Since its formation in 1967, NCR motorcycles has been Ducati’s de-facto competition arm, developing and producing race bikes based on Ducati themes. For the 30th anniversary of Mike Hailwood’s 1978 Isle of Man TT victory ( on an NCR-built Ducati 900SS ), the company produced a very short run of super light, no-holds-barred commemoratives, with…
In the late 1990’s Pierre Terblanche and Massimo Tamburini parted ways, the younger Terblanche following Ducati, and Tamburini staying with Cagiva. The sea-change styling of Terblanche’s 999 was too controversial to survive, though it did help win the Superbike World Championship in 2003, ’04 and ’06. The 999S has upgraded suspension from an -R and…
In the mid-1990s when Ducati was dominating World Superbike racing and the all-important bedroom-wall-fantasy-poster competition, it seemed like everybody wanted to get into the v-twin market and “beat Ducati at its own game.” It shouldn’t have been that hard, right? I mean, Ducati made fast bikes, but part of why they were so successful in…
Welcome to What We’re Watching. This feature highlights some of the auctions we are following – especially those that are about to close. Handy if you’re curious about where values are going, or just want to snipe in at the last minute to score a deal! 1991 Ducati 851 This one owner 851 is only…
Every so often a future classic pops up, but with too many niggling questions to be worth pursuing. A lightweight air-cooled desmodue, the 1998 Ducati 900 SS/CR is a pending collectible and great rider. With not much of anywhere to hide mysteries, this CR appears free of damage and the long-past salvage title might make…
While I’ve known about the Mecum and Bohmans auctions in Las Vegas for several years now, this was my first chance to go. We found a great package for the Bellagio and decided to make a quick trip of the event. Unfortunately we were only able to make it to the Bonhams sale but as…
Everybody sits around bemoaning the bikes they coulda-woulda-shoulda bought (or shouldn’t have sold) before they dramatically increased in value. So here’s your chance, if you missed out on dirt-cheap Slabbies or for-peanuts VF1000Rs or a price-of-a-cup-of-coffee Ducati 900SS, here’s a nice clean Honda CB900F Super Sport with what is claimed to be a factory option…
The very definition of an “affordable exotic,” the Ducati Monster M900 was designed from the beginning to be cost-effective: their proven air and oil-cooled two-valve v-twin and six-speed gearbox combo, the frame from the 851 with suspension, wheels and brakes from the 900SS meant everything except the minimal bodywork was off-the-shelf. Originally available in 904cc…