Ducati 750SS

Ducati has always prided itself on building no-compromise sport bikes, as well suited to the track as to the street. By and large, its GT-style bikes have always been moderate sellers at best. Its sport bikes, though, have been considered the "ne plus ultra" of motorcycling. When the Ducati 750 Super Sport was released in 1973, it was accorded instant classic status. It was also the most desirable production racer available.  Based on Ducati's Imola-winning bike of 1972, the SS boasted impressive credentials right from the start.

The engine was a 90-dcgree V-twin; the valve actuation was unique in that it was desmodromic, or Desmo for short. In the Desmo engine, the valves are both opened and closed by the camshafts. The opening cycle is accomplished as one would expect; the cam lobe pushes down on a hardened lash cap setting  atop the valve. To close the valve, an additional lobe is called into service. This pushes down on an inverted rocker arm with a forked end. This fork works against another adjuster (and keeper) located on the valve stem.

This system obviates the need for valve springs, and their potential for unrestrained valve movement at high rpm; in short, since the valve action is controlled in an absolute and positive manner, the valves simply cannot float. The down side of this is that adjustment is time consuming, complicated and frequent. Ducati had pioneered desmodromic valve actuation (although Mercedes Benz gets the credit for the concept). It had heretofore only been used in its GP racers and the 250/350 singles of the late 1960s through the early 1970s.    

The engine breathed through a pair of 40mm Dell'Orto pumper carbs; no air filters were fitted  (pumper refers to the built-in accelerator pumps). A pair of Conti megaphones were thinly disguised to look like mufflers. To quicken the steering, both rims were 18 inches. The front boasted a dual-disc brake and the rear a single-disc brake. Early bikes had Lockheed components, while later ones were equipped with Scarab. The frame was a typical Ducati masterpiece; using the engine as a stressed member, it was supremely rigid. The bike simply didn't flex. Suspension, fore and aft, was capably if stiffly handled by Marzocchi. The 750SS was and is superbly rider friendly.

 It makes its horsepower the old-fashioned way - huge amounts of low- and mid-range torque to get you on your way, and an incredible linear flow of horsepower that seems to go on forever. Couple that to a frame that responds to the subtlest rider input and brakes that are smooth, progressive and fade-free, and you have a bike that makes a poor rider look good, a competent rider fantastic, and a good rider feel like he's gone to heaven.  To be sure, the 750SS had a few minor flaws. The switches and lights were more appropriate for a moped than for a serious bike.

(The headlight was generally replaced with a number plate though, so it really didn't matter). The paint on the tank seldom matched the paint on either of the fenders (which often didn't match each other) or the fairing. The fiberglass had a disturbing tendency to stress-crack; and on the first test bike offered to Cycle magazine, there was actually a fly embedded in the top of the tank!  Honestly, though, no one really cared about the little details. Those big "Dues" were meant to be ridden hard, and at that they excelled.

Source Cycle Magazine

When the 401 round-case 750 Ducati Super Sports were completed in 1974, two-strokes looked like they were going to dominate Formula 750, with the Yamaha TZ 700 leading the way. Ducati elected to contest endurance racing, which did not restrict engine size. They bumped up the 750 SS engine by using a pair of 450 racing pistons to create an 864-cc motor—the 900 SS.

In 1975, both the 900 SS and 750 SS used the square-case engine, with the 860 sleeved down to make the 750 SS. They were basically the same bare-bones production racers as the 1974 models, with right-side shift, a small CEV taillight, fibreglass gas tank, Conti pipes, open bellmouth carburettors and no turn signal provisions.

Only 246 ‘900 Super Sports’ and 249 ‘750 Super Sports’ were built, and an amazing 198 of the 500 went to Australia. The 1976 Super Sports would be civilised, with left-side shifting, steel gas tanks, carburettor air cleaners and quieter Lanfranconi mufflers (though Contis would usually be included in the crate).