2002 Ducati 748 Monoposto $4000 OBO

Is this a base in mono configuration? Confused by the "50 made" aspect.

 

i had a 1998 916 and it was such a joy to ride, the faster you go the better the bike feels. For $4000 you are not going to find a more fun bike to ride!

 

Not only that but I'm confused by the fuel tank. That's not from a 2002 748 unless it's been repainted and someone put the wrong decals on.

 

Nice wheels!!

GLWS!

Do you have the clear windshield??

 

A sweet looking bike, looks like it's ready to do a 150mph on a moments notice. BTW, what is the realistic top speed for this bike? I rode motorcycles for many years, my personal experience, even with sunglasses on, anything above 90-100mph, my eyes got to watering so badly, I had to slow down!!

 

A decent and "all there" 748 for $4k is usually a very fair deal.

But holy cow this bike has some stories to tell!

~As sherpa pointed out... the fuel tank for certain is from a 1997 or earlier 916 or 748. The Ducati font on the tank is the giveaway. The 1998 models had nothing on the tank at all. 1999 and newer the tanks had the new style logo. Rumor has it that when the Castiglioni's agreed to sell the company to TPG in the late 90's that the ultra cool old skool font was not part of the deal. Hence the blank tanks on the '98 models.

~The main body side fairings are incorrect for 2002. In 2002 the 998 and the 748 had the "all smooth" body without the wicked cool side vents. Clearly this bike has the bad-a** vents. The 1/4 turn dzus fasteners are another "S" only feature.

~This bike has an adjustable steering head. The giveaway is the massive head tube diameter and exposed set screw at the top of the tube. Also the steering damper mount has 2 mounting points. One for the steeper position and one for the less steep. All these features only come on a 2000 to 2002 "S" model 748. Or a 1997 to 1999 748.

~Another confusing element are the Showa forks. They have the gold nitride coating that only came on the "S" model.

~Ditto the rear shock. Base model came with an el cheapo Boge. This bike has the higher spec Showa that would come on an "S".

~But then the wheels are the 3-spokers that would indeed have come on a 748 "base" or "E" model.

Hmmmmm! If this is indeed a 2002 748 of some type... I will venture a guess it started life as an "S" but now has a completely different set of bodywork and fuel tank. And someone sold the 5-spoke wheels and now it has pimpy polished base 3-spokers. The 2002 748S came only in the ultra cool titanium grey and red wheels livery. Some call it a "Senna" which isn't technically correct but gets the point across.

By the way that is not a "full" termi system. Those are slip-ons. The choked down section of pipe near the right side footpegs is the factory oem piece.

Anyone looking at a used 748/916/996 wants to know about possible flaky valve rockers, valve adjustment history and what about those pesky timing belts....

 

Kie,
I noticed all of that as well but figured I would stop at the tanks, since that's most obvious and enough to lead to the obvious question but since you let the cat out of the bag...

So the really obvious question is (wrong tank, wrong bodywork, wrong wheels, and all mismatched) was this thing completely wadded up and then rebuilt from a hodgepodge of parts from eBay? The tank alone is enough for me to question the "never laid down" line. The rest of it makes it an inevitable question.

An S frame and suspension but no wheels and no mention of its being and S? That alone is a big deal.

 

interesting

 

It certainly is a lot of parts from various years going on. It doesn't always mean the bike was wadded and pieced back together but in absence of any meaningful explanation or history... how are we or any prospective buyer supposed to know?

This type of ad is always very interesting to me. It seems written in such a way as to convey great confidence in this machine and its provenance. But from the pictures and lack of information it does everything but that.


From the top:

"2002 Ducati 748 Monoposto superbike. 19k miles, only 50 made" "A bit of clarification, the fuel tank is off an older bike, It was that way when I purchased it. The production numbers of a 2002 748E, in Red/white and monoposto, is 50. Sorry about the confusion."

Well. It does appear to be a 2002 748 mono. 50 made however? This bike is in fact NOT a 748E. These statements only add to the confusion and provide no clarification. The first of many "WTF" moments.


"Only mods are misc. Carbon fiber pieces and Termignoni full exhaust"

WHAT??? This bike has mods/alterations from stock every where you look. Tank, bodywork, mirrors, wheels, etc, etc. And that is NOT a termi full system. Only the mufflers are termi.


"I'm third owner, first 15k miles were mechanic owned"

That is swell! Only 3 owners thus far. The not swell part is, if thats the case... why so much mystery? You know the 1st owner rode the bike 15k and he was a wrench. Presumably you met the 2nd owner. If all this is true.. why not tell us why the bike has no resemblance whatsoever to what it looked like when it was new? Surely between the 3 of you someone knows what is going on or went on.



"I didn't know the E and the S model shocks were different, It was my understanding they were the same, so that is news to me. But yes, fully adjustable front and rear, with steering stabilizer and all."

Yes. "E" and "S" have completely different rear shocks and the front forks are lesser spec Showas on the "E". Both the "E" and the "S" have fully adjustable suspenders front/rear. Both have a steering damper. So by stating yours has those features clears up nothing and only clouds things up.



"I wish that the original rims were the ones on it, but that was done by the previous owner."

So you knew these were not the original wheels. Yet no mention of that in your 1st post. Weird.



"It is due for a belt service- the Previous owner did a belt/valve service when he got the bike, 5,000 miles before now (and did the aftermarket "5 year" belts) but it's been 2 years and if I were riding much more I would switch them out as preventative maintenance. My experience is that its about $100 for the belts, and plan a day with basic shop tools and a tensioning tool."


Well the truthfulness is appreciated here. The bike is due for timing belts. And since the valve clearances are checked every 6k with this model one may as well do that too.

What does your "experience" mean here? You've done exactly that? Are you trying to say its an easy job or its difficult? This bike has 2 belts, 1 for each bank running off the same drive gear. Each belt has a tensioner, an idler and drives 2 cams. A competent diy guy can do the job, yes. Keep in mind however that 1 simple mis-step and its kablooey. However if it takes someone a full day to do it they should not be doing it. And to imply that the parts required to the job properly are merely $100 bones is wishful thinking with a 14 year old bike. Implying that just "anyone" can do it at home is just wrong. Not everyone can.

No mention of the valve rocker condition which of course is the elephant in the room. Any 748 has the distinct possibility of flaked rockers and possible damaged cams and other bits. Its a thing!



Here is the other thing. None of this really matters! Thats the funny part! Hah.

The reality is that a $3500-ish sport bike sells for many reasons. Usually because it looks and sounds good. And it runs. And it has a title. Etc. This one even says DUCATI on it! The sad truth is the demographic/buyer for this type of machine doesn't care about anything I just posted.

As to why someone with just a couple posts would post this type of bike for sale here is another point to ponder. This is one place where those things do matter.

When new she was a looker...
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To the op: it's still a great looking bike, especially at that price. If I were looking for an inexpensive canyon carver and had the garage space, I'd likely swoop it up.

The people on this forum are a wealth of knowledge, and I for one appreciate you deferring to their expertise with grace.

 

Here is everything you need to know about DIY cam belt change on 748/916/996/998 bikes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfjM2dBhs3c

I bought the Facom DM-16 tension tool on eBay for $130, cam holder for $8, tension roller nuts for $8, and belts for less than $100.

The job is relatively easy, especially after you watch the video.

 

What sort of trades are you interested in? I have a 1986 Jaguar XJS V12 I'm looking to get rid of. Runs, but dead battery and some dry rotted tires. It's scruffy, but not a wreck.

 

The font does not look correct for the 748 logo.
The "Ducati 748" is also missing from the mono seat.

Wonder if these are the cheap Chinese knock off plastics on it?

 

Can you post better picture of the rear section? I am pretty confident the "Ducati Superbike" or "Ducati 748" is missing on the mono section.

Also looks like the tan pinstripe between red and white on the tail section is missing too?

 

Got your PM and of course, my inbox is full! I need to clean it out, but I've been crazy busy.

In any event, my wife put the brakes on any trade - she wants $$ if we sell the car. I don't want to thread jack, so here's 1 pic of the XJS for you since you asked, I didn't want to ignore your PM:
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Mxzx (you motocross a Ninja? lol) are you following along here? This bike is a US market 2002 748S. As mentioned previously in this thread... EVERY piece of body work including the fuel tank is wrong for the bike. When new it was titanium "matte" grey with wicked cool red 5 spoke Marchesini wheesl. Since it is a 2002 it would have had the smooth sided main fairings unique to that model year (although they returned briefly for the 2004 998 FE and Matrix).

While your incorrect font inquiries or mislabeled speculations are certainly well founded, they miss the big picture. Yes the font is wrong. Yes the labels are wrong. So is the color. So is the bodywork. So are the mirrors. So are the bar ends. So are the (fill in the blank).

The bike is being presented as a 3-owner machine. The current owner/seller claims to have no information on how or why this bike is completely different than when it was new. So (if the claim of ignorance is indeed true) we can only assume that owner 1 or owner 2 damaged the bike in some way that required a complete and total transformation slash repair job. <OR> They decided to "backdate" their extremely rare and beautiful 2002 748S to resemble an older less desirable model at great effort and not inconsiderable expense for no other reason than they thought it would be a good idea to massively devalue their bike.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you Mxzx. Maybe you are acknowledging the fact that the body panels and tank are wrong. But then you are further speculating that not only are they wrong... possibly they are not even Ducati oem parts. In which case that is a distinct possibility. Ducati oem plastic/bodywork would always be a great deal higher quality than any of the Asian sourced replacement panels.

The op further adds to the mystery by countering your "Chinese body or no?" inquiry by stating...

...which only fuels the wtf fire. oem 748/916/996/998 bodywork is crazy thick extremely high quality abs plastic. Any of those bikes with the original body work are the best crashing repli-racers you have ever seen from the old "Is it still rideable?" point of view. There is no fiberglass anywhere on any of those models. So if the body on his bike was indeed "actual fiberglass" as he claims then that would only prove you are correct.

The Corse logo is not original? ORLY ?

Confusingly... the bike is still represented as "never laid down" and "no major mods". At least, thats what the the current Phoenix craigs ad says. Which could be forgiven as the ad was a carbon copy of what the f-chat ad said. And as recent revelations have come to light perhaps the op could be cut some slack. Meaning... he just had not had a chance to update the craigs ad to the current info.

But in reality he did in fact update the craigs ad. Its updated to say all the cool stuff we found out here like its an actual "S" with the adjustable steering head and fully adjustable Showa suspenders. It still says the same old bull crap like never laid down and no major mods.

op... WTF ?

current craigs ad copy below...

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/mcy/5789737894.html


"2002 Ducati 748 S. True superbike. 19k miles, only 50 made. Handles beautiful, recent detail, never been laid down. Termignoni Slip-ons. No major mods, Has upgraded flares, Fully adjustable steering head, all Showa adjustable suspension (factory), Aftermarket wheels.
I'm third owner, first 15k miles were mechanic owned. I have both keys. Clean title.

It rides well, the panels are strong, and all the mechanics work as intended. I'm not selling a pristine, 100% low miles perfect example. Its been ridden, and for someone who wants a bike that they can enjoy to ride that if they get a rock chip in it's not the end of the world. But, you can still take it to a show and get a lot of compliments.

I don't want to sell it, I love the bike, but have other interests. $4000 OBO. Interested in trades, let me know. Call/Text/email Wesley show contact info"