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Ducati 900S2

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Make Model

Ducati 900 S2

Year

1983
Production 1236 Units

Engine

Four stroke, 90°“L”twin cylinder, SOHC, 2 valves per cylinder, bevel gear driven

Capacity

864 cc / 52.7 cu in
Bore x Stroke 86 x 74.4 mm
Compression Ratio 9.3:1
Cooling System Air cooled

Induction

2 x Dell'Orto PHF 30A or PHM 40B carburetors / 32mm Dell'Orto PHF
Exhaust
There are country specific carb & exhaust pairnigs.
Switzerland and France: 32PHF carb and Silentium Mufflers
Italy; 40 PHM carb and Conti mufflers

Spark Plugs

Bosch WM7B

Ignition

Bosch electronic

Battery

Yuasa 19Ah

Starting

Electric or kick

Max Power

58.8 kW / 80 hp @ 7500 rpm

Max Torque

86 Nm / 8.8 kgf-m / 63.5 ft-lb @ 5800 rpm

Clutch

Wet, multiplate

Transmission

5 Speed

Primary Drive Ratio

2.187:1 (32/70)

Gear Ratios

1st 2.237 / 2nd 1.562 / 3rd 1.203 / 4th 1.000 / 5th 0.887

Final Drive Ratio

2.200:1 (15/33)

Final Drive

Chain

Front Suspension

38 mm Marzocchi telescopic fork

Rear Suspension

Marzocchi ET85 dual shocks, 5-way adjustable

Front Brakes

2 x 280 mm Disc, 1 piston caliper

Rear Brakes

Single 280 mm disc

Front Wheel

100/90 - V18

Rear Wheel

120/90 - V18
Dimensions Length: 2200 mm / 86.6 in
Width:     700 mm / 27.6 in
Height:  1250 mm / 49.2 in
Wheelbase 1500 mm / 59.1 in
Seat Height 840 mm / 33.1 in

Dry Weight

190 kg / 419 lbs

Fuel Capacity 

18 L / 4.8 US gal / 4.0 Imp gal

Consumption Average

5.4L/100 km / 18.5 km/l / 43.6 US mpg / 52.4 Imp mpg

Standing ¼ Mile

13.3 sec / 163 km/h / 101 mph

Top Speed

205 km/h / 127 mph
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The Ducati 900 S2 was released in 1982 as a direct replacement for the Ducati 900 SS, this was to be a difficult assignment for the new S2 as many consider the 900 SS to be one of the finest L-twins ever built by Ducati, which meant the S2 had a tough act to follow.

Ducati, and many other European manufacturers, were going through a difficult financial period in the ’70s and ’80s due to the surge in popularity of Japanese motorcycles. This resulted in funding for R&D to be severely curtailed, which had the Catch-22 effect of cutting off any realistic chance Ducati would have to catch up to the cash-rich Japanese marques. Added to all of this was a range of new emissions regulations that resulted in engine modifications that reduced power and torque in order to gain approval for road use.

For these reasons I’ve always quite liked the Ducati S2. It’s a bike that had to fight tooth and nail for every sale and despite the lack of funds for R&D it actually had a significantly improved transmission over the 900 SS, and handling that was as good or better than the best of the Bimotas.

It shared its frame with the Mike Hailwood Replica Ducatis, which helped explain the handling, and owners quickly realised that they could open up a significant amount of power (possibly illegally) by adding a new less-restrictive exhaust and rejetting the carburettors.

The early 1980s were a time when Ducati had the creditors banging on the factory doors and new bike orders had slowed to a relative crawl. As a result of this the company built just 1,236 examples of the Ducati S2, and by 1985 a deal had been made to sell the company and all its holdings to Cagiva.

Source silodrome.com