Ducati 851 servicing
1987 to 1992 · 851cc liquid-cooled Desmoquattro V-twin · Greenwich, London
Ray Petty Meccanica services, repairs and restores the Ducati 851 (Superbike Kit, Strada and SP1 to SP3, 1987 to 1992) at its independent Ducati workshop in Greenwich, London. This was Ducati's first production four-valve Desmo, with belt-driven cams and eight rockers in each head, and RPM renews the belts, sets every clearance and checks the clutch and cooling parts that 851 buying guides single out.
About the 851
The first Desmoquattro road bike was shown at Milan in late 1987 and went on sale in 1988. Massimo Bordi's team built it on the Pantah's 90° V-twin layout with stronger crankcases, adding liquid cooling, four-valve Desmo heads with a 40° valve angle and Weber-Marelli fuel injection, its map held on an EPROM chip. The first bikes wore red, white and green Tricolore paint: 304 Strada road bikes and about 200 Superbike Kit racers, which came with lights, electric start and slicks. From 1989 the 851 was red and had a 17-inch front wheel instead of the original 16-inch. The SP1 (1989), SP2 (1990) and SP3 (1991) were limited homologation versions, the SP2 and SP3 with an 888cc engine. Raymond Roche won the 1990 World Superbike title on an 851.
Servicing your 851
The 851's camshafts run on toothed belts, and MCN's used guide puts belt changes at every 5,000 miles or two years. Each valve has its own opening and closing rocker, eight per cylinder, and MCN warns that the hard plating on the rockers wears: it can't be seen during a clearance check, so the cams have to come out to inspect it. The same guide lists leaking slave cylinders on the dry clutch and cracked coolant header tanks, while Footman James's specialist adds fork seals and worn clutches. A rattling dry clutch is normal. The fairing is thick fibreglass, so thin replacement panels suggest a history worth checking. RPM sources the parts an older 851 needs and rings you to agree anything beyond the work booked.
Book your 851 in
Tell us what it needs, or how long it's been off the road, and we'll take it from there.
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Saturday: 10am to 5pm
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