tasteless brightwork I would've bought a Harley or a Gixer that I could've covered in purple anodized bolts.

I wouldn't want to do anything that spoiled the essential character of the bike, but I have already started collecting a few bits. My thinking was to spend money on performance oriented upgrades first and when they're sorted I will turn to the cosmetic bits.

The first thing that I noticed when I rode the bike was that the brakes felt truly awful after the one-fingered stoppers that I've got on my ST (where I've got upgraded P34 callipers on it) and I had a couple of moments where I outbraked myself when I forgot that I need at least half as much braking distance again as I do on the ST. So I've now got master cylinders from an ST4S that look the same as the originals but will pump more fluid. I've also splashed out on a set of billet brembo callipers, so hopefully I will have complete confidence in the brakes once they're fitted.

I felt it was slow to turn in so I've got a little job dropping the forks through the yokes by about 12mm - which is free at least. If that's not enough I'll add some of those ride height adjusters to the rear. I'll also try and get the suspension K-tech'd if I can afford it for handling nirvana - cos I suspect that well set up Showas etc are probably just as good as Ohlins for riders like me.

I would love a set of lighter 5 spokes, but I'm still a bit suspicious of mag wheels and their corrosion resistance - I don't want to get paranoid checking every tiny scratch for corrosion so I will probably make do with ally (although they probably won't offer any advantage weight wise over the standard 3 spokes). I quite like carbon wheels but I think they're out of keeping with the bike - and bloody expensive.

In an ideal world I would like to track down a crashed ST4S like the one bike-enders were flogging on eBay. Couldn't afford it at the time but I'm saving pennies. Then my ST2 can wear all the 4S suspension, wheels, ally swingarm and Ohlins and I'll have a 4S engine...hmmm...wonder what i could do with a 4S engine, any ideas Rob?

After that, a set of high level Sils, a nice set of rearsets and a QB seat unit...plus a set of track bodywork and I'll be happy.

It may end up costing me as much as an SP4/5 in the end, but the way I see it I should get SP performance levels without having a bike that was so rare that i'd feel I had to ride it with kid gloves