While purists will claim that Ducati motorcycles NEED to be red, there is an undercurrent belief that yellow is indeed the fastest color. The absurdity of color changing the mechanical makeup aside, perhaps the color theory was borne out of this iconic model, the Superlight. Whereas the regular Supersport models of this era were available in red, only the Superlight was offered in yellow. Together with the white frame and composite wheels, the Superlight stood out then, and continues to strike a pose today.
Mechanically speaking, the Superlight was at the top of the Supersport pecking order. Differing from the standard 900SS by additional carbon fiber mud guards, a vented clutch cover, a solo seat tail, high-mounted exhaust (only made possible by the deletion of the passenger pillion and hardware), floating rotors and the beautiful-but-potentially-fragile Mavic composite wheels, the visually different offering was as exclusive as it was exotic. In line with Ducati specials, the Superlight was a limited edition model as indicated by a plaque on the headstock.
1993 Ducati Superlight for sale on eBay
From the seller:
1993 Ducati 900ss Superlight, was repainted in its factory scheme several years ago and has been sitting in my living room since then. It is a piece of art you can ride! I really dont want to sell this, It has been a great conversation piece and a joy to look at everyday, but I have to free up some cash for some other things at the moment.Runs great, clean title in hand, only 15k miles. This is an original 900ss/SL… very hard to come by and has all of the nice bits that set this apart from the standard 900ss like the Marvic forged wheels, original carbon front and rear fenders in great condition, solo seat, high rise pipes, etc. Small scratch on one of the side pipes, and frame has some wear marks / scratches as it has not been refinished. Overall a great bike, perfect for a collector or someone who likes to ride vintage / rare bikes.
There is a definite market for Superlight examples, and collectors (and riders) seem to flock to this model even though the mechanical significance is minimal. The visual experience is over the top, however, and exclusivity certainly plays into the “supply” side of supply vs demand. This particular bike has a claimed 15,000 miles (exact miles not shown in the photos), is listed as having been repainted, and is lacking both the VIN info as well as any shots of the headstock with the SL plaque. These are likely some pieces of info that serious buyers would want to know, but otherwise the photos show a beautiful SL appearing how it should. The piles are stock, the clutch cover is correct, as are the carbon fiber pieces and those glorious two piece wheels. You can check out all of the details here. Even though Ducati did produce the SL in red as well as yellow – making the “which color is faster?” query superfluous – I can’t help but enjoy the contrast of the yellow on white. Make sure you jump back to the comments and let us know if this early generation of the current Superleggera makes you weak in the knees. Good Luck!!
MI
