Bout time I showed a couple of pics.

[trader220]

Picked up my bike several months ago and a couple of thousand miles ago.

1999 ST4... when I bought it the bike was stock except for an aftermarket clutch slave. Since then I cleaned up the tail a bit, upgraded to the later ST seat, picked up a seat cowl for it and paited it to match. I changed the oil two weeks ago for the first time on this bike. I just added that nice clutch cover in the pics too. I have a nice set of Pazzo levers and a carbon hugger I have not gotten around to putting on yet.

I have a few winter projects which are a lot more involved but here are a couple of quick shots. Thanks for all the advice too. Whats the reco on upping the teeth in the rear ?

[Bill_Anderson]

Most of us recommend a 42T or 43T rear sprocket for the ST4s. I don't know about the ST4, as there are not that many out there compared to the ST2 and later models.

[jobst3]

Wow - cool pix!
Where did you find the rear seat cowl?
I have been looking for one with no luck.
I like the custom paint!!

[tonered]

Nice looking ST. There are times when I wish I was still back in PA for the open twisty roads that I remember growing up. It would be a bit of heaven for these bikes. Although, I couldn't imagine living with the humidity or snow again.

The ST4 should have a 43t sprocket. I find it is good enough around town and in tight places yet perfect at speed (about 4k RPM at 70mph). Of course, these bike are happiest at 80+ =P

You didn't say how many miles yours has, but I found mine to still be loosening up when I bought it at 21,000mi. Now at over 52k, the thing still pulls like a freight train in 6th. I couldn't be happier, esp as everything is easily serviceable. They're just built that way.

Have a good one.

[trader220]

Jon, I had been searching all over for a seat cowl for months and finally one popped up on eBay. I made sure I won the auction. It was black from the factory so I got the correct color Ducati Red from ColorRite then prepped and painted it. The graphics I bought as part of a package of ST4 graphics off of eBay.

Tony, there are some fun roads just a bit west of where I live. Buying this bike after being without a ride for 5 or 6 years was the best thing I did for myself since my wife left on New Year’s this past year. It had 5700 miles on it when I picked it up on July 29th and I have put a couple of thousand on it since then.

I do most of my own work, I am self taught having learned to wrench working on my old 911's. I have a handful of projects lined up for when I put it down for the winter. I think I am going to drop a tooth in the front and go with 14. I would like a bit more jump in the bike and I would like it to spin a little more on the highway. Over the winter I will finish cleaning up the tail chop, put some better cans on, I don’t want it silly loud but it’s almost silent with the stockers on it. Probably have to play with the air intake and chip a bit. I did the seat and cowl already so that’s about it cosmetically. It’s CRYING out for new tires and I think I have settled on the Pirelli Angles for the spring. The tires on it now are a joke. Its ashamed that none of the parts makers support this ride anymore. I would love a quality set of adjustable rears and a nice high quality set of risers and bars. Its also a PITA finding anyone who still makes a proper exhaust for it. I have a buddy who owns a muffler shop, he and I have kicked around fabbing up a system where we could use any set of cans we liked.

I love the thing, it’s a blast to ride, and I was on various HD's since the 1980's. I learned to ride off road as a kid from the time I was 12.

Thanks for the comments!

[tonered]

Yeah, my Wife is from the Upper Dauphin area, and I'm from the west side of the state. Those roads are just waiting for some action.

At 7,700mi, your engine is still tight. You will get a lot more out of it over time. A good valve adjust to the clearances recommended in the desmotimes manual, with some breathing mods, should surprise you esp with smoothness and more usable power at the bottom of the rev range. The valve clearances are finally settling in for me. Slap some cases on it, and you'll be looking for excuse to go on two hour grocery runs.

I'm an Angels fanboy, so I will second that recommendation. I call them hooligan tires compared to the previous Stradas and Metzler Z6. Steeper profile, more traction, and excellent wear, IMHO.

If this were a BMW, we'd have all kinds of support, but just think of the folks with 2007 STs that's are more or less out in the cold with us. It's Duc's nature and one of the biggest reasons to be worried about the new gizmo'ed out bikes. That said, the basic FI and general robustness of the bike will last you quite a while. There is a lot of automotive equivalent parts and a ton of commonality between the other Duc models. So, don't worry about hanging on to it.

The cans seem to be pretty simple. I'm sure that the baffle and can length play into it for both sound and performance, but it seems that once you have the bits that connect to the header pipe, the rest should be a piece of cake to play with since you have the resources.

Have a good one.

[trader220]

I figured I could core the stock cans but incase I ever want to go back to stock I didn’t want to wreck them. Flipping the cans is just a matter of making sure I can hang them on the bike without them being obtrusive, fabbing up some brackets is not that big a deal so long as they mate to the header correctly.

On the intake side is there recommended mod to let it breath a bit better? The last valve adjustment was done at 5200 miles. I went to the desmotimes website yesterday with intentions of ordering their manual but it appears as if the old one is sold out and the new one not yet in print. I realize that the 916 motor has had a lot of other applications within the Duc lineup so parts are easy to get, just that the aftermarket stuff is gone. I would love an Ohlin rear shock but I need some new tires to really get to know the suspension before I shell out the dough for the rear shock. I have has ZERO issues with the use and feel of the brakes including the rear yet I read a fair amount of grumbling about them here? I find it odd that Duc skimped on some of the parts and used cheapo stuff. Shocking how pitiful the headlight is on this bike, you can outrun your lighting on a dark road as soon as you move from a rest.

Its sunny and 50 here today and I am chomping at the bit to run a few miles before sundown and 30’s.

Thanks for all the info!

[tonered]

I cored my stock cans. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either, including some resonance at my typical cruising RPM. If you have the tools, it'd be fun to fab some.

Yes, LT is in the process of creating a new edition for the 4v manual. I plan on buying it regardless.

Checkout bikeboy.org. There is good info there about intake setup. The best that you can do is just chop most of the lid right off. That is more or less identical to the Duc accessory item that used to be available. To get an idea, just reach in and pull the rubber intake snorkels off. You will get more intake sound and a bit of the benefit. If you get lean popping, just carefully adjust the trim pot in the ECU to be a tad more rich. It is unlikely if you still have stock cans.

I've been riding this way in all weather for 3yrs with no water intrusion issues.

For me, the airbox mod made the biggest difference and the chip and cans were sort of tied for a subtle second place. The difference is noticable, but not huge. They all work together to make some nice power all around.

Just a note, a typical shop valve inspection to see if the clearences are "in spec" is something very different than nailing the recommened clearances. I'm told it is similar for 911s.

Have a good one.

[Royal Tiger]

Looks great! Hope to see it next year.

[tonered]

One more thing. I believe the crankcase breather mod gives a more noticeable change, esp for torque, than the cans or chip by themselves.

Have a good one.