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1980 900SS - SOLD

This 1980 Ducati 900ss is a very original bike with 2400 miles from new. It has also been fully serviced and sorted out. It is considered by a friend of mine who is a vintage Ducati mechanic and 900ss expert to be one of the top 2 examples he's ever ridden. Below is an account of the story of the bike as it was related to me by the previous owner.

• 2400 Original Miles, Known History from New

• Current New York State Title & Copy of Original Title

• Original Tires & Original Paint etc

• Fully Serviced and Sorted, Starts Easily and Runs Great.

"Every motorcycle has a story and most people like stories, so this is my 1980 Ducati 900ss story. The year was 1982, two buddies walked into a Ducati dealer in Genenva, IL. The dealer had 2 Ducatis on the showroom floor, a 900ss Blue and Silver and a 1980 Black and Gold, both brand new. One of the guys ended up purchasing the Black and Gold 900ss. He was the first owner and the bike had 0 miles. Some years later, his friend moved to New Mexico and started a business and a life there. Being a former motorcycle racer himself, he started to collect motorcycles and unique cars (he owns a Ducati 750 Sport, Darmah 900ss, and British bikes, just to mention a few.) He saw Ducati bevel- drives increasing in value and thought a 900ss would be a nice addition to his collection. One day, he decided to contact his old friend and see if he would sell the black and gold 900ss purchased in 1982. Luckily for him, his friend still owned the bike and was interested in selling it. He mentioned to that he only rode the bike for two years and only put on 1564 miles. One of the throttle cables had broken and he never addressed it, the bike was just sitting and collecting dust. They immediately did a deal and arranged for shipping. When the shipping company called him to say the bike arrived at their terminal, he couldn't wait till the next day. He drove 100 miles to pick it up the same night. The bike needed a good amount of detailing and service, as it had been sitting for so long. His plans to ride and service the bike never materialized and he left it sitting in his garage for years.  A few months ago, he decided to list some of his bikes for sale, and the 900ss was one of them."

The gentleman relating the story above to me was the one who ended up purchasing the bike. He said he got exactly what he was looking for, a bike that had its beauty hidden for all those years by dust. It was still on its original title, had only been registered once. After 18 hours of intense cleaning, he was able to bring it back to its former glory. He went through the entire bike. It had a full service that included carbs, all fluids, new throttle cables, new petcocks and fuel lines and a few other odds and ends. A few kicks later, the bike fired right up for the first time, and sounded incredible. A little tuning and short ride later, he was satisfied he had gotten an incredible preserved bike.  He rode the bike four times and put over 1000 problem-free miles on it. He owned a 74 Desmo 450 (which we also bought), a 73 Sport Imola and this 900ss, making a very nice small collection. A few weeks ago, he was presented with a great real estate investment opportunity so he decided to sell his bikes. 

We purchased the bike through a local vintage Ducati expert along with the 74 450 Desmo. The bike was fully serviced and test ridden by him (invoice included in sale.) He's sold nearly a dozen of them and is considered one of the foremost vintage Ducati and Moto Guzzi mechanics on the east coast. He told me it was one of the top two best riding 900sses he's ever been on. He said it rides like a brand new bike, from the way it pulls throughout the rev-range to the crispness of the shifting. 

Here are the salient points about the bike as related to us by the seller. It still wears its original Pirelli Phantoms (date code lines up with the build date of the bike.) It has original paint. It still has the factory safety wire on the cases, ensuring they have never been opened. The motor number and chassis number were confirmed with Ian Falloon and he told me it is "definitely the original motor." It has the original windscreen and original chrome lined rubber trim around it. It has the correct and original eggshell type paint on the fork legs with original Marzocchi sticker, and has the original Brembo lines and collar (dated 1979.) The previous owner purchased a new old stock solo seat and extra set of side covers for $2600 and had them shipped from England. Those come with the bike. The bike also comes with its original velocity stacks and period Napoleon-style bar-end mirrors. The bike had never been titled except for it's original title from 1980, another indication of how little it had been ridden.

In order to comply with the requirements of our dealership, we had to get a current New York title, but we have a color photocopy and photographs of the original title from when we bought the bike.

The bike starts up on one or two kicks and settles easily into a nice idle. Power is seamless with no hiccups. Unlike many 900SS, all signals and lights and all electrics work properly. Brakes are strong and smooth, shifting is precise and easy. Truly does ride like a new bike. The only bike with lower mileage that we could find that has been for sale recently was a bike with 3 original kilometers in Australia for $62,000.

Asking $45K obo  SOLD  SOLD  SOLD