1996 Ducati 955 SP (1 Of 50)
This might be the rare of the rare for Duc fans. It appears to be the real deal, a 955SP. 50 or so of these bikes were built to homologate the bikes for AMA racing. A few survived the track and fewer never made it to the track. This appears to be one of the latter. Before you ask, the 955’s never got stickers that proclaimed they were 955’s. To the average Joe, you are riding a 916. Underneath though a surprise is lurking.
Hey, I don’t see a plaque! Apparently Ducati did not put plaques on them but some say Ferraci (Fast By Ferraci) did put plaques on some of the bikes. I cannot confirm or deny. The engines should have 955 stamped on them though and this one does. So what is different about these bikes? Info is scare to say the least. I found this info from a Ducati forum. It is apparently from the owners manual:
Your motorcycle differs from the 916SP model in the following technical features:
-Bore:mm 96
-Cylinder head gasket for 96mm bore
-Crankshaft – Main transmission- lighting
From the auction (31 bids and counting. Must be trying find that elusive reserve):
This is a rare 1996 Ducati 955 SP. The bike has the decals of a 916 SP but the engine has been modified to allow the maximum size for racing applications. They only imported 50 of these bikes into the United States for racing purposes. I am selling this bike for a friend of mine who lives in Huron, SD so please correct me if I am wrong, kustom Harley Davidson’s are my game, although I am a fan of this Ducati!
The bike comes with Termignoni exhaust, Marchesini wheels and new Pirelli Diablo tires. It was recently serviced in Palm Springs before returning to South Dakota.
The owner is an older gentleman with a fine taste for exquisite machines and takes great care and maintenance of all his possessions. Please call for more details or information we can provide. It is on display at Klock Werks in Mitchell, SD if you would like to view it.
I’m taking a pass on the value and instead passing along some info from the auction itself. There have been several question posed to the seller and one came from a 955 SP owner. He valued the bike in the $15,000 to $17,000 range. He also heard that a 1200km, dealer owned bike sold for $27,000. You know as much as I do now. It sure would be a nice piece of racing history to have. .
IK
hi, I am antonio, an italian doctor from Bari, southeast italy. I was asking myself if your bike is still on to be sold, and if expedition to italy would be a big problem
i salute you, yours sincerely
antonio di costa