Ducati 750 Sport

DUCATI 750 SPORT

Something for nothing, almost

Quick Ride

SO, YOU SAY YOU WANT A Ducati. Priced one yet? Whoa, does a 996 really sell for $16,795?! A 748 for $12,795?! You betcha. And the manufacturer sells every one it can make.

Yeah, reality bites, but the folks in Bologna are aware of

your plight. That’s why they offer inexpensive entry-level machines such as the $7495 Monster 750 Dark and, new to these shores this year, the $5995 Monster 600 Dark. And now there’s a Supersport model that follows the same back-to-basics philosophy, the $7695 750 Sport.

What do you get for less than half the price of a 996? A lot more than half the motorcycle, that’s for sure! Based on the long-running Supersport 750, the 750 Sport makes do with a few less frills, in that it has a single front disc brake, non-adjustable fork and matte-black paint. You could get all halfempty about that, but you could also think half-full and consider that the right-side fork leg and the front wheel are ready to accept a second caliper and disc, and the flat-black bodywork is just a sticker-peeling, wet-sand-

ing session away from being primed for paint.

And that’s what the 750 Sport is, really. It’s a bit of a kit bike, an entrée Ducati that can grow along with its rider. All the trick billet, carbon-fiber and titanium parts made for the pricier Supersport models will bolt right

on. And because the Sport is powered by an evolution of the wet-clutch, five-speed engine that powered the original Pantah models, there are about a zillion

hop-up parts that will boost the Stocker’s 61 rear-wheel horsepower considerably.

Not that the stocker is anything to sneer at. Like all Ducatis, the air-cooled fuel-injected 748cc, sohc V-Twin has its cylinders arrayed at 90 degrees for perfect primary balance, so it’s extremely smooth-running. There’s plenty of torque at low revs, yet the engine zings to its 9000-rpm redline. Handling is first-rate, with slightly heavy yet totally precise steering that speaks of Ducati s racing heritage. The steel-trellis frame is hell-for-stout, as is the Marzocchi 43mm inverted fork, which despite its adjustmentlessness works very well. And the Sachs shock works even better, with a full range of spring preload compression and rebound damping adjustability.

In fact, the only thing we'd dare complain about is that single front disc brake, because after just a few sessions at a Laguna Seca track day, the pads had worn enough that fluid all but disappeared from the reservoir. Re-filling the reservoir and bleeding the line got us through the rest of the day. but if we were to do it again, we’d at least fit some racing-compound pads.

For street riding, however, the 750 Sport is more than adequate, brakes and all. Best of all, it’s a real Ducati, and an affordable one at that. Isn’t that what you wanted in the first place?

Brian Catterson