Procrastinated Paso

Procrastinated Paso

Cruz missile flies again!

THE ONLY THING SADDER THAN A motorcycle sitting forlorn in a dark comer of a garage is a really nice motorcycle sitting forlorn in a dark comer of a friend’s garage.

My old roadracing buddy Mark Cmz repeatedly told me he’d like nothing better than to get his 1988 Ducati Paso 750 Limited running again, but I knew he’d never get around to it. I don’t want to suggest that Mark’s a procrastinator, but I do remember him once showing up at a national endurance race with the engine yet to be installed in his bike’s frame-which would have been funny if I hadn’t been his teammate!

Fortunately, from what Mark told me, the only thing the Paso was really suffering from was neglect. He said it “worked fíne” the last time he’d ridden it circa 1997, the year displayed on the now-expired license-plate tag.

So imagine my surprise when after removing the fairing, I found the clutch cover hanging by its hose! “Oh yeah,” Mark remembered. “The clutch was dragging the last time I rode it, so I took it apart to see what was wrong.” What was wrong was that the slave cylinder was leaking, easily remedied following a trip to the local bearing house for a new O-ring. The clutch plates also were worn-out, so I ordered replacements from Barnett ($150 for a complete kit including springs, friction and steel plates). The bike was then treated to a complete “transfusion,” with new fluid in the clutch and brake lines, new oil in the engine and some refinery-fresh gas to replace the turpentine-smelling stuff in the tank.

Early Pasos came stock with two-barrel Weber carburetors that no one could tune right, so Mark’s bike has the popular dual-Dell’Orto conversion. I gave both carbs a good cleaning, poking bits of wire through the clogged jets, then rinsed and oiled the K&N fabric filters.

The electrical system was next. First came a new battery, then a proper multi-pin plug to replace the 12 (!) individual bullet connectors that linked •the wiring harness to the replacement ignition switch, the origi nal having failed some years before.

'88 Ducati Paso Limited $4200

Giving the bike a thorough onceover, I determined that the cambeltsAchilles’ heel of modem Ducatis-still had some life left, as did the chain, sprockets and brake pads, and the fork and shock seals appeared to be oiltight. The tires, though, were shot, and the only replacements I could find to fit the then-trendy 16-inch wheels were the original-fitment Michelin A59X/M59X radiais ($332 per pair). The costly alternative is to fit the 17inch wheels from a later Paso 907 i.e.

Appearance-wise, the only real issue was a cracked left-hand air conveyor, legacy of the infamous, selfretracting “sui-sidestand” that Ducatis came with until recently. Knowing full well that precious little plastic remains from The Cagiva Years, I scoured the Internet and found that AirTech manufactures fiberglass replacements ($32 each).

One of the first “fully enclosed” sportbikes when it was introduced in 1987, the Paso uses a couple dozen rubber well-nuts to hold its bodytogether, most of which were tom, and new ones had to be special-ordered through our local hardware store.

When everything was bolted back together, Mark’s Paso looked and ran just as fine as it did when it was parked five years before. Putting a price tag on the bike isn’t easy, because Mark has owned it forever. But the Kelley Blue Book says a 1988 Ducati Paso 750 Limited is currently worth $3 63 0-same as the standard red model, incidentally-which through habitual classifieds perusing I can fully verify.

For whatever reason, Pasos-like Ferrari 308s-aren’t in demand with collectors, which is a good thing for those of us looking for affordable exotics. If your idea of an affordable exotic is a $17,000 Ducati 999, well, I wish I were you... -Brian Catterson