1992 Ducati 900ss Black on White!

Dan – had to reply re: the “super-rare” 1992 Ducati 900SS… *cough* bullshit *cough*

Over 4,300 900SS’s were produced for 1992. The majority would have come to the USA, all had white frames, some had black bodywork and these are *somewhat* rare, but only because they were so desperately unpopular at the time that many were repainted red by dealers trying to sell them! I do not for one second believe that there are as few as 13 left in the USA, and I have no idea how the seller came up with that number. I’ve never seen one with a factory half-fairing though, they did supposedly exist but this may be an aftermarket replacement as well. Unlike the genuinely rare and desirable Superlight, there’s no other difference with this bike that makes it any better than a standard SS, which it in fact is.

As far as “Cafe Racer” goes, in 1994 Ducati produced a 900SS “CR” to go with the higher-spec 900SS/SP (“Sport Production”). The CR variant came with a half fairing, non-adjustable forks, steel rather than aluminium swingarm, etc. and was the “budget” less-desirable 900SS variant.

Anyway if this bike is mint, it should sell for around $4K in today’s market.

Regards,

Dallas
1995 900SS/SP

Ian Fallon has a book “Ducati Belt-Drive Two-Valve Twins” that has production numbers for each model by year, color, and end market. Without having the book in front of me, I recall the half-fairing black USA model from 1992 to be quite rare, perhaps 40. California may have had a model specific to them, maybe that is where the 13 bike number comes from.
But as othes have said it is just a special color and doesn’t feature anything upgraded from a “regular” 900SS.

I double-checked when I got home tonight. According to the Falloon book all were 1992 model year and the black half-fairing was made in the following quantities:
42 for Europe (non-Germany)
24 for USA (14 made in ’91, 10 made in ’92)
6 for California
10 for Germany

Ducati Belt-Drive Two-Valve Twins: Restoration and Modification
ISBN: 978-0760306970

This is actually my bike and it was not sold as expected. A usual eBay issue, non-paying bidder, in fact I never heard from the winner. Regardless, I decided to hold it until it warmed up a bit here in CA, where I am now retired.

The bike, a 1992 Ducati 900ss CR Desmo Black on White frame is very rare. Some say is a 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2 fairing, you or your readers would know better then I. Ducati told me when I bought it in 1992 and again in 2005 that it is a 1/2 fairing and there is no such thing as a 1/4 or 1/4 fairing SS from that period. Regardless of what people call the fairings it does not change the rarity of the bike. It is an original 900ss CR Desmo Black on White, factory ordered bike. I ordered the bike when I lived and practice medicine in Columbus, Ohio. The bike was delivered to Hinds Motorsports then located on High Street near downtown Columbus, Ohio in the Short North District. I believe Hinds Motorsports is still located in the Columbus area, but unsure as the exact location as I have not lived in the Mid-West for approximately 9-10 years.

Regarding the production run. I originally believed 13 were produced in 1992. This number came from other Ducati enthusiasts and in 2005 over the phone by Ducati. Ducati told me that the number might be less by 13 was as close. Recently, my assistant checked the Fallon Book “thanks to your site and readers” and confirmed suspicions raised. This bike is even less common then originally thought.

The numbers according to the Fallon Book: Only 66 were produced of which 24 were brought to the U.S. for model years 1991-1992. However, in 1992 only 10 were produced; with no reference to how many of the 10 produced for model year 1992 being brought to the U.S. Ducati told me in 2005 that they only have records of 3 coming to the U.S. in 1992. I believe I left that out of the auction record because it could not be confirmed, but with only 10 produced in 1992 there would be no reason for me to not believe that only 3 were imported. However, it would be good to know “should anyone have a better information” how many of the 10 produced in 1992 were actually imported to the U.S. But for certain only 10 were produced in 1992, making my bike, quite possibly, one of the rarest Ducks produced from that period.

Regarding value. The bike was appraised by my insurance last August who came a value of $32,000-35,000.00, but did say it could be worth more. Others, some on this site, placed a value at around 5k. This would be true if it was the common color scheme “red or yellow,” with full fairing, and possibly the 1/2 fairing. Your readers would know the value of those bikes better then myself. In reality a bike is only worth what it will sell for in the current market. I have seen one or two others 900ss CR from 1992, in rough condition, with 13,000-30,000 miles, sell for close to $20,000.00. That was a few years ago and who knows times may have changed.

The most common question seems to be from other collectors. They want to know why I would sell such a rare bike. First, my age and health prevent me from riding. Second, if you cannot enjoy toys such as this bike, which needs to be ridden, it should go to someone who can.

As you can tell from the miles I rarely rode the bike. This is because at one point in time I had 13-14 bikes. Things started to turn into collections and if you collect you have less and less time to enjoy the collection individually. On a side note I am the original owner but I did sell it to another collector in 2005. I thought I would never see this model and set up again, let alone my original bike. However, I was lucky and for one reason or another the collector sold it back to me, I believe 12/2007. Of course the bike had been sitting the whole time. So I decided to have the mechanics completely reconditioned/rebuilt. The Duck now runs as good, if not better then the day it was new. Thought everyone would enjoy the history.

I hope this helps answer a few of the questions. If anyone on here would like to see the bike in person before I let it go just ask.

I love this site and all the interesting bikes. Good job.

Thank you,
RCK M.D.

Anyone have the numbers for the full fairing anthracite version? I bought one new in ’92, still have it though it’s been collecting dust in the garage for the last 15 years (sorry, I know I’m a bad owner). I bought it in California, but it came from an Ohio dealership. This was the last one – paid and registered in 11/1992, whereas the other 92’s (red and black) were sold out by the end of January(!). At the time, the dealership told me there were fewer black full fairing versions than the half fairing. But to be honest, I’ve seen 3 other original Anthracite ’92s in California, and one other in Washington and they all had full fairings. I’ve seen two half fairing versions, only one was verified original, the other looked it, and it was back in the day when they were fairly new.

I’ve heard all the rumors of dealerships painting black ducatis red, but I think they are just rumors. It’d have been easier to buy new fairings since that’s the only difference, except they also came with a gray seat instead of a black one. In fact I was wondering if the bike above also included the original gray seat or not? I have two if you want one…

True, no one liked the black ducs, they wanted RED because that’s what Ducatis ARE (at the time). Personally, when I found out a black one was available, I nearly cried with delight. It felt like winning the lottery.

I have the original US brochure for the 92 ss, and it shows a half-fairing Anthracite 900, but not a full fairing option – just red. It was my understanding the Black Ducs were only for the US, but it sounds like that was yet another rumor according the numbers quoted above. I remember the 1993 SuperLight in Europe was red instead of yellow, maybe that’s what I’m thinking…

I would like to thank all of you for the informaiton listed. I have justed ordered a copy of Ian Fallon book as I did not know my Ducati was that rare. I purchased a charcoal half fairing ducati that I ordered in November of 1991 while living in California. I had to wait four months for the bike to be built and delivered to the dealership. It is all original with the exception of the tires, battery, and fluids. I also rarely ride since leaving California 18 years ago so its milage is less than 5300 miles. It gets started every other week and goes for a short ride every month during the summer.