#Ducati #996 #mcn
MCN’s Head of Content, Chris Newbigging talks us round his beautiful Ducati 996. Listen to his chat with Chief Road Tester Michael Neeves, here.
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Welcome to MCN and a series of videos where we look at bikes that MCN staff actually own now you’ve seen us wax lyrical about our long-term test bikes before which we only get to keep
For a year but a lot of people who work with us have spent their hard-earned money on their own motorcycles including Chris nuig in here hello mate morning and this is his deatti now you may know Chris from being editor of Performance Bikes editor of practical sports bike and he’s now head
Of content at MCN so what I’d love to do right now is just sit and stare at this and maybe stroke it but we’re here to talk facts aren’t we so um tell us a little bit about what this bike actually is
So this is a 2000 model 996 by posto or rather it was um if you’re a bit of a cat know you probably go probably see the bits that are wrong but single seat exhausts white number boards painted on it’s
Kind of a knockoff of an SPS or or an our model really um but yeah underneath it’s just the base model 916 but I mean it’s it’s quite hazy when you’re talking about the catti models obviously it
Started with a 916 so when did this what were the years of production on this bike so this was 99 through to 2001 and then the 998 came in which was similar sort of shape yeah um so this this is more
Closely related to the 916 so essentially it’s um just greater capacity is still very similar um but way kind of jaati worked in the ’90s if if you recall a um they do a homologation bike off
The back of their race bike and those improvements would filter down so this was well so 94 was the first 916 and by 2000 kind of a lot of that sort of knowledge had filtered down and they’d made
Improvements mostly to reliability actually which was a bit of a problem for them at the time um so yeah a it’s a nice sweet spot it still looks like the early ones but um it’s a little bit better and
A bit little bit more reliable yeah so this isn’t isn’t a 916 from the bad old days where it would leave you stranded it’s got more modern it no it’s only left me stranded once okay that’s pretty good
In 5 years so and it’s got the new Decat logos on isn’t it and the new yeah so that was um a year or so after the castig only group the creators of the 916 if you like they moved on sold it to what were
They called Texas Pacific group and they they brought in the new branding which kind of caty still have really yeah so it’s it’s kind of that style really but like I said the rest of it is
Still as tambourin attended really yeah and after this came the 998 and then then it finished and then it was 999 was it yeah yeah how long have you had this 5 years now yeah um and I bought it from
My dad actually and he had it four years before so I’ve known it for quite a while um he bought it from a guy who’d got a big collection of these and some really eclectic stuff he got one of those
Big American sort of Billet engine custom frame choppers with forks like that and some really trick stuff but it kept them all outside into were car porting including this it was strange like to
Buy a bike from but it looked after it and it was there’s a few little bits of kind of cro that a bit abnormal but otherwise it’s lovely yeah so if you don’t mind me asking how much did you pay for
It and what you reckon it’s worth now well part of the reason I bought it is cuz my dad offered me a deal he was moving on to uh 1198 he fancied some similar but with more power uh and obvious
Firstborn son I kind of called more obviously yeah well yeah yeah uh but no he he sort of basically I gave him the five grand that he had paid for it a few years before wow so um it was one of those
I wasn’t looking for one at the time but I can’t pass that up otherwise the prices go through the roof and I won’t to buy one again and have the prices gone through the roof now uh they’ve gone
Up certainly I mean I’m not quite sure what this one is exactly worth cuz it’s been messed around with a lot of catti collectors like standard ones but I’d say it’s probably seven or eight right
At a guess I mean that’s still relatively cheap isn’t it for an icon it is yeah I mean especially I mean what’s the new panagar v4s these days yeah yeah wow and what how do you use it where do you
Ride it um not as much as I like really um i s I bought it and then shortly after decided having another child would be a good idea I don’t know who convinced me that was the way forward but
Um so it’s kind of yeah sort of high days H days and sunny rides to work just whenever I get few spare minutes I grab it and go yeah what about the mileage on this this uh only 13 I’ll put
About three three and a half of those on I think yeah something like that and a big question you touched on it earlier is reliability so what are they actually like to live with um worry about it
I I don’t worry about it too much um it’s partly because when I was on practical Sports work part of that Magazine’s kind of remit was to work on your own bikes and improve them and ride them
And so I kind of went through it and researched all the problem areas and kind of made sure they were good I had the valve clearances checked um upgraded all the starter cables to some um what they called uh superst start cables I think they are um which just helps alleviate certain issues
So rather than waiting for it to break you kind of do the preventative sort of cures and sort of touch touch wood it’s um it’s been pretty good um you me break down I had which kind of alluded to
Earlier first time I rode at any distance actually um there’s a a nut holding the generator on and they were incorrectly made from the start at some point it’s had that problem it’s rattled around and it damaged all the stator windings the charging system and it hadn’t broken then but it s
Waited until I bought it and and decided it was going to pack up cuz it was damaged so but that that was a relatively easy fix and otherwise it it starts every time I ask it to and it’s
It’s been no bother just belts every couple of years and an oil change amazing so it’s not quite standard is it so no it’s not it front to back what’s different on this bike than a standard
Right so front back so wheels are the wrong color for a start they should be the same gray as the frame somebody’s done them black right they’re not lightweight Wheels they’re just no no they they’re just the standard sort of cast aluminium Marinis that uh it came with um I had the forks
And shock rebuilt a few years ago by ktech so they’re not drastically changed but they’re kind of sprung correctly um and what are they are they twoo stiff or to soft no they um this bike had Progressive Springs on it which as far as I’m concerned on sports bike are the devil’s
Work you just you can’t get a setup cuz the spring rate is changing all the time so it just went back to at ktech linear Springs front and rear and they just kind of refreshed it and had a little fiddle
With a shim sack at the front and a little bit of the back as well right just kind of made it nice I mean it’s it is really firm you’re not going to get around that but that’s not something I
Wanted to take away from it cuz I don’t think it would work if it was kind of too soft and that’s not what this bike’s about not why I bought it it’s not a daily Commuter so uh then from
Breakes standard brakes are standard um the discs are the wrong one for this it got one that was warped so I picked up a set from uh I think it was a 998r that been turned into race they been sat on
The shelf for year so they’re they’re a slightly different design they’re a little bit lighter but not in an upgrade of such SPS brake pads as well okay um and then motor all standard internally I
Mean as you can see from the outside it’s got a different air box on it different intakes which opens up a little bit different air filter um Power Commander which had mapped by BSD who
Do all our dno work for MCN um he’s done a really nice job and it makes 119 horsepower and 73 lb of torque 93 horsep and what’s it weigh uh is U Know exactly it’s it’s 211 kilos full of fuel so about
About 10 kilos more than the sort of modern ler bikes which isn’t too bad I don’t think about on par with a V2 pagali maybe yeah maybe a little bit heavier yeah touch heavier yeah um
More talk in the mid-range but less Peak power they’re about 145 150 these days AR so um yeah then then the shock is nonstandard it would have had a shower standard somebody’s fitted the oens
For an SPS or one kind of the highest spec models yeah um I’ve dropped the gearing by I think seven teeth at the rear and one at the front I mean you know you’ve rid lots of chatis in your time
They always come sort of Geared for 280 mph this was no different actually worked it out and the gearing was good for 193 miles hour which is it’s you’re never going to do if you throw the damn
Thing off a cliff would you so exactly um gearing it down it just feels like a Japanese bike where the ra ratios are correct yeah uh and it actually increases the top speed it’s actually yeah cuz it
It was so overgear before it wouldn’t pull six so uh Turing the only half system on it as well just silen is basically standard headers loud set off car alarms uh loudish but uh I did a jaati UK
Track day a few years ago and the panagar there and the standard panagal are drown this out as soon as they start oh really so it’s you can if you roll the throttle you’re not too antisocial
Yeah yeah I don’t think so and then bodyw workwise I see there’s a lot of carbon on it is that a carbon seat it is a carbon seat unit yeah I think it’s SE Moto something like that it it was on it
When I got it um technos sell seat pad which were if you remember chat cor bikes from the 90s was had little Tech Sal stickers that was one of those little details that made them so that’s nice to
Have um yeah carbon airbox intakes and this is the air yeah it is yeah yeah t tank just seals down on the top and it’s all the all the throttle bodies and air filter under there carbon infield panels
Infield panel there yeah uh I think that’s kind of and then the paint job cuz it wouldn’t have had white number plates originally would it no no and at some point this bike was yellow somebody obv
Decided they preferred red so I’m not quite sure what the history is but I think all the panels I think they just somebody’s exchanged them hold sale so yeah I’m not sure whether somebody just painted the nose Fairing and decided to have the white number board as well yeah but uh yeah
Whatever I like it so you ride a lot of bikes for your day job lot of bikes so what what’s the performance of this by modern standards um I kind of found that out directly last year like I
Say the caty track day and most of the bikes that turned up were less than 5 years old so there and and I went out fast group first session and there were 10 panagar v4s in front of me and they were
All track prepped and I was think they oh no I’m going to get mobbed here you know um but the great thing about this because it’s uh obviously cable driven throttle and it’s been mapped nicely as
Well yeah you know exactly what you’re doing with it there’s not a computer kind of interfering in the middle it’s not that I’m aite or anything I love tting 20 horsepower super bikes as much
As you do yeah but you know exactly where you are with this and because it’s a real sort of midrangey delivery it sort of goes from five or so you come out of a corner especially tight ones and
It just digs and go like that and and actually particularly with the V2s you know how rev they are this thing gets the leap on them and it sort takes till sort fourth fifth gear before they really start pressing home that top end advantage and even the v4s obviously you open the throttle
And ask for 50% and it goes right I’m not sure he wants that because you’re this lean and this rev blah blah blah and it makes a calculation and even those they don’t get away immediately andly
They then pipe 200 odd horsepower and and clear off into the distance but it it holds its own and and then there’s no ABS either which is kind of something that’s overlooked yeah um so it’s it’s
Nice direct brakes and I’ve spent time setting up the suspension on top of kind of the the work that kch did and it it handles kind of track work really well it’s got load of ground clearance as
Well a confidence inspiring it doesn’t feel like a an old no it it doesn’t um like I said um I was editor of practical Sports PL and Roads lots of retro stuff ‘ 80s ’90s stuff really and I
Enjoyed lots and I have a lot of it as well but this is so much more direct than pretty much all of it it’s still it’s still relevant in its own way and it yeah okay it’s a cranky old thing and
It it it kind of takes ages to warm up and it’s got yeah yeah um but yeah when when it comes to it it can kind of still do the business um and I’ve put some really sticky tars and they conty
Race tattoos right and it it genuinely makes use of the grip like I say it leans for England and use everything he got it it does yeah it’s yeah it’s a really satisfying thing and and I wrote
About this at the time I I did a session on a panagar V4 straight after this and yeah okay it’s incredible and amazing but you’d have to spend ads dialing in the electronics the suspension and all
The things that you can fiddle with on them and yourself in honesty um it takes a while to get your brain on that level to deal with it fast and I don’t think that would necessarily be any more
It’d be faster of course but I don’t think it’s more satisfying this thing I just whether it’s Road or track every time I ride I I just love it you know it’s such a the owner satisfaction
Is so high with it even though I don’t do many miles it probably it didn’t do anything during covid um and S missed out a few other times but generally do about 1,000 miles a year that’s all
That’s yeah um sort of on top of testing duties and everything else that’s you know time I get for this and but I treasure every single one and even if I’m not using it open the garage door to get
The kids bikes out or something it’s it’s amazing and obviously completely analog by today standard no quick shifter no trash control no really control do you miss any of that no not really quick shifter would be nice it’s um a little bit sort of slow witted changing gear sometimes but
I mean it’s an old bike and it wasn’t designed for quick shifter so I’ve kind of left it alone rather than lunch gearbox absolutely so as a you talked about what this bik’s like on track is it nice bike to ride on the road or is it slightly awkward slightly quirky slightly uncomfortable
It’s it’s definitely uncomfortable um and awkward if you’re going slowly um but I just avoid towns and Villages as far as I can um you don’t buy this and go through the center of London unless
You kind of some sort of masochist really um it’s yeah I mean I’ve changed the handlebars as well that’s something I’ve forgotten they are sort of reduced offset on so they’re a little bit closer and they’re also a little bit flatter six’ tall and arms likeing Ron as well so um they’re they’re
A bit bit more suited me so it’s it’s okay I can deal with it yeah so as a riding experience on the road you’ve got this and you got a panagar v4s 2023 model the bells and whistles which one are
You going to take this yeah um agree I find the not just the Pand I’m not going to pick on that but um because they are obviously really they’re designed for to produce a lap time aren’t they
That yeah their their performance envelope is so far away from what you can realistic you do on the road you don’t ever tap into them they they kind of you’re not touching the sides are you whereas
This thing is it’s kind of that instantaneous Grunt and yeah okay it does it handles quite well and you are you’re still not using its capability you’re a bit close to it and it gives you a bit
More back there’s a bit more sort of feel rather than it’s you s, going what we doing why are we going this slowly it’s almost like it’s mocking you whereas this it’s not quite doing that so
In terms of the sort of the emotion of these B these bikes are all about Italian emot with your T-shirt there the foggy yeah I’ve linked to the foggy days and you yeah that that that’s kind of
The inspiration really I mean in I think it was ‘ 92 my dad started taking me to World Super bikes as um some bike from Blackburn was starting to do the biz um and I mean I was S four or five then uh
And it just captivated me and it kind of and then obviously the 916 came out and he had that massive battle with um Scott Russell and various others down the years and it just I loved it I S walk
To school every day and I tell my friend y Scott Russell and I’m fogging we’d be running making all the noises and that’s just never left me um and I and I really remember the first time I saw one
Of these on the road going on a holiday cornal or something in the back of Dad’s car going somewhere it was Road works and the inside Lane was kind of empty but ConEd off and I just heard a b coming
Up and it was a 916 and he he then di through the cones after the road gave it a big handful I was like and it went that yeah just just these things they stick with you and I always wanted one yeah
And yeah here we have got it and not letting it go anytime soon yeah and these these were the days when when you saw one of these on the road it was properly special now nowadays the cat is fantastic bikes aren’t they but they’re a little bit more mainstream there’s much more sort
Of the pr attached to him is very polished you know when you see one on the street it’s not as or inspiring as when we saw these back in the day no well the company’s obviously owned by the Audi
Group these days and they’re very commercially minded and they’ve changed caty away from sort of real passionate kind of Engineers which is what they were I mean um when tambini was designing these he one of the uh why he helped develop the aerodynamic page uh package he went off out in the
Rain for hours up and down the autostrada when he came back he’s he had to look at where all the how you get the sort of dirty lines where the where the winds push the dirt over it and look at
It just to see what it was doing yeah and he had every Everybody in the design studio sit on it and they worked out the ergonomics and I think um there’s bits like this kind of cut
Out here that was this one particular bloke had big arms and he was crushing his elbows just wow they really thought about it and something that’s overlooked with these is how easy they are to work
On they designed it to be a race Park and to be adjusted and improved and fixed as well so from the start part of the design was it was really easy to take apart and so I do all the work on
This myself cuz it’s just even even things like belts which people get really afraid of that it’s so easy to do and you save so much money over a dealer is I mean all the only fasteners for the
Body work there’s one bolt to the back of the tank and then uh the mirrors hold on the nose fairing everything else um is quick release even the seat I was going to ask you about running the
Thing you know is an expensive bite to run but if you’re doing the work yourself yeah so um it’s du some belts now so I’ve got some aftermarket onesz inevitably somebody comes along go we can do that
Better so I’ve got some California Cycle Works belts to go on it which are cheaper than jaati ones and apparently built to a sort of Greater standard as well so they’re going on soon um oil
Well takes four lers of oil just like everything else does and the filter and it’s it’s not not bad really the air filter’s washable so that doesn’t need changing it’s it’s not been too bad I mean
I don’t do many miles obviously so um not sort getting it through like a year round commuta but no exactly no it’s not and and actually some of the parts as well because um the towns they don’t
Tend to sort of build Parts specifically like the Japanese do so Honda will bring out a new Fireblade and it’ll have its own filter that only fits that bike whereas this is the same
As um BMWs triumphs cars as well so you can pay 30 40 quid for a jaati one with a little stamp on the side you can buy for 15 quid from a BMW dealer which is exactly what I’ve just done so
It’s it’s such an iconic shape isn’t it that when they brought out the 999 it just bombed is it and they had to quickly bring out the 1098 which is a modern version of this really isn’t it yeah I
Mean even the panagar you look and there’s still sort of hints of this kind of shape but during development it didn’t have underseat pipes did it they didn’t have a single sided swing them
I don’t think they they they went back and forth um one point I I wrote a big feature about these and I spoke to I forget the guy’s name now but he was involved in the development and uh they went
Back and forth and they’d already designed um it with these so everybody says oh the NR 750 that they just copied it they didn’t but apparently what did happen that that confirmed that was the
Right idea and they went with it um little known fact about tambourin he he was part of bota he was the tat in boto wasn’t he and the Suzuki powered SP2 that was going to have under seat exhaust in
1977 really if if you ever look at one of those they’re quite obscure things you probably have to Google one rather and find one but they’ve got two big indicator holes in the tail piece that’s
Where the exhaust was going to come out they just couldn’t get around the heat problem so they they canned it he had the idea first anyways which what I’m trying to say so um and actually if
You ever look at rc30 this sort of shape here is kind of is very similar but higher and apparently when the rc30 came out he was really inspired by that and even things like the vents and the
Fairings they’re very similar and the rake of the nose there obviously it’s not a direct ripoff but it’s very similar but he just thought that was the best looking bike Japan had ever produced apparently and um that informed some of the decisions he made they spent a long time on
This they I think it was 85 uh cigle only Brothers took over jaati and bought tambourin in to start developing bikes and the 888 was always 851 sorry was almost knocked out and they knew they needed a
Real kind of signature bik kind of St Cat’s back and this is what we’re about and they started to work on it about the same sort of time so they spent a lot of time cogitating on it and deciding
What they were going to do while they just had the 888 and 851 just doing the business in world so this was a real labor of love for them and kind of shows really does and the quality of it amazing
That the Plastics and the paint just beautiful yeah um there there’s no kind of ugly extent I mean take faing there’s wires and hoses everywhere it’s a bit of a plumbers nightmare as they say but
Um yeah they they really paid attention to detail and that was I mean for me the 999 was obviously challenging in its way but they they didn’t put that same thought into it um things like where the where the subframe is on those there’s lot of spits exposed and welds and funny brackets
And wires where everything’s hidden on this really there’s just there’s nothing thing ugly hang out really so you say this is a keeper I mean if in a nutshell what what is it about it you love so much
It’s it’s it’s really shallow but the noise gets me I mean I live sort of mile and a half from the first bit of dual Carriage while it brings me to work and every time I wind it on there they just
That it just it’s it kind of it goes right through me you know that that’s genuinely is a big part of it but I mean like I said the performance is still relevant it looks great it’s pleasurable to
Own take it AP part over the winter and grease suspension linkage and things like it all just comes apart so well cuz it was designed to do that as a as a race bike they they they knew they’re
Going to have to work on it it was going to get crashed and fix it so it’s it’s it’s just built to do that and so every part of the ownership experience just it’s just so satisfying and
That’s that’s the word to keep coming back to is satisfying just is in every way and yeah even when it broke down I just sat side the road that’s why I’ve got Breakdown Cover you know exactly yeah
Don’t worry about it every Rising occasion yeah um I see this in the car park often and just so jealous I’d love to have a go one day welcome I tell you what probably everyone wants to know is
What it sounds like yeah would you reckon giveing it a little tickle yeah go on start don’t don’t show me start see there’s another little detail it’s got um there’s a little button on the bottom of the throttle for the fast rather than having a leave or something like that right hidden anyhow
Wow just Tak you right back doesn’t it yeah it does amazing yeah well come on I was going to say I I still don’t think there’s a better sounding twin I mean I’m extremely biased and there’ll
Be a prilia and Honda sp1 it’s going no you’re wrong but for me this is just this is from back in the days where there was no sound deadening around the engine no cats no Euro 5 nothing it’s
No no the engines themselves are quite to now you know let alone the exhaust and everything yeah yeah I mean obviously these got the dry clutch as well I mean this one’s not this one’s recently been replaced so it’s not as rattly as it could be but yeah some of them sound like
Sort of a metal barrel full of spanners that’s brilliant well thank you very much for showing us around well welcome you should have a g at some point I’d love to thank you very much and thank you very much for watching and stay tuned for more videos like this coming up very soon
39 Comments
Can you think of a prettier sportsbike than Chris' Ducati? (There can't be many…)
Best one so far. Thank you
Aaah, but your spot on. Had a 996/1098 motor and a rc36 built with rc45 fairings that i traded for a 22 v4 panigale. The v4 is now sold 2 summers later… it’s something with these 90s bikes. Sound, smell, connection or drive experience if you will. Got me 97 blade instead. Yep, old fart I am… but happy again!
lovely bike but it would of been nice to hear it running. bit of a shame.
Ducati should bring back that sound
amazing format, please make more vids of regular blokes and their bikes
Notice its got original rectifier. Burnt the wiring out on mine like they always do. Use mine daily for work
I’ve got an 848, which I love but I pine for one of these…hands down the best looking Superbike ever made – to me anyway 🙂
Great bike with a great story. It makes it even better having belonged to Chris's Dad.
That's a beaut. Had my 2000 996 bip for nearly 11 years and still get a happy thrill turning the key, waiting for the fuel pump to build pressure, pressing the starter, and hearing the thing growl and then boom into life, shaking the walls with its 50mm Termi pipes and dry clutch. Then the heat and the smell…it's sensory overload, sensory rapture. And that's before I've got my leg over it. These things get under your skin – they are so elemental. On a twisty A-road on a summer's evening, when everyone else is in the pub or indoors watching some shite on telly, it is sublime. Mine is currently back in my living room for winter. Well where the hell else would it be? The only issues I've had are a few bad rockers, which I had refurbished by the excellent Newmans Cams, and the inevitable coolant header tank leak. Timing belts are dead easy to change, and the opener rockers are a breeze to take out and refit. The closers..not so much.
That is some bike, loved hearing Chris impart some of his knowledge of Ducati.
Im taking my 954 to bsd to get mapped, heard good things about them
I clearly heard a "you should have a go on it sometime" while Chris was looking right at me! Well…I'm available that day 😉
Love my SPS these bikes are rolling art and performance Ducati built bikes to race then put a headlight on
119bhp
73ft/lbs
211kgs
Gorgeous lines on them. Timeless.
Yes……my limited edition 916, which I've owned for the past 25 years……..but can you guess which model?
How does the mid section feel when you slam on brakes with that narrow tank……. iv been through it forn2 years before I went fireblade
That's why I don't ever want to sell my K6GSXR 1000 it's 13000 miles and no buttons,,abs ,, it's my favourite bike,, and that's the important thing,, it's the individual choice,, great video 👍 from northern Ireland ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️
❤beautiful
Yep!! that's the broom, broom sound!
I love my 996 SPS
And you don't even start it. Riveting.
Wot no sudestand?
Id love to know if 20 year olds look at that and think it looks ok but old fashioned like i would have looked at bikes from the 80s 20 years ago.
I cant see how they can. It still looks absolutely mint, I wouldnt say modern but still amazing
What a beautiful bike….keep up the great content.
Nice bike! He wants to keep an eye on that front brake fluid level though! 🧐
Cómo
Como
Ducati 996 … Danish prince … 1999…/… Frederik… Ser frem til at du skal styre danmark!!!
🧨👍😉
Great looking bike, but pointless on British roads with the state they are in now. Maybe compensation for things lacking in other areas 😄
Did I hear 119HP?
If so, that’s not much in today’s standards, however it would be usable power and a joy to ride.
Loved this! Great insight and what a stunner to look at! (No, not Neevesy!)
Hate it when they display the bike on the rear stand. Its like false advertisement… in the real world both tires on touching asphalt.
Front brake fluids a bit low, if not ur pads are waffer thin 😂.I love my 996 sps gonna go make brum brum noises in the garage 😊
I have the same bike but yellow, bought it new in 2000, done just over 30k trouble free miles Inc several tours of Scotland in all weathers, I'm 59 now and still love riding it, have done all the mods this has had done also.
Cool
This is one of the most beautiful creation of human
Excelente