Gratuitous 888 shots !!
 

Hi all

With all the talk of scrummy 888's on sparkins thread (and a pic of his very own fit T8!!)..thought id pop these up of the old girl..! Did post one up of the seat fitted but it was a crammed shot in the garage..and I dont think it did her justice..:D

Anyway..hope you dont mind me showing her off..I know I get pleasure out of looking at other members bikes !!

More pics when I get these marchesinis fitted !!!!

Cheers
Nat

[Edited on 21-9-2004 by Nattyboy]

front..
 

That\'s...
 

exquisite. Is that a 93 SP5? Apart from the pillion provision, how does the 93 Strada differ from the SP? I'm an SS owner (92 900) but have always lusted after the 888 and have foolishly let 2 SP4's slip through my fingers over the years. I've got Mick Walker's 4V book but can't quite get the 851/888 Strada/SP history sorted out in my head...

Lovely jubbly, Nattyboy. What's the man in the window in the background of picture 1 doing? If that's your neighbour, I'd be careful not to let him too near your bike, mate! :devil::devil:

Nat, that is sooo sweet and do you have something you need to tell me - :lol: about some wheels by any chance?

I must be showing my age but, I think the 888 is still a better looking bike than a 916 IMHO ;)

Frank

nice bike , and I really like those rearsets, pity they won't fit my 851 though.
the gold mesh on air intakes is a nice touch too.

Shame about the silmotors natty, you'll have to swap them in for some proper pipes;);)

cheers
Red..

Real nice.

Right, if this sort of thing goes on any longer, my advice is to buy shares in Kleenex.

'Cos I'll be using loads of it to wipe my chin and keep my desk free of drool and slobber.

Treemendous! Looks great with the single seat - and worth the hassle of fitting! It's amazing how the white number board transforms the look of an 888. Much more 'racey'! (just luv to see everyones bike photos myself. Keep 'em coming).

Just for weeveetwin!

http://217.199.188.40/xmb/viewthread...27&pid=934 37

http://217.199.188.40/xmb/viewthread...27&pid=934 38

PS - it's for sale...

Andrew

Feel free with the kleenex shares Jools..thats my employer ....!!!!:lol:

Cheers
Nat

Hi Zimbo...Its a '94 (slightly modded;!) Strada mate....It looks like an SP5 now..except the (standard) black wheels and yellow suspension loop. This was one of the very last ones UK registered, and was also produced after the SP5 ...... that had the stonking 888SPS WSB spec motor but in a more civilised package (no carbon tank, and unlike the SPS it had radiator fans!!)

Talking of SP5s Andrew..I have a guy who buys bits frome me for his new S4R (must be loaded as hes just ordered brembo monobloc calipers for it :o!), and hes looking for a nice 888SP to add to his collection..his preference is a 4, but im on the case getting him to speak with you mate...

Thanks for all the nice comments guys..makes it all worthwhile...

Cheers
Nat:)

Rearend shot(just to keep the kleenex theme going) :lol::lol::lol:

oh my , what utter filth, can we have some more please:D:D:D

888's are the new 999's , no on second thoughts you can't really improve on whats an most excellent peice of kit.

Red...

I`m on a roll now:lol:

[Edited on 24-9-2004 by sparkin]

Ooooooh, yes , yes ,yes, It just goes to show the best things in life come in pairs, and what a lovely pair that is.;);)

allmost xxx rated now mate, what am I like....:lol::lol:


cheers
Red...:D:D

that photo is class mate !!!

Nat

Room for a couple more..?

Now that`s just showing off:lol:but there`s always room for another pair;)

How about an extreme close up;):D:P:devil:

[Edited on 22-9-2004 by sparkin]

weevee, that's not on mate.
You can't have two all to yourself mate, can't you share em out a bit.:D:D:D

Certainly a nice pair;););)

sparkin, you're just gettin down right obscene now, I hope they are fixed on securely, just in case they go walkabout;););)

nice.

Can i play?:D

Another really nice bike to add to our collection.
Did you get your bike Problems sorted out jasper,and is that a brembo radial clutch lever a see on your machine, a nice weapon mate.

Red... ;)

Yes mate,all sorted.I will give a full run down of the ins and outs when i get chance.But,at least it's all together and running perfect again.Yes,it's a radial clutch lever(trust me,it's a nightmare to fit!!).AT least the slipper works now(A LONG story!!).:D

[Edited on 22-9-2004 by Jasper]

Nice stand Jasp....trust you got a good deal on it ;);):D

Nat

Zimbo

900ss V Strada - I too owned a couple of early model 900ss before buying my Strada. Comparing one with the other, the most immediate and noticeable difference has to be the weight. Whereas the SS feels very light, and easy to push around, the Strada needs a fair bit of muscle to move it. Once aboard, the Strada feels somewhat lower and more planted than the SS, and generally more solid in all respects. You sit in the Strada but atop the SS. The SS feels much slimmer too. Riding position doesn't differ too much with regard to reaching the bars or footpegs. Start up and move off, and you find they've both got the same horrible graunchy clutch engagement, but Strada has by far the more snickety gearbox and it doesn't clunk when engaging first. Neutral is found every time on the Strada. (I can only talk from my own experience of course, and I know no two Ducatis are the same!)

Performance? From zero revs the SS has the more immediate response to the gas, and its relative lack of weight can easily be felt. Give either of them too much too soon though, and the SS rattles and snatches its drive chain more than the 888. As the revs rise the 888 begins to feel more responsive, and by about 4000rpm its feeling smoother than, whilst probably pulling as hard as, the SS. Beyond this the 888 pulls progressively harder, and by 5,000rpm its response to a handful of gas is as immediate as the SS. 5,000-9,500rpm the Strada is making more power than the SS, and would be pulling away. (It doesn't tie-up horribly and rattle your feet off the pegs @ 9,000rpm either - although it will if you hang on tooo long!)

Handling? By reason of its extra weight/seemingly better damping, the handling of the Strada is generally more composed than the SS. Hitting a bump mid corner won't throw it around so much, but otherwise there's little difference to the feel/stability. Both bikes follow a line well and are not easily deflected. My own Strada feels almost as slow to steer as my SS was, and has the same limited steering lock. It's very sensitive in this respect to tyre pressures. It is far less sensitive to the wind on motorways than my SS ever was though, and is less upset when carrying a pillion. (Strangely, one of my SS's was absolutely horrible in a side wind, and the other not too bad!!)

Brakes? Those on my own SS were fairly poor to be honest. The front brake lever would pull almost to the bar on hard application. That on my Strada is excellent/responsive/powerful, and can squeal the tyre with two fingers - what else can I say? I know these brakes are supposed to be weak, and some of the other guys here have uprated theirs, but I've ridden/owned a lot of different bikes and none of them were as good! I've an SP fitted with AP Racing equipment & fully floating discs, and it too feels inferior to the Strada's bog-standard item during spirited road use! Could be a diferent story on the track I suppose! Rear brake is rubbish - but was equally as bad on the SS.

Engine lacquer was flaking on both my SS's, but Strada (94 model) seems a lot better finished. This could be a reflection of its pampered life of course, but @ ten years old it looks almost as-new.

I'll post a Strada v SP comparison soon but I'll let someone else answer your '851/888Strada/SP history' query, 'cause I'm getting writer's block! Come on lads, get typing..!

[Edited on 24-9-2004 by weeveetwin]

They are all lovely, and I want one but I don't fit.:(
Tried a mates SP4 a few years ago and found my elbows kept banging into my knees-my legs are just too long to be comfortable on one-the 996 that I had at the time felt like a roomy armchair in comparison. The TZ250 which I have is more spacious believe it or not-mind you the TZ cramps your legs horribly, feels like you are sitting on your heels.:lol:
The fit is why Jools wants one, he only has stumpy little legs so an 888 fits him like a glove..........:lol::lol::lol:-sorry mate couldn't resist................:lol:

John

[Edited on 25-9-2004 by Monty]

I liked 851/888's so much that I grew stumpy legs to suit!

I have no option with the stumpy legs, they came as standard.

Having said that, I had a go on Sparkin's 888 Strada on Sunday, and I found it awesome. Subjectively, it felt as responsive and tight as the more modern bikes. It certainly didn't feel ten years old. The brakes were fabulous, they feed in with a really slinky feel, you can almost feel exactly what the discs are doing, but when you squeeze them on they have real 'stand it on it's nose' power - mind you, they are uprated Brembo billet calipers with cast iron discs on Sparkin's bike.


It was much more pokey at the top end than my two valver, I saw 145mph, without any trouble, half way down the straight on the BHC regions private test track (I backed off then, but it was still pulling hard). But, I also loved the grunt low down and the roar from the airbox from about 3.5-6K

I didn't give it major beans round the twisty bits, because it was somebody elses bike, it was new to me with unfamiliar handling, it was on it's last outing before a winter fettle, I'm only insured third party on other peoples bikes and I couldn't afford a repair bill if I'd have dropped it.

Having said that, after riding it for about 4-5 miles on roads that I know well, I did feel comfortable enough to get out of the saddle, hang off and give it some berries on the exit. That's where the fit of the bike really helped. I ride with the little gap between the ball of my foot and my toes on the pegs, and found it really easy to just press my toes down on the outside peg and lock my knee into the tank cutout, lock myself into the bike and hang off. The flipside to that is that it was a bugger to change gear and get my foot back into position on the pegs. Nothing that a bit of rear set/gearchange positioning/getting used to it couldn't sort out.

If I had one of course, which I don't...'cos I've got no spare money for bikes this year, or 2005 :(