Shortly after the Castiglioni family took controlling interest in Ducati, they commissioned Massimo Tamburini with a new and competitive sportbike, fully faired and built tough underneath. The Paso didn’t result in a dynasty, but is a sporty and interesting chapter in Ducati’s history.
1988 Ducati Paso 750 for sale on eBay
Fully enclosing an air-cooled engine would generally raise some flags, but the Paso handles the heat with two ducted oil coolers, and the bodywork helps answer intake and valvetrain noise concerns. The 73 hp have a healthy torque complement, and testers found the 5-speed acceptable. Marzocchi suspension and Brembo triple disks are par for the course, and the 16-inch tires help the slightly overweight bike turn in. Another innovation on the Paso was a single two-barrel Weber carb, which like the hidden mechanicals saved lira, but caused some adjustment difficulties. Some have been converted to dual Mikuni’s and some still run fine. Jumping on the big soap bar was a new experience, but most found the built-in mirrors, signals and ergonomics excellent.
With rather low ( under 9,000 ) miles for the age, this tidy blue Paso has been waiting for a fan to come along. Not ridden much by the current owner, it looks neither babied nor abused, but just biding its time. Carbon silencers but hard to see any other updates. From the eBay auction:
1 of 50 Blue bikes brought to the USI love the bike but I never ride it and am not into collecting for the sake of collectingBike is very low mile and has not been ridden much so should be tuned by a competent Ducati Tech before riding any distanceNew Gel BatteryStarts and runs great handles like a dream very quick and agile motorcycleIn fact best handling motorcycle I have had the pleasure of ridingI have the stock mufflers that go with the bike they are in excellent conditionthere is a small tear at the rear of the seat near the grab handleAlso some sparesClear title in my name
Beside the Cagiva portmanteau, the company used an elephant mascot denoting strength and durability from their days in the luggage business. The logo is found here and about on the Paso, almost fitting with its robust square-tube frame and desmodue. The Castiglionis elected to stick with the better-known Ducati name at the last minute, else we’d still be seeing the little pachyderm everywhere. The Paso evolved over its five years to a 900cc fuel-injected model, and the 750 has a good sporty-dollar ratio though its power-to-weight is a little less. Seeming quite original, and with it’s sensible opening bid, this edition may find the interested buyer out there…
-donn
