Well done Robin:)

Hi Red, is this the same SPS that was for sale in Classic Bike or have you managed to buy the other one you mentioned?

Gary.

I did'nt get time to look at the second bike , as advertsied in classic bike, athought it did look nice from the pics the owner sent me.
I stayed with the first bike, moreso due to the fact that it was a standard SPS, no mods at all, and also 4k cheeper, which was a serious factor.
cheers
robin

Do you know from your research how many there are left in the UK and/ or abroad Robin? I've seen the photo of the chap and his SPS in Mick Walkers book, but apart from his example, the two you looked into buying and mine are the only ones I know of.
Regards, Gary

Hi Gary

Including your own, and Robin's (to be) I know of six in the UK. The other four are in Cheshire, Hampshire, Lancashire and Inverness. There may well be others I don't know about though.

Steve

Thanks, Steve.

It was curiosity on my part. I have a brief article that was in Bike magazine in November 1992 that stated 16 were imported, all pre-sold, but I have heard that some went straight onto the track because of their high spec and the fact that racers couldn't get their hands on the Corsa racebikes.

Gary.

Jasper writes: "Red SPS,they may have dropped the Ohlins,but the Showas are alot higher spec than the Showas on the standard 888's,and don't blow oil seals every 200m like my SP4 ones did!!!"

First...........the SP5 Showas are not any different than any other Showa adjustable fork used on Ducks. I have both and have taken them both apart. They are 100% identicle inside.

Second............the Ohlins on the SP's are racing forks and are designed to weep a bit for full slider lubrication......meaning less stiction that all Showas have.

Third.............if you are blowing seals on your SP then your doing something wrong. Many SP's here in the states that have 30+ miles on them without seal problems.

Mike

Sorry Mike,can't agree with you on this!There was such an issue with SP4 fork seals leaking that it ended in a court.I think you will find that most people that have or have had SP4's with Ohlins have had a problem.

As for the Forks on the SP5,they are completely different to "Standard" 888/SP0 forks.the SP5 was the only 888 that came with the Showa GD 061 forks,as opposed to the GD 011's fitted to the rest of the range.

This is only my opion of course,and am prepared to be proved wrong!:)