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....would consider buying another Ducati?

Yes, but, since I was unable to find any cause for the event, I would not be comfortable getting the same model. This is especially true considering that two other people I know of have had such an event happen with their Sport Classics.

Major Softie wrote:Yes, but, since I was unable to find any cause for the event, I would not be comfortable getting the same model. This is especially true considering that two other people I know of have had such an event happen with their Sport Classics.

High speed stability has always been a recognized Ducati characteristic. Seems incongruous that stability is now a problem.
There is nothing I fear more than my bike becoming unstable. I've been there and could have been killed.

wait a minute....are Sportclassics considered unstable? & by whom?
I don't know the story about the crash or the "2 other people" but is this something the general sport Classic owners out there are suggesting?
I'm curious to know....
all I know is a few extra horsepower & modern tires are known to make lots of riders "unstable"...

Matt wrote:wait a minute....are Sportclassics considered unstable? & by whom?
I don't know the story about the crash or the "2 other people" but is this something the general sport Classic owners out there are suggesting?
I'm curious to know....
all I know is a few extra horsepower & modern tires are known to make lots of riders "unstable"...

MS bought a brand spankin' new GT1000 and it spit him off like an old sailor ejects a lunger.

Matt wrote:wait a minute....are Sportclassics considered unstable? & by whom?
I don't know the story about the crash or the "2 other people" but is this something the general sport Classic owners out there are suggesting?
I'm curious to know....
all I know is a few extra horsepower & modern tires are known to make lots of riders "unstable"...

Matt, My GT went into a violent tankslapper at about 70 on straight flat freeway. It put me over the bars. A couple other people on the Ducati.MS forum have had similar experiences, one almost identical to my own, also on a GT. Both he and I were on "raked"' pavement that had been prepared for repaving. The bikes were the picture of stability until they went into the tankslappers without any warning of impending doom.

Most Sport Classic owners on the site who ride their bikes hard have put steering dampers on their bikes to counter head-shake problems. This would presumably insulate the rider from any chance of what happened to me. The issue is controversial with those who have experienced the problem being certain that there is some kind of serious stability issue, and some feeling that, because they have never had any problem, it must have been something we did. Most have just decided that a steering damper is a wise precaution.

Most Sport Classic owners on the site who ride their bikes hard have put steering dampers on their bikes to counter head-shake problems. This would presumably insulate the rider from any chance of what happened to me. The issue is controversial with those who have experienced the problem being certain that there is some kind of serious stability issue, and some feeling that, because they have never had any problem, it must have been something we did. Most have just decided that a steering damper is a wise precaution.[/quote]

Sad thing is: no manufacturer would ever admit to a problem like this, and become responsible and open themselves to litigation. A modified machine? Forget about it.

Major Softie wrote:I
all I know is a few extra horsepower & modern tires are known to make lots of riders "unstable"...

Matt, My GT went into a violent tankslapper at about 70 on straight flat freeway. It put me over the bars. A couple other people on the Ducati.MS forum have had similar experiences, one almost identical to my own, also on a GT. Both he and I were on "raked"' pavement that had been prepared for repaving. The bikes were the picture of stability until they went into the tankslappers without any warning of impending doom.

Oh great! For one of my future projects I bought a fork and wheel and brakes from one of those bikes. I wanted it because it has spoked wheels and honkin' brakes. I know that the overall geometry is most likely not going to be the same on my bike so it won't be the "same" fork/wheel, but it would be nicer to read that they're the greatest. By the way, my plan is to lace an 18" rim onto the hub.

Chuey

Chuey wrote: Oh great! For one of my future projects I bought a fork and wheel and brakes from one of those bikes. I wanted it because it has spoked wheels and honkin' brakes. I know that the overall geometry is most likely not going to be the same on my bike so it won't be the "same" fork/wheel, but it would be nicer to read that they're the greatest. By the way, my plan is to lace an 18" rim onto the hub.
Chuey

Actually, the forks, brakes, and wheels on the SC's suck compared to every other Ducati model. The brakes are much better than an Airhead, but well behind current technology. The forks are probably worse (without modification). The favorite upgrades on the Sport Classics are, in this order: new forks, new wheels, new brakes (4th would be shocks). The wheels on the GT are worst (heaviest), with their steel rims, but the others are very heavy too. There's nothing else wrong with the wheels except weight, and you would, of course be putting a nice new alloy rim on the hub, so it doesn't matter which rim it has right now, but the SC hubs are VERY heavy compared to any of the cast wheels out there. Really nice and strong, but heavy. I don't know how the weight compares to Airhead hubs, but you might want to compare and find out.

The forks can be vastly improved, but it takes at least a few hundred dollars. Springs are an absolute, as the bike was spring for about a 130-140 lb. rider on a 400 lb. bike. The options are:

1) new springs and adjust damping fluid = under $200 (the forks do rebound in one leg and compression in the other, so you can use different weights in each leg to adjust them separately). Riders report substantial improvement just from this.

2) replace sealed cartridges with rebuildable cartridges and have them built to your specs - around $500-$600 and always involves spring replacement as well. Riders report excellent results from this. It's not the hot setup for the track or switching between one and two-up, because of the lack of adjustability, but still very good for a solo rider.

3) throw the forks away and use adjustable Showa take-offs from a Monster, ST, or MultiStrada - about $400-$500. This is everyone's favorite. The TiN coated forks off some of the "S" models are the most favored, but may cost as much as $600-$700 and are harder to find. Everyone LOVES the improvement of this mod.

4) have the forks converted to fully adjustable forks by Traxxion Dymamics (they do the above cartridge swaps too) - about $1500. Often turns out even better than trading out the forks, mostly because they are being sprung and setup by the pro suspension shop.

6) Ohlins - $2500.


So, the favorite combo is to switch to the better forks, cast wheels (or the beautiful and much lighter Alpina tubeless spoke wheels for another $2500 ) and 4-pot Brembo calipers (usually $100-$200). The 4-pots do not fit in the stock wheels, so the brake upgrade requires the wheel upgrade. I did the adjustable fork trade and cast wheels, which transformed the bike. I did not change the calipers (but put EBC HH pads in them), which left them not quite as good as my 96 Oilhead (4-pot Brembos), but still quite decent, and light-years beyond any early Airhead.