New to me Ducati 900 SS/SP

Shaun @ Tru6 · 02-19-2023, 03:58 PM

A while ago HardDrive posted about his new Bonneville T100, in the pic of the new bike was his 900SS. I had a 93 years ago that I sold, and should have kept. So I started looking for another. Rare bikes and not the best time of year to find one. But a nationwide search turned up one in Portland, OR.

Big, very big thanks to Jeff Higgins, jyl and herr_oberst. I honestly could not have bought this bike without them. Thank you Gentlemen, I greatly appreciate your help and look forward to seeing you in June! Jeff provided invaluable guidance and expertise on the condition of the bike both before and after a PPI. John and Mike, in the same way, looked at it in person for me, helped to gauge the seller, and the bike. They gave a thorough analysis of the seller and the bike. And took a ton of pics for me so I could see what it really looked like.

A bit ago I posted about "buying the seller," and they helped confirm that I was buying a good guy and a true enthusiast who put 25K miles on the bike himself. Has 38K.

Thank you Jeff, John and Mike!

Here's the bike. My hope is to fly out in June and ride it back to Boston. My realistic hope is to make to to MN to see friends and have it shipped from there, I'll fly home. Time will tell. Should be a great summer on this thing.

Some pics from the owner, a really great guy. He would fit in well among this group.

Superman · 02-19-2023, 04:00 PM

Totally envious. Be careful my friend.

Superman · 02-19-2023, 04:04 PM

Sounds like it was a team effort. Go Team! A cause for celebration. A drinking team that has a motorcycle problem?

So...this guy has a tall Chinese vase in his garage?

herr_oberst · 02-19-2023, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superman

So...this guy has a tall Chinese vase in his garage?

He does. The story goes, his wife was offered a free vase from a friend; she thought it was a small vase but when she arrived to pick it up she discovered it was five feet tall.
She decided to take it anyway but it's too big for the house.

It's been in the garage ever since. But it's a pretty nice garage.

IS300 · IS300's Garage

Awesome!!!!

rwest · rwest's Garage

Nice bike Shawn,

Let me know when you get to MN, I owe you dinner!

Superman · 02-19-2023, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

...it's a pretty nice garage.

The vase is a nice touch. Tempting, but it just wouldn't match my current garage decor.

Superman · 02-19-2023, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

....My hope is to fly out in June and ride it back to Boston. My realistic hope is to make to to MN ...

I just thought of something. I've seen touring bikes, and they don't look much like this one. When I was 25 I might have ridden this thing from Portland to Cambridge. In February. But today....not even in June. Then again, I am not young like Shaun.

greglepore · 02-19-2023, 04:41 PM

Check the bottom rear corners of the tank for rust, don't ask me how I know, but they collect water.

Chocaholic · 02-19-2023, 05:08 PM

A cross country ride on a (lovely) SS will test your bones like nothing else. I’d be inclined to simply ship it, ride and tinker for a bit before such an ambitious endeavor. But YMMV.

Loved and miss my 95 SS/CR…but after a few hours I was ready for a bit of R and R.

Congrats on the buy. She looks great.

Jeff Higgins · 02-19-2023, 06:16 PM

Whoo hoo! I'm glad you were able to tap a couple of "locals" who could actually put eyes on this bike, and meet Mike. Huge peace of mind there. It looks like everyone who has had a chance to mull this over agrees it's a solid buy. Congratulations!

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

Congrats - a classic.

I didn't like my 900SSCR as much as I should when I had it, but I wouldn't mind another.

flatbutt · 02-19-2023, 07:16 PM

A true icon of motorcycling beauty. Congrats Shaun. The sound is so addictive. No way I could EVER ride that more than a couple of hundred miles in a day.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Cost to ship all the way isn’t going to be that different from cost to ship half way. I think riding in New England, twisty side roads, staying in cute inns, seems more fun that pounding out long days on the interstate and staying in trucker motels. Plus you’ll get to know the bike and fit luggage first.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

Glad it worked out for you.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 02-20-2023, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwest

Nice bike Shawn,

Let me know when you get to MN, I owe you dinner!

Hey Rutager, that would be great! I'll let you know in May what my plans are.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 02-20-2023, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyl

Cost to ship all the way isn’t going to be that different from cost to ship half way. I think riding in New England, twisty side roads, staying in cute inns, seems more fun that pounding out long days on the interstate and staying in trucker motels. Plus you’ll get to know the bike and fit luggage first.

I'll check on the cost differential but it's more for the adventure than anything. 4 days at 400 miles a day will get me to Minneapolis. I think that's pretty doable and riding through the West might be fun. When I drove my 69 E from SF to Boston in 54 hours flat some of my best pics are from that area. But those I could take random shots while doing 90. I have to think there's some kind of GoPro version that takes pics while you are riding, or just video on and off and extra pics from there.

Probably no luggage. I told Mike he could keep the saddle bags but I will have to ship the stand and all the original parts back when I come out.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 02-20-2023, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greglepore

Check the bottom rear corners of the tank for rust, don't ask me how I know, but they collect water.

Thanks Greg, PPI was extremely thorough with no mention but I'll ask the owner about it.

greglepore · 05:25 AM

Shaun, what others have said about comfort. I had a 900ss in my late 40's and the most I could do was 150 mi or so before the wrist pain made me get off for the day. Its not just the bar height but a combo of the height and angle. I loved the bike, both the handling and the torque, but it was a gymnasium to ride distance on.

The tank issue isn't evident until it is...as a project once the bike is in your hands I'd coat the inside of the tank with something good-I'm sure you have a much better handle on what that might be than I do, but mine had nothing visible on the exterior until it started to piss gas all over my leg 100 mi from home.

Superman · 02-20-2023, 08:07 AM

Okay....you guys need to STOP trying to talk Shaun out of this road trip. I owe him a beer and intend to pay up when he is in Portlandia.

Maybe I am dreaming, but I think 400 mpd has got to be doable. At 70 mph that is about 5.7 hours. Could be broken into three two-hour sprints. But then....I've never ridden a Duc. I'd guess not the softest, most luxurious ride.

FWIW, some riders have found benefit in getting a tank bag to lie on. Particularly on bikes with no windscreen.

Another idea (I am an idea man like Seahawk, you see): At 140 mph, 400 miles would take only 2.86 hours.

I wonder if everyone can tell when I am joking. I think it sails over some folks' heads, sometimes.