Is the American 888SPO a true SP..?
 

Now this may be stirring up a hornet's nest with our US cousins, but I think not - and have said as much on the Yahoo! message board.

What say we Europeans? Is it a 'real' SP?

I've always thought of it as a single seat Strada.

Ducati called it an SP and that's good enough for me....

anyone got a link ?

The SPO was a strada with a single seat and uprated suspension. I think that the SP spec' motors won't reach the emmision regulations thay have in the US.

What's in a name? They called the 900 'Superlight' an SP too in the US.

( ...here's a link to the Yahoo! board:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ducati-851-888/ ) I expect it's going to get busy when our friends across the pond awake!

SPO ................ "Sport Production Omologato"
That's probably all that was needed before the racers started pouring great bucket fulls of petrol down it's throat with wild cam profiles ;)
Could you imagine riding a SP4 down the boulevard spitting fuel out of the open pipes :lol:

nelly sounds good to me - specially if the fuel was ignited.....

nah,it's not a proper one!!!The SP for 1993 was the SP5,they just couldn't get it through all the emissions ****.

Same for the 916SP3-which is why Harv has my mate Cameron's bike via Throttleon-he couldn't get title to it in the States.

John

Ah,but the SP3 is a real SP!!

Two things:

1. WVT you need to look back to see where the trail started. "eBay posts for fake SP5 plates." Thus the discussion about a registry of all SP variants to try to help and guide owners and buyers away or around blinged up fakes. Seems reasonable, even if you are looking for one of the genuine SPOs.

2. I thought the SPO was away of dumping the excess of Strada spec bikes the factory had when they brought out the 916? Couldn't import any of the other SP2,3,4s into US at the time.......


I'll get my coat.


Rob

I think Nelly is right. A couple of years ago when I was trying to sell my SP3, a couple of the guys on the Yahoo forum said there was no way it could be (legally) registered in the US. Lucky for me really!

Andrew

the sp5 with the sps motor would not get through the emission tests in the u.s, so they sent the SPO to homologate it for AMA superbikes. basically it's a strada with a steel single seat subframe, alloy high rise std type mufflers, single seat unit, brembo cast iron rotors and an ohlins shock with eccentric ride height adjuster.
the 94 LTD was the same except for a numbered plaque and a carbon front guard.

There are definitely a small number of genuine SP's in the USA, whatever the emissions regs may be.

I'm sure you all remember this stunning SP4 belomging to Arch of Texas which was for sale for $28000 a while back.

BC

from what i've seen there are SP3 and SP4 models, the SPS and SP5 though are hotter still. and that's where the emissions trouble is. doesn't mean nobody imported one privately though...

Hi Rob


I'm all for the proposed registry, and would be happy even if it were all-encompassing and inclusive of every 851/888 ever produced. However, Mike C asked for opinions as to whether the SPO should be grouped with the Euro spec. SPs or not.

I think it's clear, even from this thread, that most Euro SP owners' think not. The general consensus seems to be that it is a modified Strada. This is not to denigrate the SPO though! It's a unique bike in its own right, and should be classified as such.

The Euro SPs were built to commemorate Ducati's first (and successive) WSB Championship wins, and with engine spec., braking, and gearing more suited to the track. They're a compromise for street use. The SPO, on the other hand, is street orientated. Moreover, its production commemorates nothing.

...which is why I'm in full agreement with your second point!

Steve

I found this somewhere. Written by the guy that wrote one of those Ducati history books. It would suggest an SPO is in a class by itself, and not an SP.

"Both of the SPO's (93 and 94) engines are identical in every
respect........including hp.
The real difference is in production numbers (both incredibly
small).
First
you have to remember that only the USA got the SPO or SPO LTD.
They were
the homologation examples used by Ferracci for AMA racing and I
suspect
that
he is the reason we got this special machine and the rest of the
world got
the 888S (Strada).
200 of the 1993 SPO's were produced, imported and sold in the USA
100 of the 1994 SPO LTD's were produced and imported into the
USA....but 25
were pulled back by Ducati N.A. were shipped back to Italy, when
the 916
hit the U.S. market in 1994."

Griff

According to the write-up in 851/888 Performance Portfolio the SPO is a standard engined Strada with single seat unit with a No1 on a white number board high level ally cans,front forks Showa aka Strada with Ohlins on rear.
Brakes also as Strada,so is it an SP not in my book its a simple conversion that any Strada owner could do over here.
ian

Although it is not a real SP in the true sense of the word,it is a limited edition OFFICIAL model.Ok,it wouldn't(and doesn't) take too much to make a Strada look like an SPO,it is still a special and therefore should be treated as such.

Yea -we used to bring em back from the states at the time the 916
came out !
Pretty std bike tarted up , had em on dyno - not SP !
Similar to 916 senna really .
Intrestingly we were buying 916's from the states cos they were
sold out here and now the US is one of ducati's biggest markets !
Ciao

What is all the fuss about?

An SP is closer to a Strada than one of the race bikes, wether works or customer.

An 888 strada can easily be made into an SP5 - try making an SP5 into a 926 Corsa.

actually, it's easier turning the sp5 into a race bike than turning the strada into an sp5. for a start, the sp5 and corsa shared the same cases, frame and injectors/throttle bodies. the core bits required are there with a proper SP. granted there's still an awful lot of cash to be spent, but it can be done. while it's quite easy to make a strada LOOK like an SP it's not possible to reproduce an SP5 exactly. and that's all the SPO is, a strada made to look like an sp.