Ducati 900 GTS. René Waters is a Ducati aficionado who lives in Medicine Hat, Alberta, about 3 hours east of Calgary.
He runs the website Ducati Meccanica, an essential resource for anyone owning, or thinking of owning, an old Ducati. As you might expect, René’s own motorcycle is something special. It’s a 1978 Ducati 900 GTS that has been heavily customized, but in the most sensitive way. I asked René to tell us the story, so here it is, in his own words. I happened into an exotic sports car dealership in Lake Forest (northern upscale suburb of Chicago). Over the years I customized a succession of Japanese bikes, every one trying to capture (and failing) what I’d seen in that sports car dealership. This is its second resurrection in my hands. Once I had it down to the bare frame, the “might-as-wells” took over, and I started changing and upgrading everything.
Ducati 350. Ducati Racing TT2. In 1981, Ducati unveiled a gorgeous racing twin based on the successful Pantah.
The TT2 used a Verlicchi-designed frame with a steel cantilever swing-arm, Marzocchi 35 mm forks and 18” magnesium wheels. The machine we’ve got here is even better: a thorough upgrade built for Spaniard Joan Antoni Fontquerni. Ducati 750SS Corsa. Carlo Saltarelli has Ducati blood in his veins.
He’s a former racer, test rider and dealership owner, and over the years, he’s built up a 100-bike collection of classic Ducatis. In May, this collection goes under the hammer in Monaco. For us, the highlight is this beautiful 1974 750SS Corsa: it’s one of Saltarelli’s own race bikes, and took him to several podium finishes during the 1974 and 1975 seasons. This machine probably started life as a 750GT and was uprated to competition spec by Reparto Corse Ducati. As you would expect, the components are mouthwatering: twin Dell’Orto PHM 40 mm carburettors, lightweight pistons and competition cams, plus a lightweight clutch and an oil cooler. Suspension is Marzocchi all round, with adjustable shocks at the back. Ducati 750 Sport. Every now and then, it’s good to go back to square one.
To revisit the baseline, if you like. And for me, that’s an immaculate classic motorcycle captured by a skilled photographer. Like this matching-numbers 1973 Ducati 750 Sport. It’s just been restored by Harné Heuvelman of Holland, who runs the Ducati specialists Back To Classics. Ducati 900 SS custom motorcycle. With literally hundreds of machines dropping into my inbox every week, it takes something truly special to stop me in my tracks.
This is one such machine, a remarkable Ducati 900 SS modified beyond recognition—and with great skill. The builder, Bernard Mont, calls the bike a “TT3 Difazio”—an imagined collaboration between the engineers Fabio Taglioni and Jack Difazio. And thanks to the Belgian photography collective True Biker Spirit, we can examine this unique motorcycle in detail. Jack Difazio was a bike builder living in England who specialized in hub center steering. By the time he died earlier this year, he’d built up a small but very loyal following. Bernard is one of Difazio’s biggest fans, and spent seven years creating this tribute to Difazio’s engineering prowess. Ducati Paul Smart custom motorcycle.
The Ducati Paul Smart is one of the all-time greats—a high performance machine with equal appeal to fans of both modern and vintage machinery.
But it’s not quite perfect … so Texas-based Revival Cycles leapt at the opportunity to thoroughly upgrade this 2006 model. “We built it for a client who already has a Diavel and another Sport Classic,” says Revival’s Alan Stulberg. “The goal was to create the machine that Ducati should have originally built. The factory Paul Smart was a bit visually cluttered, with plastic bits here and there. It left the door wide open for us to give the Paul Smart a more vintage look with modern upgrades.” Much of the work was done with the help of parts supplier JC/Pakbikes.
Revival has also swapped out the stock Ducati Paul Smart front fender and mount for regular Sport Classic parts, to get a more ‘vintage’ and proportioned look. The wheels are now Alpina carbon fiber items with anodized hubs, giving a big weight saving. Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum. Ducati 900SL. Ducati 900SL Super Light When Ducati began using carbon fiber on their bikes, they predictably used it on a limited edition, single-seat Ducati 900 Super Sport.
Built from 1992 to 1996 as the Ducati 900 Superlight, the bike used the aforementioned carbon fiber material on a number of its components, particularly the mudguards and the clutch cover. Initially, the Italian bike maker wanted to build 500 models of the bike, but bumped that up to 900 pieces after incessant public demand. After the 900 Superlight enjoyed success in the market, Ducati built the Superlight II in 1993, replacing the composite wheels with Brembo units and adding a floating rear disc brakes setup. They also fitted in a powerful 904 cc V-twin SOHC Desmo engine that produced 73 horsepower and was mated to a six-speed transmission. Hunter S. Thompson reviews the Ducati 900SS - Features. Ducati900sl.com (The Ducati Superlight register) 900sl_color.jpg (559×364)