Cheap Ducati 748, what could possibly go wrong

[AceOfHearts]

After recent talks of 748/916/996/998 Ducati's i have found myself searching the net for a cheap 748 as i have been dreaming of getting one of these bikes since i was a kid, and now i can just about afford one i am getting very excited and impatient

After emailing around a few cheeky offers I have had a positive reply on a very low milage early bike that is in need of a bit of paint to the fairing lowers but apart from that it looks good.

I have emailed a few questions and providing the answers are satisfactory and i go to view the bike what should i look out for specifically? I hear the generator wiring can melt and the rockers are a weak point (which i can't really check until the bike is in bits) but are there any hints and tips anyone can give me?

The offer I have been given is roughly the price i can expect from my 750ss + £600, is it worth a punt?

Go on, talk me into it

[AceOfHearts]

I can 'just' justify the money to buy the bike, but maintenance cost is not so much of an issue as i do all maintenance work myself and don't mind spending the money on parts as mucking about with cars and bikes is a hobby of mine, I am just really trying to make sure I don't buy an absolute dog of a bike in the first place to make things harder than they need to be.

If I do buy one the first thing I will do is replace the belts and check valve clearances (as part of a full service) just to know that it has been done and also to help get to know the bike. I just need to get a good background on the bikes and owners experiences before i start looking around them.

[AceOfHearts]

Thanks for the input guys

Monthly costs for maintenance bits are not really a problem, its mainly the fact that I don't have a lot saved at the moment after recently buying my first house (and I want one now )

Ideally i would want to get a new bike before winter, so I can get it in the dining room and get everything sorted for spring. At the moment i am erring on the side of the Ducati as a heart led decision. I have a terrible habit of buying on the practical side and end up changing vehicles every 6 months because I get bored.

Also would the riding experience really be that much better than my current 750ss? The main reason for me wanting to change is because I love the looks and I want something a bit faster / better to ride.

[AceOfHearts]

therealsnazbaz said:

It will be a lot faster than your 750ss and the riding position is a lot more extreme. The engine will feel a lot more urgent like a bigger sense of occasion every time you are on it. It will also urge you all the time to be much much naughtier than your 750ss.

If you want something that sits in the dining room over winter while you tinker with it a lot and don't plan paying for any work to be done then perhaps it would be a good buy for you. The only reason I don't have one myself is I hate the thought that I'll probably spend more time fixing and keeping up with maintaining it than actually riding it.

Also if you want a nice task todo over the winter and it hasn't already had it done, replace all the rockers with whatever uprated ones the ducati forums currently recommend. As if they haven't been done already it's probably a matter of when, not if, they will need doing.

Thats another thing I was wondering about the rockers, after a quick search online all of the Ducati forums that are talking about these seem to be in America, but how much would a full set of uprated rockers cost over here? I know some good precision engineering contacts through work so I could even get the old ones out and have something really special done I think i just need to go in with my eyes wide open really and expect the worst, and if the main issue that plagues the range is the rockers flaking and needing replacing and general electrical gremlins I am confident i could get it sorted over a winter

[AceOfHearts]

Got it in 1

It would be nice to read something reassurring or at least 1 person with a good ownership experience

[AceOfHearts]

Going to see one on Wednesday Hopefully its as good as it sounds!

[AceOfHearts]

I did have a look at the Milles but they just don't get me fired up like the Ducatis. The 748/916 series are a real dream bike for me. I still have models of them on my shelf at home from when i was a kid

[AceOfHearts]

Also talking of Ducati valve clearances, I serviced the 750ss last August at 15,000 miles and all of the clearances were spot on and in spec.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[AceOfHearts]

Picking it up Wednesday

[AceOfHearts]

Can't wait now!

Picking it up tomorrow and i will get some pictures

[AceOfHearts]

996 sps said:

I'm excited for yer! Hope you have a dry ride home bud.

Me too, but i will be packing the waterproofs anyways. Just one night shift and 4 hours sleep to go

[AceOfHearts]

Got home without incident (70 miles) and is now residing in the dining room

Only hit a bit of rain and it is so confidence inspiring around the corners, it really was a joy. Going to start the service on it tonight to get it back on the road asap.

Pics:

Edited by AceOfHearts on Wednesday 11th July 19:58

[AceOfHearts]

996 sps said:

Brilliant news, been looking out for an update - 3 times I posted some sort of mobile phone issue!

That is an early one 1997?

Mate hats off to you I'd love my bike in the dining room, that's the bks!!

Yer its a 1997. Have already drained the oil, put my carbon fibre front mudguard on and checked the oil strainer, and thankfully there are no chrome flakes

Got a service kit waiting for me at the post office so tomorrow I will finish the service and change the belts. Then next week i should have enough time to get the valve clearances done.

[AceOfHearts]

redtwin said:

Go on then, make us all sick at how little you paid for it.




...or fall about laughing by how much you were robbed

I got it for £2150 in the end

And I will update the thread with how i get on with it and what work I do

[AceOfHearts]

Pain in the backside today and managed to break one of the fuel line connectors

Hopefully will get another one tomorrow and start getting it back together again

[AceOfHearts]

Oil now changed, belts are replaced, air filter replaced (it did have one large pod filter over the trumpets but this has gone in favour of oem filters) and the bike is back together apart from the tank (will get new connectors and hoses tomorrow). Still got the rest of the service to do which I will complete tomorrow. The only thing i am going to leave is the valve clearances which I will do when the bike is off the road over the winter as this will obviously take it off the road for a while whilst waiting for shims etc to be delivered.

Overall it seems a really good bike to work on, everything seems 'quite' well designed and i have not found any seized or furry bolts yet. Can't wait to go out for a ride now

ETA a picture of the naked Ducati in the dining room (lucky my girlfriend is'nt back until next week

Edited by AceOfHearts on Friday 13th July 02:18

[AceOfHearts]

ZesPak said:

GarryA said:

I think a dry spell is guaranteed if his GF sees this thread.

My thoughts exactly.

• wife: honey, you know what caused these stains on the floor?
• AoH: How should I know?

I did tell her it was going in the dining room. She can't complain though because the last thing that was in there was an engine i had to rebuild for her car

Edited by AceOfHearts on Friday 13th July 13:29

[AceOfHearts]

3doorPete said:

Nice one - how did you find doing the belt change? Was the Haynes manual good enough or did you use a youtube guide etc?

The haynes was pretty good, but i knew roughly what to do because i did it on the 750ss. The 748 was quite a bit fiddlier though but definately not that hard. From start to finish would probably take 2-3 hours (including removing panels and tank etc.

Lovely new belts:



This is what you can see with everything removed:

Edited by AceOfHearts on Friday 13th July 13:28

[AceOfHearts]

996 sps said:

A O H, how much do you charge for a belt service on an SPS mate? And would the bike/engine be stored in the dining room or living room?

Joking asiide if you ever did want to give the service a go yourself you are more than welcome to bring the bike over and I will go through it with you. Parts and fluids came to about £200 on mine, and its always good having a play with bikes

[AceOfHearts]

final_edition said:

Is the horiz belt tensioner adjusted the right way?

My screen isn't too good to see the detail clearly but it looks like it is rotated from underneath, rather than over the top, allowing the belt faces to run close to eack other.

my apologies if not, good work

Yes you're right I spotted that after i took the picture and turned it the other way, although in the end it hardly made any difference to the distances between the belt teeth