1981 Ducati 500SL Pantah

I am offering up for sale my VERY original and stock Ducati 500SL Pantah. THIS IS THE BIKE FEATURED in the March/April 2015 issue of Motorcycle Classics. The article can be found online but I will try to go into the finer points of the bike. I purchased the bike in November of 2013. While it was in very good shape cosmetically. it was not running. I proceeded to go through the bike top to bottom and it now runs and rides exactly as a 1981 Pantah 500 should. Here is a list of NEW parts and services that were done to the bikeFork seals and oilOne front rigid brake line replaced with a new old stock unit from Bevel HeavenTiming beltsDesmo valves were adjusted and 4 new valve seals installedNew old stock air filterSpark plugsGenuine Dellorto carburetor gasket sets installedFuel linesIgnition pickup wires replaced-Bosch ignitions on early Ducati's need these replaced. the engine oil cooks them to a crisp. look it upNew old stock Ducati oil filter- period correctAbout the only major system on the bike that did not need major attention was the brake system. Everything worked well and I only replaced one front brake line because it was badly bent. I did flush the whole system with new fluid. I am sure that there were more things that I have done to the bike. but I cannot think of them at the moment. This bike runs and rides very well. It does not leak oil. Everything works as it should. lights. gauges. charging system. etc. The Bridgestone BT45 tires have a date code from the 42nd week of 2003 making them a little over 10 years old. However they still have very little miles on them. no dry rot to speak of. and are still very supple. For the limited amount of riding I do on this bike. the tires have been very serviceable. Condition wise. this is an unrestored survivor bike that is probably as stock as you will find. The only non stock items are the tires. battery. fuel lines. and mirrors. The cosmetic parts I did install were either new old stock or good used parts from the era. The original Verlicchi handgrips that I installed are a good example. I was quite excited to find them! The bike is even running an original airbox. I have the tool kit and all three keys for the ignition. steering lock. and gas cap. All of the appropriate frame tags are in place including the Berliner neck tag. The bodywork fit and finish are typical Ducati from the early 80's. There are some spider cracks in the paint on the fairing. you can see some of the lines where 2 pieces of fiberglass were joined together. there are some rock chips here and there. etc. but it is ORIGINAL PAINT. My point is. this is a bike that has been ridden but taken care of and has all of the right patina and character you would hope for in an original machine. I am sure some will notice that the right hand muffler has a few dents. fear not. I have a nice original set of dent free Conti mufflers that will go with the bike. The seat has some cracks in the vinyl. but I would rather have a couple of cracks in the original seat cover than recover it and lose the originality. The gas tank has a light amount of corrosion. but I have decided to live with it rather that try to have it cleaned and risk damaging the original paint and stickers. Original and stock were very important to me with this bike. The speedometer is in kilometers and shows almost 19k. which translates to roughly 11. 7k miles. I have a clean and clear Illinois title in my name. I AM open to trades. I am into all things Ducati. new. old. race bikes. etc. If you have a Ducati to trade let me know what you have and we can talk. The only non Ducati bike I would be interested in trading for would be a Honda CBX. I welcome anyone in the Chicagoland area to come and look at the bike. If you have any questions. please feel free to ask. I have a TON of additional high res pics for those who are truly interested. I would like a $500 deposit via paypal within 48 hours of auction close. Final payment and pickup of bike should be within 1 to 2 weeks. Cash or bank check. Delivery or transport around the Chicagoland area is possible. contact me and we can work something out.