Blue By You – 1988 Ducati Paso 750

The Paso was more revolutionary than evolutionary, with square-tubing frame, full bodywork, and two-barrel Weber carburetor.  Despite reviewing well, the Webers had some rideability issues, and the love-it-or-hate-it styling as well as the import price stranded the bikes in the showroom.  With sales under a thousand per year, the bikes are now a rarity and significant, as they mark the Cagiva era and began Ducati’s sport-touring segment.  This example is a distinctive blue, well kept and has had fuel delivery and charging system updates.

1988 Ducati 750 Paso for sale on eBay

Very similar to the 750 F1 desmodue, the Paso’s 748 cc’s are good for 73 hp, routed through a 5-speed transmission.  Because of the single Weber, the vertical cylinder has the intake at the front, and the 2-into-1 exhaust has a collector under the engine.  42 mm Marzocchi forks split compression and rebound duties in an early anti-dive method.  An Öhlins damper is hidden under the Tamburini-sculpted body, which also provides conformal turn signals and mirrors.  Brembo brakes are 280mm fronts with 270mm rear, all single-puck.  16-inch wheels and tires are wide – 130/60 front and 180/60 rear.

All bikes with nearly 30 years and 21,000 miles have a past and this one includes a repaint of the right side, but it looks good.  From the background we see that the owner knows his way around a carburetted engine, and has this to say in the eBay auction:

This is a very nice example of a rare blue 1988 Ducati Paso 750. It was previously owned by an ex Automotive and Aerospace Engineer who was meticulous and put in a lot of time to Engineer and fix the original fuel, air and electronic problems that were inherent on this bike. He upgraded the starter, fuel system, rebuilt the carbs, fixed wiring, redesigned fuel pump and air flow needed to fix these issues. She starts great, runs great and is a real head turner. She has a new battery included in sale.  The blue color is very rare and less than 50 were made Worldwide and shipped to the U.S.  A lot of  time and effort was expended to make her run better than original.

In an age where just about everyone has loud pipes, the original black-chrome mufflers should be at least friendly.  Non-working tacho should be an easy fix.  Overall build quality after the Cagiva investment was better than ever.

Updates eventually came to the Paso, including a water-cooled 907 cc engine, six-speed and electronic fuel injection, but the styling never caught fire and the line shut down in 1992.  Often shunned because of the 16-inch tire size, choices are better now than they were in the 1990’s, when the now-classic was simply used.  If you like the aerodynamic styling, it’s a great looking bike, and tested as a nice handler.  This example looks original but has had some attention under the bodywork, and should be a great rider.

-donn