Ducati Sport Is A Rider's Bike
The Age
Saturday February 6, 1993
A FEW years ago Ducati revived the name of its 750 Sport motorcycle for its new, 40-centimetre wheeled, Pantah-driven machine, which was intended to supersede the F1. The international motorcycle press raved about the Sport, saying it was a true inheritor of the name first given to the yellow, unfaired V-twin of the early 1970s.
Like the original Sport, the more recent version was a precursor of things to come, in the form of the Super Sport. As the first Sport was overshadowed by the 750 and later 900 SS, Ducati's more recent Sport had only just reached the Australian market when the 900 SS arrived to overshadow it.
The Sport and the SS are, apart from displacement, much the same bike, but the extra 150 cc, added to higher gearing, does make a considerable difference to performance between the two. The 750 Sport is no slug, however, in part due to its lower gearing, which gives it an effective top speed of about 180 kmh.
A while back a friend, who had planted his TT2 Ducati in the side of a car that turned in front of him, said he would like a 900 SS for his next bike. But his insurance payout left him with about $8000, enough for a new SS.
Then he spotted a Sport for sale for $8000 in these pages. It had less than 10,000 kilometres on it and some minor modifications, including exhausts and a braced swing-arm and steering head. He checked to see that his glasses were not rose-tinted and bought it on the spot.
After owning four other Ducatis, he says this is the best yet. The low gearing means the bike revs fairly hard in a straight line but, given that he manages to keep close to the mountains north-east of Melbourne, this is rarely a problem. The only change he has made is to fit a 40-centimetre Bridgestone Battlax front tyre, from a Honda CBR 900 RR, and float the front discs.
The wide, sticky tyres and compliant suspension ensure that the Sport sticks to its line in almost all conditions. I thought the suspension a little soft for a sports bike, but I am still trying to shake the old ``firm equals responsive" equation, which predates good, modern suspension.
The twin two-pot Brembo callipers are perhaps not as strong as later four-pots, but still have enough power to lock the front wheel at top speed while maintaining a lot of feel. The feel of the brakes was assisted by the floating of the front discs, which was performed by Ducati specialists Cafe Racer in Preston.
On the Reefton Spur, there is little to touch the 750 Sport. The chassis is much ``faster" than the engine, so riding flat out remains well within the bike's capabilities, while still producing a remarkable turn of point-to-point speed.
This was shown by a recent scrap with a CBR 900 RR on the Spur. The Fireblade finally managed to get in front due to its sheer horsepower on the few straights. But for a smaller, relatively underpowered bike, the Sport was all but a match for the otherwise all-conquering Fireblade on the winding road.
The Ducati Sport, in that sense, is very much a rider's bike. For $8000, it represented exceptional value for money.
© 1993 The Age
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