Decisions, Decisions
 

It's been a few years now since I had my last Duke, a 92 900ss. After much soul searching I decided to return to the fold and have been looking for a tidy late Superlight. Thought I'd give it a bit more pep with the usual aftermarket add ons. Then I thought "look at the price of a good 888 now". The bike of my dreams in my teens/early twenties. Only thing is - I've had a go on a few 916s and their derivatives and, to be honest, was disappointed. Yes they've got superbike speed, handling and gorgeous looks but, boy, they're committed and you don't half have to rev 'em! What I loved about the old 2 valvers was that lovely low down torque and midrange. Anyway, long story short, before I go hunting around for a good 888 I can take for a test, can anyone give me an idea of the character of these motors. Are they revvy like the new generation 4 valvers, lumpy old torque monsters or somewhere in between. Lastly, what could I expect to get for £5-6k?

Cheers Johnny

Fiscusfish is in a position to give you a view as he has one of each (SL and 888 strada). My recollection of his thoughts were that the 888 is a lot heavier than the SL, the SL has better low down grunt and the 888 takes off at the point to SL starts to lose puff - but acceleration similar on both.

For £5-6k though you'd get a mint SL with most of the extras you were talking about. Not sure what kind of 888 you'd get for that though.

I went from a '94 900SS to a '93 851, to be honest the 851 handles much better than the SS, but it feels heavier to ride. The engine on the 851 pulls a lot harder towards the top end (about the same low end torque) and doesn't run out of puff at the same level as the SS. It isn't as "chuggy" at low revs either, it pulls cleanly from low down unlike the SS.
Basically, it's a smoother version of the SS with more top end power, better handling but slightly weightier!
If you've got 5-6K to spend I'd see Steves ad for his Strada up here in Sunderland.......wish I'd had the beans to buy it instead of my 851, but from the pics of it I'd snap his hand orf!
If you've any further questions don't hesitate to get in touch!

PS I've also ridden a mates 916SP, and I know what you mean about feeling a bit too commited.....the 851 is slightly more "relaxed"....

Hate to disagree with Neil, but my '93 888 hasn't got the bottom end grunt of my 2 valve ST2 (very similar power characteristics to a 944 SS). The 888 is a much revvier motor but...it is absolutely GORGEOUS

Sadly my 888 is not for sale but if it was I'd want at least 5K for it.

Well you could get a nice 999 and blow any 900SS/851/888 into the weeds!;) :lol: :lol: :lol:

:rolleyes:

Couple of weeks back you could have had the one in pic for well under £5K.Much more relaxed ride than the 748/9-- models,plenty of power for the real world,and theyre very nice to look at.Bit of hype,concerning rarity/value,usually a few for sale and can be bought cheap enough,£5-6K should buy a top example.

What is that one mate?

Looks good.

AKA - looks like a beauty. What sort of mileage did it have? Might checkout M&S in Newcastle, they sometimes have one or two.

Neil - do you have a link to Steves ad. Is it on this forum?

J

1994 Strada 26K miles.Totally rebuilt with the usual nice bits,genuine SP silencers,single seat etc.Serviced with new belts etc.Cleaner examples no doubt exist but,honestly I havent seen many.Advertised it on here and a couple of other sites for £4300.Response-couple of time wasters!.Had more interest in the parts,sold the engine and other main components seperately,the rest was bought as a job lot.