Ducati 888 SP4

The Ducati 888 SP4 was a limited production Sport Production Ducati. When it was introduced it was the fastest motorcycle you could buy.

It is arguably the best of the Ducati 888 SP series. Before I get to the Ducati 888 SP4, perhaps a quick recap on the other Ducati 851 888 SP models.

984cc built by John Hackett with large valves, flowed heads, vernier pulleys etc etc. All built just c3,000 miles ago into a brand new set of final series crankcases, so all bearings etc have only done 3k miles. The 984 engine makes a fantastic and unique sound - very deep and wonderful !

Probably the quickest and most sorted Ducati 888 in the UK.

Rear ride height has been raised and front and rear suspension rebuilt by John Hackett. Fitted front and back with progressive springs and front Ohlins revalved to get the most from them. The handling is now considerably better than a standard 888SP. Wheels are the very desirable and very light 5 spoke magnesium Marchesinis. This means the bike turns quickly and is still Ducati stable mid corner. Brakes have braided hoses, GP mastercylinder and new floating cast iron discs - these give fantastic feel and loads of power - you can "chirp" the tyre at will.

The nose fairing is painted white to make it more visable to other road users. Small front indicators are blended into the fairing.

Ducati 888 SP4
I have owned the bike for 16+ years.
It has been a UK bike from new.
MoT's from new and comprehensive service history.

In 2010 my Ducati riding friends planned a trip out to Italy and an arms race developed amongst us with various new exotica being bought for the trip including Desmosedici RR's. I am a huge fan of 888's and rather than buying something new decided to create perhaps the ultimate 888 road bike. So my 888 SP4 went up to John Hacketts. If you know about Ducati's then you know who he is and why I choose him to build my engine. Apart from a long history of building very successful Ducati race and road bikes he also has a great passion for 888's and I doubt if anyone knows more about them than he does.

Engine
The 984cc engine was built into a brand new set of factory 888 crankcases which contained a complete set of new factory bearings so the whole engine has only done around 4k miles - probably the lowest mileage SP engine around. When the 888 SP5 came out they started blowing up and Ducati soon ran out of its stock of crankcases. I have heard various versions but it appears that Ducati built a final batch of new strengthened 888 crankcases, some say they built 10 sets, some say 20 but this engine was built with a set of these.
The whole engine was blue printed by John to get maximum performance and reliability. It runs Ducati 955 barrels and pistons, ported and flowed heads with big valves 37 and 31mm. The long throw crankshaft has been lightened and balanced. It runs vernier/adjustable pulleys so that you can very precisely set the valve timing. It runs a P8 ECU that was setup for this bike on a rolling road by John. It was fitted with a new carbon clutch and a new JHP clutch slave which improves the ratio by around 30% - makes it lighter to use. I am sure I forgotten more, but hopefully you see the upgrades were well chosen.  The receipt for the work goes on for pages and pages. No expense was spared.
The engine was created to make lots of mid range and it does. It makes more torque over 82ft/lbs than an 1198s (measured on a dyno) and it makes it earlier and more smoothly. For comparison a  standard 888 SP4 makes about 55ft/lbs.
I think the 984 is the nicest Ducati engine I have ever used, stonking mid range and unique deep Ducati exhaust note. The exhaust is as per the factory except they have been polished and had the baffles removed. Amusingly the PDI instructions issued by the Ducati factory explained how to remove the baffles to let the full Ducati soundtrack out. They make a fine proper Ducati noise, but not so noisy that they attract unwelcome attention.
You can hear it at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vP7Ry4h0vQ
As you can see just a whiff of throttle at just 4/5,000 rpm is enough to make more than adequate progress.

Handling
A standard 888 SP4 handles very well, with perhaps its only criticism being that initially it is slow to turn. To address this the rear ride height has been raised and the front Ohlins adjusted accordingly to optimise the steering. The front and rear Ohlins suspension has been rebuilt with progressive springs to improve matters further. The standard wheels are heavy and reducing the sprung and rotating mass of any bike makes a huge improvement. Accordingly I had fitted Magnesium Marchesini's specially designed for the 888SP, which look beautiful and are unbelievably light. They cost over £1,200 new and are now unobtainable. I think people now realise the huge improvement they make to an SP and I have seen a second hand pair sell for over £2k. The bike now turns quickly and remains super (Ducati) stable in the bends.

Braking
The original specification cast iron discs are no longer available from Ducati, but a few years ago I sourced what may have been the final new pair (I think they cost me £500). They are on the bike and show hardly any wear. It runs twin braided hoses on the front and a Brembo radial master cylinder and lever. The standard original master cylinder is a not very good and the setup on the bike gives the best feel of any brakes I have ever used. They are very powerful and you can use all of their power to chirp the tyre.
The chain and sprockets are high quality items and are almost new.
The front tyre is almost new and the rear tyre in new. They are Michelin Pilots.

Other bits
The side fairing panels have been replaced with light weight carbon race parts and professionally painted to suit. The original fairings are ludicrously heavy and the carbon panels save many Kg's.
It is SP4 number 568. I was told when I bought it that it was the last SP4 made. I contacted the factory to see if this was true, but they do not seem to know the number of the last one made - so maybe it's the last SP4 made and if it is then I am pleased it is also probably the most sorted, tuned SP4 on the road. A word of warning - I have seen replica SP yoke plates for sale on Ebay and some people are using them to create fake SP's. If you are buying an SP make sure you can trace its history back to new to ensure it is genuine.

The mileage is low as I rarely use it on UK roads, I prefer to take into Italy and Switzerland and use it as the factory and God intended!
I have the original wheels and fairings, they are not part of this auction but if the buyer wants then we can agree a price, they are in excellent condition. The small dent on the left side of the tank was caused by my wife and the bike has not been dropped. I have another undamaged 888 tank which is not included in this auction, but if the buyer wants it then we can agree a price. The dent doesn't interfere with the operation of the bike. It is fitted with a high power Odyssey PC680 battery which is slightly larger than the standard battery, but puts out enough power to start a large V8!
The nose fairing was painted white to make the bike more visible to sleepy car drivers. It is an original factory item. The blue and white stickers are there as they make the bike highly visible to other road users.

After it was built and run in, I took it on a c2,500 mile ride to France, Italy, Switzerland and it was glorious. It hasn't really been used much since. A couple of friends were on £40k Desmosedici RR and on a mountain road (Ducati's natural habitat) it would leave them behind. It is a very quick bike and perhaps the only one of kind in the world. As it is designed for fast long distance riding I have fitted it with a small waterproof case on the top yoke that is powered and takes a Smartphone so that you can use it as satnav to guide you along your route, rather than stopping to look at a map and disturbing the flow of the ride. I have had some great rides on this bike. On one ride heading back from Venice to Switzerland (a 700 mile day) I was just leaving a petrol stop in Italy when an F40 Ferrari on Italian plates flashed past and naturally I set off as you do - who wouldn't? We were both heading north toward the Swiss border and the next 45 minutes on Italian mountain roads in and out of twisty tunnels with epic mountain views were awesome as I caught the iconic supercar and sat with him, the noise from his car and the 888 in the tunnels was spectacular and the local Italian drivers cleared the road to let us pass as they enjoyed the spectacle. Emerging from one tunnel side by side at an unmentionable speed I thought we were for it as parked at the roadside were two Italian Police cars, the F40 driver knew the form and keep it nailed but I rolled off expecting the nicking of a life time, but instead the Carabinieri just gave us the thumbs up as we flashed past! I caught up with the F40 again by the Swiss border and we shook hands as we queued to cross the border and he babbled enthusiastically in Italian having obviously enjoyed it as much as I did. After that he headed for the motorway and I headed into the Swiss mountains.

It now is due for a service. I thought about doing this before I put it up for sale, but most Ducati enthusiasts have their own favourite garage so I will leave it to you. It will need cambelts as they are time expired and accordingly I strongly suggest you service it before you ride it as it would be disastrous to snap a belt and wreck this engine. The engine has only done c4k miles since it was built and all the bearings etc were brand new factory items.
With standard 888 SP4's with c30k+ miles on dealers sites for £17k and prices of these iconic Superbikes appreciating. If you wanted to recreate this bike you would need to buy an SP4 and then spend c£12k+ to recreate it and that's if you could find the parts Hopefully it will go to someone who will ride it.
The bikes comes with its Original factory handbook, both sets of keys and two alarm fobs. It is fitted with a Datatool alarm and comes with the handbook and certificate of Installation. As it is now a "classic" it is even now cheap to insure! Also included are the MoTs, servicing bills, numerous other receipts and loads of paperwork right back to its PDI paperwork. The V5 is in my name. I have a PDF version of the factory workshop manual. It has been featured in  magazines, but I think I will keep them as a souvenir of owning it.

When buying a Ducati I always want to know if the owner has looked after it properly. My father was an aero engineer and keen motorcyclists from the late 1930's and taught me how to look after and maintain bikes. Even my Grandfathers was a motorcycle engineer so I have had the benefit of a century of family knowledge. I bought my first Ducati in the early 1980's a 500 Pantah (NJO 50W are you still out there?) and my Dad and I stripped it and blueprinted the engine. We ran it Bruntingthorpe at 121mph and it was faster than the then new 750 Ducatis! I bought my first 851 in 1990 and have had a variety of 888SP's since. I have been a member of The Ducati Owners club for 30 years. I have been a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists for decades and a trainer/observer for them on and off for the last 20 years - so I am not a hooligan! I change the oil and filter every 1,000 miles and as you can see from the servicing it is well looked after. I never ever thought I would sell it, but I have been offered  my Grandfathers bike which he owned a century ago and courted my Grandmother on and I have been trying to buy that bike for 30+ years so bikes have to go to fund it.

My friends and my wife can't believe I am selling it and she normally nags me TO sell things!
I am in Midhurst, West Sussex - not far from Goodwood.

The bike is now sold.

You can contact me via 07776 140245 or paulg@go-faster.com

Ducati 851

In 1989 I was the happy owner of a Ducati 500 Pantah that I had owned since I was 17 years old. A few years had passed and I popped into Moto Vecchia in Dorking in the days that they sold Ducati's and not heavy tinsel. The first red Ducati 851 had just arrived with them and I bought it F969JGC. Being a very early Ducati 851 it had a few issues to iron out. The front forks were M1R's and were badly setup and needed new springs, oil, valves etc. to work properly. The rear spring was way to hard. The fuel injection would misbehave until it was remapped. All these were minor irritations that were easily resolved. It was a stunning machine to ride and would do a genuine 150mph. As standard it would make about 85bhp at the rear wheel, but with the exhaust baffles removed, airbox modified and remapped it would put out about 90-92 bhp at the wheel. The picture below is F969 being run at a speed event at Bruntingthorpe runway. It tagged 149.9mph through the laser trap touching the rev limiter in top gear. With a change of gearing it went faster.

The red 851 models were preceeded by the TriColour model. I did not buy one of these as the handling was rather strange and I consider it best practice to not buy the first years production of a new Ducati as it will not be really ready to be used. Ask any Pagnigale owners! Accordingly I patiently awaited the 851's second year of production and bought one as soon as I could.

I took my Ducati 851 into Europe on many occasions and in 1992 took it back to the factory where Dr T gave it a pat.

After the bikes were assembled they were test run on a rolling road and then crated and shipped to a new caring owner who would gently run them in Well ... before they shipped them they did a quick further test which seemed to be done by a bunch of local (and very lucky) kids who took each new bike and screamed it around the Ducati Test Track (car park) and then they went off to the new owner. The road was lined with a small hedge and it had holes in where the test had not gone to plan so some must have been crashed and repaired before delivery. Below are the lucky lads who got to thrash your Ducati before you did.

Ducati SP2 851 888

The SP2 is probably the nicest of the SP’s as it has the classic clean lines of the early bikes and all of the bikes nice detail changes that were only on the Ducati SP2. After the Ducati SP2 most of the fasteners, spacers etc. went from chrome to cadmium. It has 103 bhp at the rear wheel – more than a 2007 Suzuki SV1000 and with Brembo brakes and Ohlins suspension it will still hold its own against modern superbikes.

Below is my 1989 Ducati SP2 851 888. The fairings are off as I am about to service it.

Ducati SP3 851 888

Ducati SP4 888

I bought my Ducati SP4 888 and started to improve it. The standard brake master cylinder is a but feeble and lacks feel  so a Brembo radial unit makes an excellent upgrade giving much more power and more importantly more feel – so you can use the brakes to their limit. Cast iron disks also give much more feel that stainless ones and EBC HH sintered pads are my favourite so far.

An 888 turns more slowly than a modern bike but it can be greatly improved. Magnesium Marchesinis shed many kilos and all alone make an immediate improvement to how quickly it steers. You can also improve matters by raising the rear ride height on the existing adjusters.

The original fairing panels, especially the side ones are surprisingly heavy and more kilos can be saved by switching to carbon.
I have been running Michelin dual compound CT tyres on it and I think they are superb. The current set on the bike have done over 5,000 miles including a 3,000 mile trip to Italy and back and still have a little life left in them. The tyres are 180/55R17and 120/70R17.

Below is my Ducati SP4 888 in my early days of ownership at the top of an Alpine Pass. Proof that it can be used for touring, well fast touring.

In 1992 I was visiting the Ducati factory and this 888 racer is just about to set off for a lucky new owner. Something very lovely awaiting despatch - I expect the tester lads had a fight over who could take this around the car park.

The nose fairing was painted white to make it more visible to other motorists - Be Seen, Be Safe! and the blue and white sticker seems to catch the eye of other road users, which means they have seen me and are less likely to try and kill me. The alloy brackets on the rear exhaust mounts allow me to bungee on throw over panniers securely and without them rubbing on the bodywork.

Ducati 888 SP5

The Ducati 888 SP5 came along the year after the Ducati 888 SP4 and sadly lost its Ohlins front forks. It had a refreshed paint job and more tweaks to the engine taking power to around 115/120bhp at the rear wheel.

I have not finished this page yet and would welcome some more pictures of Ducati 851 and Ducati 888 models, my email is here

If you like Ducati's and especially Ducati 888's then have a look at this page - http://www.speed-trap.co.uk/spondon.htm