851 SP4 For Sale

leonard

1992 851 SP4-001. Italian import 1st UK registration in July 1995. Bike stored since last run to the IoM in 2003, and re-commissioned this year. Bike has 8151 miles on the clock with 11 months MoT remaining. Confirmation by Ducati of the 001 number and list of re-commissioning parts available on request.

Tony IOM

That's not an SP4!

Hi

I may as well be the first to tell you that your bike is not an 888 SP4 but an 851, SP3 and the number plate on the headstock just adds to the confusion. I think you need to go back to Ducati to sort out the anomaly otherwise you will have problems trying to sell your bike unless the buyer has a white stick 😄

Cheers

Marcoboxer

Agreed, not an SP4, but didn't the SP3's come with black wheels? Or is another one of my long held beliefs about to be shattered?

M

RWG

You have to be brave to apply sp3 to the bike, it is clearly not an sp4 but chassis number/engine number will identify model. As either a genuine sp3! Or strada made to look as, this only highlights need to question why head stock plaques are bought and sold through the likes of eBay.
Good luck, hopefully a genuine bike.

Jafa

Marcoboxer wroteAgreed, not an SP4, but didn't the SP3's come with black wheels? Or is another one of my long held beliefs about to be shattered? M

You are quite correct Mark, all SP3's had black wheels.

Bike is definitely not an SP4. Looks to have most of the special parts that make and SP3, but wrong front discs, possibly wrong front calipers ( not like mine anyway ), fairings are a bit of a mess with stickers everywhere and no black lower corners. Only the frame number and engine number will give the answer.

henk

Don't think it is a SP3 either as it does not have a 851 frame if i see it correct on the foot rests.
So the frame looks to be a 888 style frame.
What if it is really the first one,that makes it then also the very first build SP4S as well 😁
That would make it even more interseting.
A said only the frame number will tell what you really have.

Henk!!!

Jafa

henk wroteDon't think it is a SP3 either as it does not have a 851 frame if i see it correct on the foot rests. So the frame looks to be a 888 style frame. Henk!!!

Mr Henk looks to be on to something there, the frame for the footrests is definitely not 851 / SP3. BUT, I thought the SP4 / 888 had a bent top tube rather than cut and welded up where the frame goes in towards the headstock in front of the tank? This one looks to be welded ala 851, yet had 888 footrest framework??

The mystery continues...........

leonard

851 sp4

Thanks guys for the many comments but now I am confused. It took several weeks of communication with Ducati to receive the response (scanned copy attached). I didn't realise that the brass plaques came with cornflakes packets! If anyone can help the frame number is ZDM 888S-000937 and the engine number is W4-000892. Any help in identifying the bike correctly will be appreciated.

Cheers

Scan0003.pdf

296.50KB

BABA

You have an sp3.
The frame has been cut at the level of the foot pegs to fit the new version.
Moreover you can see the four gussets specifically added on the sp3 frame.
Frame number and engine correspond to the sp3 area.

leonard

851 sp4

Thanks BABA,

Any idea of the current value?

Cheers

Leonard

jarno888sps

Yoke or Joke?

SP4 001 would be an SPS!!!
And since no.001 crashed and is no more Marc's 002 in Holland is the next thing on the list.

So did they take the 001 plaque and build something new or is it completely fake?

Frame number is definitely SP3!

jarno888sps

Silvia clearly doesn't know what she is talking about!...
You should have given her the bike's frame number instead of the top yoke number...

jarno888sps

leonard wroteThanks BABA, Any idea of the current value? Cheers Leonard

I've enlarged the plaque and that seems to be genuine... but that would mean it belonged to SPS001
So maybe the plaque is worth more than the bike... LOL

Rüdiger 900R

Plague design is wrong. The SP4 is engraved, must be elevated, casted

Diesel

rüdiger 900r wroteplague design is wrong. The sp4 is engraved, must be elevated, casted

+1 , fake plaque.

jarno888sps

Diesel wrote+1 , fake plaque.

Agree!

The 1991 and SP4 have been added later, the plaque itself is genuine...
So not the plaque from SPS001

Mr.R

So what we have here a bit of a "Bitsa...Bits of this and bits of that...
I really hope that the owner didn't catch a cold buying it? As it's not worth that much as it stands.
Either a standard SP3 or 4 would be worth quite a bit more than this bike.
I find it quite shocking that the factory (almost) confirmed that it was the 1st SP4, which would make it a genuine SPS. 😯
Those "Fake" top yoke plaques could catch out some naive buyers, as I pionted out some years back now...Only to be derided by some other forum members.

Steve R

jarno888sps

Ducati didn't confirm anything if you ask me!
She only acknowledged that a plaque with sp4 001 is the first one of that series in 1992... not that the bike/frame is genuine!

The plaque is definitely not one of the aftermarket fakes that popped up later!
Those were made from some cheap metal... this one's Italian silver!
So it looks like someone got a hold of an original unstamped plaque and added SP4 and 1991 later!

MONTY

Plaque Number and order

Actually, I doubt that SP4001 was the first SPS actually made. The "first " SPS may be confirmed as the SP4 with the lowest engine number or the lowest frame number (?).

When artists print lithographs, all the lithographs come out and stacked and then the Artist numbers them consecutively, but randomly and not in order of production. Likewise, you would have to take into account the procedure that the factory used to assembly the SPS bikes from the SP4. Did all the SP4 crankcases exist already stamped before the SPS modifications occurred? It seems they did and those between certain numbers were then selected to build up SPS engines. These would have been matched with pre-existing and pre-stamped frames which would then have been fitted with the bodywork for SPS bikes. But just as the numbering of art prints is actually random, the plaques would most likely have been allocated randomly to the finished rolling chassis.

The last Ducati that I am aware that has a plaque number that matches the frame number is the 851 SP2. The limited edition model before that with matching plaque and frame number is the mighty 750 F1 Montjuich.

It would not be possible for the SPS Plague number to match either it's frame or engine and SPS001 was most likely no more the first SPS off the line than SPS101. They are all actually equal although not psychologically equal......

jarno888sps

MONTY wroteActually, I doubt that SP4001 was the first SPS actually made. The "first " SPS may be confirmed as the SP4 with the lowest engine number or the lowest frame number (?). When artists print lithographs, all the lithographs come out and stacked and then the Artist numbers them consecutively, but randomly and not in order of production. Likewise, you would have to take into account the procedure that the factory used to assembly the SPS bikes from the SP4. Did all the SP4 crankcases exist already stamped before the SPS modifications occurred? It seems they did and those between certain numbers were then selected to build up SPS engines. These would have been matched with pre-existing and pre-stamped frames which would then have been fitted with the bodywork for SPS bikes. But just as the numbering of art prints is actually random, the plaques would most likely have been allocated randomly to the finished rolling chassis. The last Ducati that I am aware that has a plaque number that matches the frame number is the 851 SP2. The limited edition model before that with matching plaque and frame number is the mighty 750 F1 Montjuich. It would not be possible for the SPS Plague number to match either it's frame or engine and SPS001 was most likely no more the first SPS off the line than SPS101. They are all actually equal although not psychologically equal......

You're absolutely right!
101 SPS's were produced within the SP4 frame range.
Plaques were added later, random!