Backing away from the brink, Ducati needed a successor to the F1 and a second fiddle to the 907 i.e., and found it in the 750 Sport. The fully-faired desmodue was lightweight and used the Paso engine in the F1 frame. Not an earth-shattering development, but gave the SuperSport department a chance to show their…
Founded in 1950 and a relatively minor manufacturer, the Castiglioni family leveraged the Ducati brand in 1985, and though they had thoughts of folding it into Cagiva, only a few larger displacement bikes were produced before they acknowledged Ducati’s greater name recognition. The Alazzurra was a sporty mid-size with a Ducati-branded desmodue aboard, and had…
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…
Until the Monster arrived, the later SuperSport was Ducati’s all-rounder, its torquey powerplant and sweet handling taking the racetrack and longer tours in stride. Only offered stateside, the SP had a few nicer components and limited availability. This Texas example is worth a closer look. 1995 Ducati 900 SS/SP for sale on eBay The now…
Backing away from a near mid-eighties bankruptcy, Ducati updated the Paso with a 904cc desmodue, water cooling and 6-speed transmission. The result was sporty and tourable, and this one appears stock and undamaged. 1990 Ducati Paso 906 for sale on eBay The Paso, named for fallen rider Renzo Pasolini, broke a great deal of new…
Update 12.28.2016: Now listed on eBay as well. Good luck to buyers and seller! -dc After dabbling with Japanese powertrains, Bimota formed a long-standing relationship with Ducati, and used the 904cc desmodue in several designs. The DB4 used an extraordinary alloy trellis frame to help keep the kg’s off, updated the cams to add top…
With an eye on several “Battle of the Twins” races series, Ducati brought the 750 F1 forward with a minimum of new engineering and development dollars. The bikes are now revered for their stripped down sensibilities and this particular F1B is a gem with under 4,000 miles. 1988 Ducati F1B for sale on eBay …
Despite the relentless nudge toward water cooling and impenetrable fuel injection systems, as recently as 2008 Ducati put a capstone on their air-cooled desmodue development. The torquey 1100 is in a naked supermoto package and is widely regarded as some of the most fun to be had on two wheels. 2008 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S for…
