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Number plates: why some, but not others?

4K views 23 replies 9 participants last post by  belter 
#1 · (Edited)
So, my 1997 748 did not come with a front number plate, and I was wondering.... why did some 748, 916, 996, and 998's come with them, while others did not? And though the rears were all painted on, were the fronts painted, or were they just stickers? And if they were stickers, were they on the clear, or clearcoated over?
Thanks in advance for the advice!
 
#2 ·
i don't think any of them had the front white plate bit ex factory. maybe the tarted up 998s models? nothing else i saw, but that's euro spec bikes. they did some special stuff on the usa models, esp in the years where they didn't import the hot versions.
 
#3 ·
Interesting you bring it up. I was thinking the other day about the tail fairing, specifically Monoposto.

Some have painted white plates with the copper pin stripe. Some don’t. No rhyme or reason it seems. I’ve seen pictures of every model from 748-998 with or without painted rear number plates.

So I was curious. If you go to Ducati and buy a new tail fairing what will you get? They offer painted (red/yellow) and unpainted, but will the red/yellow be just that or will it have the number plates painted on as well?

Things you think about lying in bed trying to fall asleep hahaha
 
#5 ·
What you get depends on what part number you order. :grin2:

The monoposto tail with number plate / pinstripe depends on the year. Early bikes had gold/copper pinstripe, later bikes had grey pinstripe. I don't remember if this coincided with frame color or not. The decals on the mono tail also change over the years depending on the model / edition.

The OE parts catalogs are pretty clear for year / model / edition on what is what in terms of painted / unpainted, mono / bi, color, solid or number plate tail. Many of early ones are probably NLA. In the old days, would always verify with Ducati before ordering bodywork though.
 
#8 ·
After thinking about it some more, the frame color probably didn't have anything to do with it. My '98 916 yellow monoposto (gold frame) had the gold/copper pinstripe on the tailsection and my 2001 748R (grey frame) also had the gold/copper pinstripe on the tail.

On some of the parts diagrams, there is a part number for "gold adhesive" which looks like it would be the pinstripe. There are also different tailsection decal part numbers for some red and yellow bikes, I believe the pinstripe and decals differed depending on color (red/gold yellow/grey) at least on the 998. The 998 also had a different tail number plate shape to the earlier bikes. That's about all I can remember, hard to believe it's been 15-20 years already!
 
#9 · (Edited)
Unless it was a Bayliss or Bostrom or Foggy, I cannot think of a single street 916 gen bike that came from the factory with a painted nose. The mono tail plates were introduced a couple of years after the launch and in the US, any mono after 1997 or 1998 (I can't remember exactly) came with the white tail number plates. The color of the pinstripe is specific to the year and the decal layout. There are three colors: bronze, gold, and dark charcoal, if I remember right.
 
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#11 ·
don't know about US specific models, but i think the SP and SPS models had the copper pinstripe and the R had the grey pinstripe around the number boards. The race bikes with the front number boards are all slightly different year on year in their shape, probably so they can tell at a glance what year the race bike is from front on. It's subtle but they definitely are.

The only road bikes i've seen with a front number plate are the 998S Bayliss replica, but i _think_ the white number board is a decal and the "21" is stuck on top. The 1098R Bayliss has number boards on the side fairing and nose but they have the # "21" cleared over.

Did the Bostrom S ( never seen one in real life in Oz) have the 155 on the front with a number board? it's a sticker kit like the Bayliss 998 as well isn't it?
 
#15 ·
The 2001 996S is kind of an odd duck and not the same for the world over. Here in the US, in 2001, we got the 996 and 996R (which was sold as a "race bike") but the 2001 996S had the white plates and tricolore stripes and was supposed to come with the SPS motor. I don't think the one we got had the SPS motor but rather the regular motor as the SPS motor was technically not EPA compliant. I know that we had some Canada and ROW bikes sneak in here so a 2001 S here in the US now could be just about anything. Also, that 2001 S had Showa forks and Öhlins shock and later S models got all Öhlins.

I know that some countries got an S in more than just 2001 and the spec was different. What did you get in Oz?
 
#16 ·
Definitely not trying to be argumentative Sherpa, but the US spec '01 S had Ohlins all around. I think Ducati was trying to make up for the fact that most other territories got the SPS motor in the '01 S while North American versions had to make do with the standard motor. It was like they were trying to answer the age old argument about what's better; quality suspension or more horsepower...
 
#17 ·
I think you're right and that would make sense as I was pretty sure we didn't get a special motor but having the Öhlins forks to make up for it would be right. But again, I see hardly any 2001 S bikes here and some of the ones I've seen were from Canada or ROW and it's hard to keep track of what was original to what.
 
#23 ·
So here in Oz, my mate had a 996S, in yellow and it was a very cool bike, had an Öhlins rear, Öhlins steering damper, SPS cammed engine and std bodywork with nothing indicating it was anything special except for a small "996S" decal, no white boards, no stripes like the flash "Pista" that came out the same year. His was even a dual seat bike.
The only thing he did to it was put Termignoni slip ons on it, dial the cams in and tune it somehow, it went well past 100k kms and never gave him an issue.
 
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