To conclude with the most forgotten “item”……
Back in the days…… Ducati’s late ’80s and early ’90s.
Cagiva, yep Ducati’s biggest rival from Varese (Italy) bought Ducati in 1985. Luckily the Ducati brand was far better better recognized outside Italy so Cagiva kept it alive.
Under Cagiva’s “supervision” Ducati, with it’s factory still in Bologna, became very successful in the WSBK. Ducati won several Championships with their 851, 888 and 916 factory bikes so all seemed fine. However the opposite was true as the Cagiva group (with the brands Cagiva, Ducati, Moto Morini, Husqvarna & MV Agusta) had severe financial problems.
On top of this the production of the recently introduced and very popular Ducati Monster (late ’92) and the 916 (late ’93) was delayed as of a fire at the Bologna factory. In order to keep delivering bikes Ducati temporarily moved their main production to the Cagiva factory in Varese.
Limited parts supply, most likely because of the poor financial situation and the fire, made Ducati ran out of parts. Assembling the bikes with all the right parts became pretty difficult, but Ducati was “inventive”…. They just used the parts that were “on the shelf”, so when the carbon fiber air-boxes were out of stock, they just mounted a cheaper ABS plastic one. Or another good example with again carbon fiber is the front fender. Originally the Ducati 916 SP’s are equipped with a carbon version, but when these were out of stock they just mounted a ABS plastic version…
Some other “Good to Knows” about the Ducati 916 SP’s:
- The only numbered 916SP is the 916 SP3, previous SP1 & SP2 didn’t have a numbered plaque.
- In contrast to the later 916 SPS and 996 SPS, a Ducati 916 SP has 916 cc’s. The later Ducati 916 SPS was the first Ducati equipped with the bigger bore 996 cc engine as is the Ducati 996 SPS.
In the nearby future we’ll try to add some info, pictures and other great stuff about the more exclusive Ducati superbike models and their technic, so stay tuned!!
BTW: Should you have any questions, suggestions or did we miss something? Please get in touch.