Although manufactured for only one year – 1974 – the Ducati 750 Super Sport was immediately touted as a future classic. It was a pioneering motorcycle – expensive and rare, and produced by Ducati’s race department to celebrate victory in the 1972 Imola 200 Formula 750 race.
Much of the mystique centred on the 750 SS is a result of this rarity and uniqueness. The 750 round-case Ducati engine was produced for only four years, and was discontinued primarily because it was extremely expensive to manufacture. Only one variant of the 750 was fitted with desmodromic valve gear – the Super Sport. It was also the only Ducati ever hand-assembled in the race shop with special engine components.
Although built in small numbers (401), this motorcycle is hailed as the ancestor of Ducati’s current World Championship Desmosedici. As a result, the 750 SS has become extremely valuable and desirable, fetching prices beyond the most expensive contemporary Ducati; for Ducatisti, the 750 SS is the Holy Grail.
One of the world’s foremost motorcycle historians, Ian Falloon is the author of many books on motorcycles, of which several are on Ducati, including the best-selling Ducati Story, and Ducati Twins Restoration Guide. He has owned a number of Ducati 750s since 1973 and has a particular enthusiasm for this model, still owning the 750 Super Sport he bought back in the 1970s.