Bought my '94 900 in 1995 - 11 months old with about 5000 miles on the clock. Broke a vertical head stud at around 14000 miles, replaced all with Baines own spec which are not black like the Ducati replacements. Frame cracked near headstock at about 5 years old - replaced by Ducati. Reg/Rec failed at 33000 miles replaced with a Newtronic systems one, still going strong. Had valve guides and piston rings at around 50000 miles, and replaced the front brake discs at some time, other than that just wear and tear items. A fork seal failed a couple of weeks ago, first one, 73000 miles. Rear shock from a later injection model is longer and speeds up the steering a bit. 900 has fully adjustable Showa front forks, 750 doesn't. I have only ridden one 750 and it wasn't a problem.
I would say that a carbed SS and a 749/999 are worlds apart, the SS is a low tech simple parts bin model, the 749/999 was the top-of-the-line Superbike model which came out some +10 years later than when the SS was first on the market. Superior in every respect, other than subjective things like looks and sound. I would take a 900 so that you don’t dwell on that later, and with under 80HP it is just adequate in my opinion. Some say that 50HP and a reasonable light bike is all you need to have fun, so it must be your own preference if the 60ish HP of the 750 is all you need. What you get with an older SS is simple and fairly reliable old school Ducati air cooled 2V charm, which still turn heads. And for some that is more appealing than high tech advanced Superbikes. I will not even suggest for you to look at the later injected SS’s, because if you are “in love” with the old school Ducati look, the design of the later injected SS will leave you cold.
They were out of date when new!, but don’t be put off by the negatives that I and others above have mentioned, Ducati created a fine machine in the 900ss, rock steady handling, lightweight, comfortable by modern sports bike standards, mechanically reliable, sweet gearbox, loads of torque, loads of character, and to my eyes a beautiful looking bike, someone on this Forum described the engine being “as if all friction had been removed “, it’s true, they just seem to waft along effortlessly, here’s mine.
I owned and thrashed a MK11 alpine white golf GTI back in the day with BBS shoes,,and forever cleaning ithence why for now i'm bored with cleaning the things these days,,,only when i really have to.
love mine, few subtle mods(ducati ignitors, cut airbox, uprated starter cables & laser carbon cans) makes 80hp & is great fun in real world riding.
Ha, yes the dreaded brake dust, this is where the pet blower comes in, a quick bosh round with a soapy brush then blast it dry with the blower, spot free finish in seconds, (obviously taking care not to blast water into the bearings), great for the whole bike, no more residual water in bolts recesses, cuts bike cleaning time by more than half, honestly people if you clean your bikes you need one of these! https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/153096381105
"It would also be much faster afterwards" Darkness, Hoping this will sort the going faster problem, but is sadly in the nasty red colour you speak of. What's a pet blower ? Leaf blower ? Dog hairdryer ?
It’s a dog hairdryer, but don’t think hairdryer, on max setting it blows as hard as an airline and is heated, really hot, you couldn’t stand it on your skin it’s so hot, really is a great tool.
There is a specific motorcycle dryer which looks identical only a different colour and twice the price get the dog one even if you don't have a dog
If you use it on the dog steer clear of any holes, unless you want an inflatable dog for the beach of course
thanks for your chat yes I'm not looking an out and out sports machine I already have a couple of those in my garage, trying to get an understanding of the older ducat's which I just love their appeal both looks wise and the air cooled engine. I don't like the strange shape fairing one .