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Ducati 900SS Darmah

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Make Model

Ducati 900 SS

Year

1981

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 9.4:1
Cooling System Air cooled

Induction

2 x Dell'Orto PHF 32C carburetors

Spark Plugs

Bosch WM7B

Ignition

Electronic

Battery

Yuasa B68 36Ah

Starting

Electric

Max Power

47.8 kW / 65 hp @ 7500 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

2.400:1 (15/36)

Final Drive

Chain

Front Suspension

Marzocchi telescopic fork

Rear Suspension

Marzocchi 330 mm dual shocks, 3-way adjustable

Front Brakes

2 x 280 mm Disc, 1 piston caliper

Rear Brakes

Single 280 mm disc

Front Wheel

3.50 - 18

Rear Wheel

4.25 - 18
Dimensions Length: 2260 mm / 88.9 in
Width:     700 mm / 27.6 in
Height:  1280 mm / 50.4 in
Wheelbase 1550 mm / 61.0 in
Seat Height 740 mm / 29.1 in

Dry Weight

216 kg / 476 lbs

Wet Weight

224 kg / 494 lbs
Braking: 100 km/h - 0 39 m / 128 ft

Fuel Capacity 

15 L / 4.0 US gal / 3.3 Imp gal

Top Speed

205 km/h / 127 mph
Manual Bevelheaven.com
Road Test Bike 1980
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The mid-’70s were not kind to Ducati. The company discontinued the excellent 250/350/450 singles and 750 round-case GT, Sport and Super Sport and tinkered with clumsy parallel twins, as well as the valve-spring 860GT and 900GTS. This left die-hard customers to kick-start the brutal 900 Super Sport Desmo twin for the Ducati experience. Surely, there had to be some middle ground… That finally emerged in 1978 with the Darmah 900 Sport Desmo, designed by Tartarini, and it became the company’s mainstay for five years. It was a detuned 900 SS, with smaller carbs, an electric start, two-up seat, Bosch electronic ignition, Nippon Denso gauges, warning lights and Bosch headlight and indicators. Best of all, the price was very competitive with the Japanese bikes.

Another twist appeared in 1979 when the Darmah SS was introduced. With handsome two-tone paint, it was only made from 1979-81.