The Ducati Sport 1000 S

I’ve been obsessed with the various Ducati SportClassics for a while now. I’ve always been a fan of the café racer style bikes; those lean, stripped down “naked” bikes with open frames and big engines and the utilitarian look. But the new Ducati Sport 1000 is so much more. It’s a work of art.

So this weekend, I finally did some test riding. I needed to get on one. Luckily, the good people at DeSimone Motorsport on route 73 let me take out the 2008 Ducati Sport 1000 biposto. There is no going back now. Right up until this afternoon, I was perfectly content to have a Triumph Bonneville or Thruxton and just dream about the Ducati. No longer.


The Ducati Sport 1000 Biposto – basically the same as the Sport 1000 S, minus the front fairings

Let’s break down the specs first:
The Ducati Sport 1000 Biposto (two-seater) has a type L-twin cylinder air-cooled engine with just under 1000cc displacement (992cc). The bike has a wet weight (with gas and fluids and battery) of 436 pounds, and a tank that holds 3.9 gallons of fuel. But it’s so much more than the sum of its parts.

Ducati did it up on the Sport 1000. You can see the quality everywhere. The retro instrument panel with the 6 multi colored indicator lights: warning light for low oil pressure, indicators for high beam, fuel reserve, turn signals, etc etc. The white backed/retro lettered speedometer and rev counter with chrome trim. The attention to detail is just fantastic.

The Ducati Sport 1000 SE (Special Edition)

The style is consistent throughout the whole bike as well. The turn signals and taillights all have the same 70s styling; the single headlight and racing stripe right down the middle, it’s all part of the same minimalist look.

This is the real deal though, not just a pretty face. The engine is immensely powerful, it does whatever you want it to do, I was tempted to just ride away, go as far away as possible, leave everything behind and just start a new life. Me and the bike. It’s inexplicable, it just feels good. It has a musical, harmonious rumble.

The seating position is undoubtedly awkward. The stretch is even more extreme than a lot of the modern sport bikes. It puts a bit of a kink in your neck, but it’s worth it. Even if I couldn’t take it over 35, it’d still be worth it for the looks you get in the city.

The Ducati Sport 1000 Biposto – Black

The irony is, I’m young enough still to drive this machine at the speeds which it was meant to be driven, without reservation, and to cruise around the city stretched and bent into it’s weirdly radical driver’s position, yet relatively unbothered by the pressure on my wrists and back. But this purchase will put a frightening dent in my finances, if I can afford it at all. For the lucky older guys though, the ones who can easily afford this $11,500 dollar toy and do appreciate the beauty of the old café racer styling, it’s probably too unforgiving on their bodies to even be a real consideration. Terrible irony.

Whatever though, the result is, I need this bike. I need it and it’s the only thing I can think about. It’s just perfection, and everything else is on hold for the next few months.