The introduction of the 851 in 1987 was a watershed moment for Ducati. Their first liquid-cooled, four-valve engine displaced, naturally, 851cc and established a superbike formula that the company would follow until the introduction of their V4. The 851 didn’t need to rely on nostalgia to compete at the highest levels of racing and re-established Ducati as an object of lust among sportbike enthusiasts. The revised v-twin couldn’t generate the outright power of the inline fours produced by the Japanese manufacturers, but this Kit 851 Tricolore weighed in at around 363lbs dry and brought Ducati’s famed handling to the party, along with a fat wedge of midrange torque.
As is typical for Ducati, there were a couple different versions of the 851 available, a Strada or “street” version with 102hp, and the much higher specification Kit or Corsa version as seen here. With a claimed 120hp, the Kit bikes were intended to homologate the 851 for competition and were extremely rare, with just enough built to qualify them to race. At a glance, the two versions look almost identical but, as they say: the devil is in the details. The Kit version had a braced swingarm, close-ratio gearbox, race camshafts and ECU, magnesium wheels, and a number of other detail changes, including a dash with no speedometer. Because racebike.
From the original eBay listing: 1988 Ducati 851 Tricolore for Sale
1988 Ducati Superbike Kit Tri Color Racer. Number 34 of 250. 250 per Homologation rules for World Superbike. Never been started since it was uncrated. The only tire wear is from factory shakedown. Absolutely in perfect (new) condition!
The $89,500 asking price is eye-wateringly high but, with 250 built and only 20 imported to the US, there can’t be that many 0-mile 851 Kits out there. If that’s your thing, I’m sure you’re prepared to spend outrageous sums for time-capsule Bolognese homologation specials like this one. The rest of us will just have to grouse in the comments about ridiculous asking prices…
-tad
Absolute museum piece, with the price to match.
Interesting.
$89k … ????????????????????????????????
$89k?
Ridiculous …. ????
$89.5K wow we really are at the height of the everything bubble.
These zero miles Ducatis are boring. There seem to be an awful lot of zero or near zero miles Ducatis around and none of them are remotely interesting. What I find interesting is that the (probably) most collectible bike in the world, the Britten V1000s are routinely raced, ridden and paraded around the world (with the exception of one bike that has never been raced) These bikes are priceless yet they are used.
Who is buying these bikes? My guess is speculators waiting for the next sucker to pay a higher price……
That’s $22,375 per photo..
Hurry up and sell it before it gets uglier with passing time
Displaying motorcycles should be like displaying fish; you make a mold of the dead fish, colour it, hang the model on the wall and eat the fish. One should make a cast of the bike for display and then ride the bike for real. What a shame to have a bike like this and not ride it; like having a supermodel for a wife and never touching her.
It will sell for less than half the asking price. $89.5K just starts the conversation.
A person with 90k$ available for their next motorcycle purchase would have a decision to make after viewing this Ducati with zero miles.
Let’s see, a 2021 Honda Fireblade CBR1000RR -SP at 31,000$ or a 1988 Ducati 851 Tricolore for 89,500$ ask??
Easy decision actually! 3 Fireblades please. One to ride, one to Put a thick glass top on for an interesting dining table, and one to preserve for posterity and future sale on eBay year 2053.
Is the right side dust seal on the fork shrunk and loose on the fork tube? Is that italian-ness shining through?
That may raise the cost of ownership to $89,514
Seems a shame that this old thing will likely never be heard rumbling – instead rotting slowly away as a Collectable Item, alongside dusty Ferraris that also need a good spanking on the highway.
4 long days….
To my eyes it’s one of their most beautiful bikes. Similar in sexiness to a Supermono. And look what’s happened to the prices on those….
“It will sell for less than half the asking price. $89.5K just starts the conversation.”
Why would you ask more than double of what you think it’s worth? Find out of there are any suckers? If I asked more than double for something I wouldn’t expect anyone to make an offer for less than half and if I was the guy shopping around I wouldn’t waste my time “lowballing” someone.
Seems like a dumb way to start a conversation.
I might be wrong but those photos look to be from the ducati museum in Bologna Italy where they do have one on Display