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| #2  31-Jul-2005, 07:18 | |||
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| Hmm,without a doubt,the mk.1 Superlight is the one to go for.The Marvic wheels,carbon mudguards and open carbon clutch cover made it look very special.I think also the white stripes that run down the seat unit to the fairing look great too.High level cans and the single seat complete the look. However,those early Superlights were plagued with problems,the 'spokes' on the wheels are bolted on and the lugs have been known to crack or break. The seat units on some bikes have been known to crack as they have insuficiant support to the frame. The early bikes also had a foam seat that soon went very manky if exposed to rain. Exhaust hangers can fracture and break. Dont let any of the above put you off,they are all fixable and the bike is an absolute Ducati classic.Only 500 were made. Every year afterwards,the Superlight became slighly less special. First to go were the Marvics and the white stripes.Clutch cover was still carbon,but enclosed. Later models lost the carbon clutch cover and had slight graphic changes,but thats it.Oh,they even made a few in yellow!  Top whack on a decent bike should be just over 140mph,but thats not what its about.Its about riding the sea of torque in the middle of the rev range that fires you towards the horizon at an indecent rate of knots. Folks like Baines Racing have had heaps of experience working on these bikes and can give you a full menu of tuning options.Dont forget the amazing work Nelly did on Bloo Dook. So there you have it,..mk.1 for me. Although,I still get misty eyed everytime I see any of the carbed model SS's around,.....hmmm......   |
| #3 31-Jul-2005, 11:10 | ||||
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| While I agree with Keefy up to a point my money would be on the latest SL you could buy. The MK1 would be the one to buy if you just want to leave it sitting in your living room but these bikes are simply too good on the road to do that to them. As well as the stuff mentioned they can also suffer from cracked frames by the headstock (apparently becoming more common as time passes...), cracked ally swingarms, broken head studs and the usual Italian charging gremlins. All are easily fixed, If not necessarily cheaply... As time went by each successive model fixed more of the problems until you get to the FE which was basically a SL with silver paint. On the (right) road anything is possible and it's only when you get long straights that you find the bikes limitations (just about all IL4s bugger off). Bike's are geared as standard for 132mph but are massively over geared as standard and benefit from 2-3+ teeth extra on the rear sprocket. Only thing more that I'd want for my MK4 would be another 15hp... "Need more power Cap'n..........."  Darren |
| #4 31-Jul-2005, 12:55 | ||||
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| Hey ! No question, the last of the line has the best engine ! And the most carbon ! And carb heaters so you can ride it when its cold outside. And the best price  And its near you red, so you could come over and test ride this afternoon  |
| #6 01-Aug-2005, 14:27 | ||||
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This person is mad (and possibly dangerous). Don't listen to him.....  I'm with Darren on this one, latest you can find if you're going to use it. The carb heaters are a major bonus, the engine had a number of minor improvements, but the real bonus is not having to worry that your frame's about to crack, swingarm fall off, or wheel disintergrate.... They're definitely overgeared as standard. I saw 140 in fifth about 10 times yesterday (on my private test track), and 150 with about 800rpm to go, so I'll be investing in a 14t front sprocket soon! Cheers, Ali |
| #7 05-Aug-2005, 01:24 | ||||
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