The 900SS is simply the best street bike Ducati has ever built.That's a provocative statement, considering the competence of Ducati's other recent releases, the 907 I.E. and the 851 Superbike, It's even more surprising when you consider the 900SS isn't all-new, and borrows many bits and pieces from other Ducatis. It doesn't even use the firm's latest technology, such as four-valve heads. liquid-cooling, or fuel-injection. As with all great machines, it's the right combination that counts, one that Ducati has taken nearly a decade to unlock with the 900SS.
On paper it’s the Ducati 900SS is a loser. In the real world the low down torque is pretty effective and modern motorcycles only pull away when revved hard. This makes the Ducati 900SS a deceptively quick motorcycle in experienced hands. Old technology with just two valves per cylinder and air cooling. V-twin like most Ducatis.
Desmodromics, the principle of positive valve control, came into its own in the period when mercedes-benz straight-eight Desmo engines dominated formula I racing. Unfortunately, when the prestigious german auto company retired from racing, it also effectively retired the desmo technology. At least for the moment. Ducati Engineers. However, fished it out of oblivion and, for the first time, applied it successfully to motorcycles. Desmo technology was first used in racing designs and then in a daring commercial venture, in Ducati street machines.
