SuperBike Magazine June 2020

86 DUCATI 748
“A WELL CARED-FOR, LOW-MILEAGE
SP — AND YOU’D BE BRAVE TO GO NEAR
ONE THAT WASN’T BOTH THOSE THINGS
— CAN BE PICKED UP FOR NOT MUCH
MORE THAN R35,000.”
due to the chassis, which was
every bit as taut and well-controlled
as the 916’s — and a little
more so besides. Suspension
at both ends was firm over big
bumps, but feedback from the
Öhlins shock was outstanding.
And the narrower 180-section
rear Pirelli meant the 748 steered
even more sweetly than the 916.
Braking power from the big
iron Brembos was ferocious, too,
with none of the sponginess that
early 916 anchors were prone to.
On that ride in 1995 the 748SP responded
near-perfectly to every
command, whether I was howling
the front tyre into a tight bend,
carving through an empty roundabout,
or burying my head behind
the screen for a nerve-wracking
flat-out blast on the over-policed
A3.
Uncompromising
Inevitably the exotic 748SP was
expensive when new. The smaller
engined model was also even
more uncompromising, uncomfortable
and demanding. But for
track days or just hooning around
on the roads with no particular
place to go, the SP was utterly
magical.
Our SuperBike of the Year 1995 contest was SP armageddon.
No less than three yellow Ducatis crapped themselves
during the test. A cautionary tale for those buying one
seventeen years later.
And the good news is
that all these years later the
Ducati delivers those thrills
for temptingly little wedge. A
well cared-for, low-mileage
SP — and you’d be brave to go
near one that wasn’t both those
things — can be picked up for
not much more than R35,000.
(Barely used “collector’s items”
advertised for twice that price
should be avoided unless you’re
planning a museum.) That’s
seriously good value for a ’90s
icon that still gets the adrenaline
pumping in way that few
bikes can match.