A Legend Reborn

A LEGEND REBORN

More Duck for your buck

CAN YOU SAY “FASTA” SO THAT IT RHYMES WITH pasta? If so, and if you need to go “fasta” than the 750 Sport will carry you, you’re ready for Ducati’s 900 Supersport.

After the 906 Paso’s European launch earlier this year, it seemed only a matter of time before Ducati did the obvious and hung the 906 motor in the 750 Sport chassis. Doing so not only would create a nonPaso stablemate for the 750 Sport, it also would fill the shoes of that mid-1970s classic, the 900SS—the Ducati of all Ducatis, and to those who dream Technicolor Ducati dreams, the greatest sportbike of all time.

But creating the 900 Supersport required more than a mere engine swap. Though it uses the same 92x68mm bore and stroke as the liquid-cooled 906 Paso, the 900 Supersport’s 904cc engine is not liquidcooled. Rather, like the engines that powered the works Cagiva Elefants in the 1988 and 1989 Paris-toDakar Rallies, it uses oil-cooled cylinders and aircooled heads. Producing a claimed 83 horsepower at 8400 rpm, the new engine uses the same camshafts, cylinders and valves as those Paris-Dakar engines, and it uses the Marelli electronic ignition and 9.2:1 compression ratio of the 906 motor.

This engine, which employs wet-sump lubrication, a six-speed transmission and a dry clutch, has been transplanted into the 750 Sport’s “birdcage” frame, which receives one modification: The steering head has been strengthened to accommodate the extra power and few additional pounds of the big engine.

The Supersport’s power is immediately apparent. It pulls cleanly in top gear from less than 2000 rpm and will rev freely to its 9000-rpm redline, though there’s little point in employing max revs. A grin-inspiring combination of torque and horsepower is available between 3500 and 7000 rpm, and use of the six-speed trans keeps the engine on the boil between those points. When the throttle blade is cranked open and the engine’s complete potential is tapped, the new 900SS exhibits truly impressive performance, with no evidence of the flat spot that so plagued the 750 Paso, which used the same carburetor. Weighing 55 pounds less than the 906 Paso, the Supersport I rode in Italy accelerated much more smartly than that all-enclosed bike and was quicker off the line than the high-tech 851 Eight-Valve.

The 900SS’s front suspension is considerably uprated from that of the less-expensive 750 Sport; indeed, the performance of its 40mm Marzocchi fork would not disgrace the two-wheeled Ferrari image of the 851. Likewise, the plush, controlled ride delivered by the bike’s rear suspension is a surprise especially welcome to those used to the farm-cart ride delivered by Ducatis of yore. It seems impossible that a singleshock system devoid of linkage arms between the shock and the bike’s stamped aluminum swingarm can give any sort of progressive response. Yet it does.

The Supersport’s brakes deliver performance in line with that of the bike's engine and chassis. At the front are dual, 11.8-inch Brembo discs and four-piston calipers, while at the rear is a 9.6-inch disc.

Unlike with its predecessor, the old SS, you don't have to send the 900 Supersport a telegram to get it to turn. The steering is precise and neutral, and in spite of the bike’s 57.1-inch wheelbase, 27 degrees of rake and 4.8 inches of trail, it can be hustled around tight mountain hairpins with ease and confidence. More important, the bike wears tires mounted on 17-inch wheels, and those tires are narrower in section than the 16-inchers mounted on the 750 Sport and Paso. This difference makes the bike easier to lean into a corner under braking than 16-inch-equipped Ducatis.

This is a bike aimed at those likely to be tempted by a modern version of one of Ducati’s legendary models. The hope at the factory is that in time, the new 900SS will develop a legend every bit as potent as that of the original 900SS, and in doing so, further polish the Ducati image. With a bike this exciting, that just could happen. Expect to see it in the U.S. no sooner than the 1991 model year, and at a price perhaps $1000 higher than that of the 750 Sport. —Alan Cathcart