Well, the time is near.
I’ve made the decision to finally sell my beloved 1993 Ducati 907 i.e.
As you may know, very few of these 907’s were titled as 1993s. And for the uninformed, please don’t confuse this bike with the earlier Paso by Ducati. All of the earlier weaknesses of the Paso were corrected in the 907 i.e. (The i.e. designation, of course, refers to the electronic fuel injection system “iniezione elettronica”. Perhaps the most mentioned problem with the earlier Paso was their carburetion). When the 907 i.e. was introduced, it received rave reviews by the press, who said, finally, this is the sport-touring bike Ducati was trying to make all along.
This 1993 has just over 19,000 miles. I am the original owner. It was purchased from Dave’s Ducati in Mesa, Arizona, and Dave’s son Tom Hull (of Tom’s Italian Tune and Service in Mesa) has been the only person to do mechanical work on this bike, other than myself, and I’ve done very little. The Mobil 1 synthetic has been changed very frequently, perhaps, on average, every 1,000 miles. Only Ducati filters have been used. Few aftermarket changes have been made to the machine. The original rear turn signals and seat are still fitted. While, on one hand, I liked the integrated look of the Euro tail signals so many owners added, there was something about the lack of the all-red rear taillight that I missed. I’ve owned bikes with Corbin and other saddles in the past, and while the workmanship was great, I saw no need to change the saddle on this bike from the original. The mufflers, as shown, were custom ordered from D&D, in Ft. Worth Texas. I ordered them without logos, so they would look as much like original Duc pipes as possible, yet add to that distinctive Ducati sound we all love so much. The original 907 i.e. mufflers have been wrapped in bubble wrap, and stored in my dry, Arizona attic since removal, and will be included in the sale of the bike. The D&D’s are a bit on the loud side I guess, but no one has ever complained. They are not as loud as carbon canister mufflers. You may notice that the instruments retain their original bright red-orange color, and have not faded to light pink as others have. That’s because this machine has been shaded as much as humanly possible it’s whole life. It’s been garaged at home, and when taken to work, parked under an overhang to keep it shaded. And yes, the clock still keeps time well, thank you. The tires are currently Metzler Roadtec Z6 steel belted radials, and have, at most 1,500 miles on them. The front is a 120/70 ZR17, and the rear a 170/60 ZR17. The wheels are the original Brembos, and yes, they do take a bit of effort to keep that white looking like new. The brakes are gold caliper Brembo’s front and rear. The original owner’s manual, two keys and tool kit will, of course, be included. I also plan on including the comprehensive repair manual that I bought many years ago, but almost never used. However, as my garage is a bit of a mess, I can’t find it at this time. (I’ll be looking for it as this ad is posted.) The chain was replaced with a gold Regina premium o-ring chain. (I would not put a Japanese chain on this bike).
Now to the “you need to know” part of the description. First, a few small, almost un-observable, holes have been drilled in the bottom of clutch cover. This was done to vent the clutch, and to add to that distinctive dry clutch sound produced by Ducatis. (Who’s kidding who … it was for the sound). Secondly, due to a leak of some battery acid, the header pipe on the left side, just ahead of the muffler, near the sidestand, has spots on the aluminum/ceramic surface that I’ve been unable to remove. There may be a product to do it, but I’m unaware of it. There are a few tiny stone chips in the fairing, and some paint marring at the rear of the tank (where it contacts my pants) and on the underside of the side covers, where the boots can rub. However, as you can tell from the pictures, overall, the paint is excellent. The glass part of the right hand mirror fell off in heavy traffic one hot Arizona day. I replaced it with a round “fish eye” mirror, normally fitted to trucks to help with rearward vision. The total diameter of the replacement is a fraction smaller than the original, but the slight additional help in rearward vision makes up for it, in my opinion. All of the original “warning” labels (on the tank and tail piece) were removed many years ago. And finally, as it currently sits, the rear brake is very weak. I believe it just needs a good bleeding, but I do not have the correct fluid in my garage. For the most part, I never use the rear brake (a vestige of my motorcycle roadracing days, never using the rear brake) but I tried it just the other day as a test and noted that it needed adjustment.
This bike has obviously been used, but never abused. My days of thrashing bikes ended long ago. I never took this bike to the track. I’ve never pulled a “stoppie” or “wheelie” with it. For the most part, this machine was enjoyed on Sunday morning rides up 89A through the Spars into Prescott, and the odd commute to work on casual dress days. It has had a passenger only one time in its life. I have always weighed between 160 and 170 pounds since owning it. There should be no concerns about the ability of the suspension. The bike just passed Arizona emissions for its latest set of tags.
These bikes are near-collector status these days, and according to the NADA used motorcycle guide, an “excellent” condition example can sell for $5,300.00. With the few small issues on this bike, I decided something less than that price was appropriate. I’ve been anal about the care of this bike. I clean the fairing after every ride with Meguiar’s Quick Detailer to keep bug juice from harming the paint. I remove the seat after rides to prevent the battery cooking from the trapped heat. I’ve always filled oil filters with fresh oil before spinning on to insure no oil starvation on start-up. About two years ago, I sanded and spray painted all of the body panel fasteners to a new gloss black. When I reassemble the body panels, I finger tighten all of the screws before completing the tightening to insure no panel will get stressed from mis-alignment. And yes, I clean the inner side of the fairing panels when I do maintenance. I’ve never run the bike with more than one key in the ignition, because I hate the damage to the paint around the switch.
If it matters, the bike gets between 45 and 50 miles per gallon in average use.
This bike gets “thumbs-up” from strangers at stop lights, and questions regarding its age from other bikers pulled up next to me at stop lights who are amazed that it’s a ‘93. It sounds and feels like a Ducati should, and perhaps that’s the most important thing I can say about it!
My e-mail address:
duc907rdr@cox.net for questions and request for pictures
