DUCATI

900 Superlight -1993

Light as a feather

Ducati's renown is due primarily to two important events in the firm's history. The first was Dr. Fabio Taglioni's adaption of the desmodromic valve actuation. The second was its successful race use of desmo-engined Ducati singles and twins; the desmo racers gave birth to the company's most famous model, the 750 Super Sport, soon followed by its larger-bore sibling, the 900 SS. It was little surprise then that Cagiva and Ducati created the new generation of 750 and 900 SS models to revive the company's fortunes in the 1990s.

Limited-Edition Superlight

Both the new 750 and 900 SS models won rave reviews, although they were quite different motorcycles. In 1992, Ducati unleashed a special limited-edition version of the 900 SS to be created in a short production run with only a small number of cycles destined for American shores. Thus was born the 900 SL, short for Superlight.

Superlight Super Sport

The Superlight featured several weight-saving components such as a vented dutch cover for the loud dry clutch and lighter-weight Marvic wheels. But the total weight reduction was a mere 5 lb - 409 versus 414 lb total. And magazines such as Cycle World also posted almost identical acceleration times between the two models. So in the end, what you got for the additional $1,300 over the 900 SS's price was not so much less weight and more power; it was Ducati exclusivity.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 904cc (92x68mm) air- and oil-cooled

90-dcgrcc V-twin four-stroke

Power Rating: 73 hp/7000 rpm

Valves: four per cylinder, desmo actuation

Fuel Svstem: carburetor •

Transmission: 6-speed gearbox

Suspension: telescopic forks (front); monoshock swing arm (rear)

Brakes: twin disc brakes (from); single disc (rear)

Wheels: 120/70ZR17 (front); 170/60ZR17 inch (rear)

Weight: 409 lb

Speed: 213 km/h

Tbe 900 Superlight was not so much super light or super fast as it was super exclusive.