What To Do When An 851 Ain't Enough

WHAT TO DO WHEN AN 851 AIN’T ENOUGH

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT kind of bike you ride, more is better. Ducati guru Steve Wynne, of Bollington, England, understands this. To capitalize on that understanding, he’s delivered The Next Big Step for well-heeled Ducatisti: an eight-valve desmo streetbike with a modern, GP-style, twin-spar aluminum frame. In doing so, he’s created a motorcycle that’s lower, lighter and shorter than the stock Ducati 851/888.

Wynne has built and delivered the first three 888 Sports Special streetbikes, using donor 851s for his supply of components. Providing the customer has the will and the wallet, Wynne upgrades the engine to the customer’s chosen specification-right on up to full-race 888. He mates the resulting powerplant to the Spondon-built chassis kit, which includes an Qhlins rear shock and a swingarm that pivots in the frame, instead of the crankcases as the stock set-up does.

All Sports Specials are custom-built to individual order, with the basic chassis kit starting at about $5100 plus tax, rising to an eye-popping $21,250 for a complete 888-engined, competition-spec bike.

Need one of these? Contact Wynne at Sports Motorcycles Racing, Bridgend Garage, Palmerston St., Bollington, Cheshire, England, or fax him at 011-446255-72782.

Alan Cathcart