Sport Production: Ducati 1995 900SS/SP for Sale

1995 Ducati 900SS/SP
Miles: 11,300
Clean California Title
Listed Price: $7,750

During its production run, the Ducati 900SS/SP lived in the shadow of its sleeker, sexier, higher-performance siblings the 888 and 916. But those bikes were also much harder to live with: they suffered from increased maintenance costs and reliability issues, as well as committed ergonomics that made long days in the saddle nearly impossible for the kinds of riders affluent enough to afford an exotic Italian motorcycle. But the 900SS was a different sort of Italian sportbike. Built around the [ahem] mature air/oil-cooled two-valve, 904cc Desmodue engine producing a claimed 84hp and backed by a six-speed gearbox and dry clutch, the bike came in two flavors here in the US for most years: the very handsome half-faired 900SS/CR [“cafe racer”] with non-adjustable fork, steel swingarm, and narrower rear wheel, sold along side the more limited-production 900SS/SP [“sport production”] with full-fairing, adjustable fork, aluminum swinger, wider wheel, a bit of carbon bodywork, and a numbered plaque on the top triple. From a pure performance standpoint, the bike makes little sense. But this is one of the all-time great sports motorcycles, with a charismatic engine that punches well above its weight, excellent handling, handsome looks, decent reliability, and reasonable parts availability. If you’ve ever wondered if you might be a Ducati guy/gal, this is the perfect way to find out.

Sadly, I’m getting too old to ride this bike, and reluctantly posting it for sale.
1995 900SP, 41 mm Klein carburetors, vintage D&D exhaust.
I’ve owned a lot of Ducatis over the years, and there are faster bikes, but nothing sounds as good as this one.
Bike is in mint condition, these vintage air cooled Ducati‘s are becoming collectible.
Belts, valves done 300 miles ago .
Fairly priced at $7,750

With that claimed 84hp, the air/oil-cooled Ducati 900SS/SP may not offer much in terms of horsepower per dollar, but is a great value in terms of smiles per dollar. This one is on the pricier side but appears to be in excellent condition and has a number of things going for it, besides the overall condition and low miles. The belts and valves have been done, with pics of the new belts helpfully included, meaning a couple important service items already ticked off the list for a new owner. And the set of 41mm Keihin carburetors are a very nice upgrade to the stock Mikuni CV units and would currently run a couple grand on their own, although installation is at least pretty simple if you’re handy. The D&D cans should be suitably loud, if nothing else. Again, the asking price is on the high side but, if you’re buying a Ducati, it’s a good idea to buy the best you can find as it will likely save you money in the long run. This one looks like it might be a good investment.

-tad