Christmas Special – reduced from $39,500
Ducati Mike Hailwood Replica for sale
SELLER SAYS: 1985 Ducati MHR Mille with a very low and genuine 16,660km from new and in very nice overall condition. We had the engine completely pulled down by a renowned Bevel mechanic mainly because we wanted to vapour blast the cases, barrels and heads and replace all bearings and seals so the engine is brand new. We have repainted the upper fairing due to it having some stress cracks. Tank and seat cowl have no chips or scratches but the lower green fairing has some small humidity blisters appearing. We have powder-coated the wheels and it has near-new Bridgestone tyres. This is one for the collector. It is one of the last MHRs, and as quoted by Ian Falloon in his book The Complete Book of Ducati Motorcycles, – “arguably the finest bevel engine … the Mille incorporated many updates … relatively rare … the Mille was the definitive development of the classic bevel twin”. Runs beautifully. Electric start and first of the dry-clutch bevels. The RH Conti muffler, although in excellent condition, does need re-chroming and we will do that for the new owner. It’s very reasonably priced considering what others are asking. Can offer interest-free Layby terms on this bike. Contact Brad on 0400 793 900 (Cooroy, Queensland).
EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: Mike Hailwood’s win at the 1978 Isle of Man will (has, actually) go down in history as one of the most remarkable comeback stories in automotive history. Both 38-year-old Hailwood and the bevel-engined L-twin Ducati 900SS race bike that he rode were considered well past their use-by dates — Hailwood hadn’t raced a bike at international level for more than a decade, while the Duke engine of 1978 was pretty much the same engine that Ducati had been dropping in its big bikes since 1970. Lining up against contemporary superstars on factory race bikes, Hailwood opened proceedings with an opening lap speed of 109.97mph, his fastest ever. Many on the grid and in the crowd had thought Mike might embarrass himself, given he was already considered one of motorcycling’s greatest-ever riders. But he embarrassed everyone else instead, and won the race. Ducati responded with a Mike Hailwood Replica 900, which was intended to be a limited run edition of perhaps a few hundred bikes. But the “limited run” ran for six years, with more than 7,000 bikes sold. The final version was the 1000cc MHR Mille, a glorious swansong for Ducati’s bevel engine. This one of Brad’s looks like a beauty. Little doubt it will find a home with a collector; hopefully one that will let the old girl stretch her lovely long legs from time to time!
