Just 500 of the classically-proportioned Ducati Paul Smart 1000LE bikes were imported to the US, with silver half-faired bodywork and a blue-green frame intended to recall the bike ridden to victory by Paul Smart at the Imola 200 in 1972, a win without which Ducati might not exist.
Modern retro-styled bikes often use their throwback looks to justify performance to match. Harley’s Sportster is obviously the worst offender, but the Triumph Bonneville, while an all-around great motorcycle, is hardly a performer when the road gets twisty. The thing is, although the Ducati Sport Classics weren’t cutting-edge sport bikes in terms of weight or power, they did feature top-shelf suspension and braking components so they are actually rewarding to ride quickly and use one of the most charismatic and long-serving engines of all time: Ducati’s belt-driven, two-valve, air-cooled L-twin. In the Sport Classic, it displaces 992cc and uses twin-plug heads for more efficient combustion across the honking big piston surface.
For your consideration today is this very nice Paul Smart 1000LE that features the truly lust-worthy Zard dual exhaust. Seriously, I want one of the original solo-seat Sport Classics just so I can fit one of those exhausts. They look cool as all get-out and sound amazing as well. I also love that very slick LED taillamp that cleans up the look of the rear and is almost invisible, while providing you with all the “hey I’m stopping” and turn-indicator-y-ness of the original units, but with less overtly retro styling.
And let’s not overlook those very trick Beringer front brakes, although I’m not sure the original Brembo units were actually lacking in stopping power…
Feel free to check out the original eBay listing if you like itemized grocery lists of aftermarket part prices and boring copy-paste manufacturer’s spec sheets with, let’s face it, relatively unimpressive [on paper] specifications…
2006 Ducati Sport Classic Paul Smart 1000 for Sale
As much as Terblanche’s Sport Classics didn’t sell all that well when new, once the initial rush of Ducatisti purchases was finished, they’ve held their value very well: bidding on this bike is over $18,000 with the reserve not yet met. Since new examples rang in at $14,000, that means that, unlike buyers of, say the MV Agusta F4CC, the original owners of the Paul Smart are just about breaking even now…
Most riders aren’t actually capable of exploiting a 1299 or even an 899 Panigale, much as they might love the style and heritage. And you pay a pretty hefty price in terms of comfort, insurance, and maintenance if you choose the superbike style over the real-world performance of something like this.
A Sport Classic allows you to have your cake and eat it too, offering an effective blend of modern design and vintage styling cues, along with performance that is real-world fast, and enough handling to embarrass unsuspecting squids on a Sunday morning ride.
-tad
from what I recall, these things had a turning radius the size of a small moon
pretty to look at, just meh to ride….not for me thanks
Fugly, and looks like a royal pain in the ass to keep clean. Nope, not me either…
That’s no moon…that’s a space station.
Well, early Ducati Monsters have a notoriously large turning radius, and it’s annoying, but really only affects parking lot maneuvers… And I’ve seen a few Sport Classics running around the paddock as racebikes in “battle of the twins” classes, so they’ve gotta be at least okay to ride fast! But certainly this particular bike is way more show than go, although I’m sure it sounds pretty cool!