1991 Ducati 851 SP2 – $59,999

Ducati 851 SP2 for sale

SELLER SAYS: Year: 1991
Make: Ducati
Model: 851 SP2
Rego – Yes
Mileage: 13,125
The 851 was a quantum leap for Ducati, with a new trellis frame, 4-valve heads, liquid cooling, fuel injection, and a dry clutch – it formed the blueprint for decades of Ducati Superbikes. As Steve Rose put it in his 851 Buyer’s Guide for Bennetts, “Ducati’s 851 might not have shifted many units, but it still managed to change motorcycling, save Ducati and make Superbike racing ten times more interesting.” Throughout the run of 851/888s, Ducati released seven “Special Production” runs designed for homologation purposes. The second model (SP2) was introduced in 1990, and it came with a bored out 851 motor (from 92mm to 94mm) to create the legendary 888 engine. This bike is available for $59,999. NSW rego until February 2027. The chassis was heavily upgraded with full floater Brembo cast iron rotors as well as Ohlins suspension front and rear. This bike is a non-Australian delivered bikes but is in showroom condition. Contact Bruce on 02 7227 5101 (Alexandria, NSW).

EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: A very rare beastie this one, harking back to some of Ducati’s most economically fragile and courageous years under the then-new ownership of the Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni. Ducati had finally moved on from its much-adored but prehistoric and expensive-to-build bevel engine, and the belt-driven 500 Pantah showed the way forward. But it wasn’t big enough and it wasn’t fast enough to be a flagship for a company that had built a reputation on big, fast race bikes. In those early Cagiva years, many people in the bike industry believed the big twin had had its day. Sure the Ducatis sounded wonderful and they were fast in an old-bike-fast kinda way, but they were being left behind by the four-cylinder bikes from Japan, and their reliability and durability were second-rate. When the Pantah grew from 500 to 600, and then to 650, many folks were just waiting it for it to implode on itself. But it didn’t. The 650 grew into the 750F1. And then, in late 1987, Ducati unveiled the 851. Still that L-twin engine configuration. Still that glorious sound track. But proper big and proper fast. Up-spec limited editions followed, starting with the SP and then the bike you see here, the SP2. Still wearing 851 stickers, the SP2 was actually an 888 and it was the bike that launched Carl Fogarty and Ducati into the road-racing stratosphere. While his exploits on the 916 are most remembered and most-often quoted, it was the 888 that took Fogarty and Ducati onto the podium. Ducati made fewer than 500 of the SP2s, making them exclusive machines from birth. Ducati released the 916 in 1994, relegating the 851/888 models to history. Most were raced into the ground, and those “fewer than 500” became a much smaller number. I don’t know how many of these remain, especially in this condition. Truly a stunning collectible Ducati of the highest order!