Prepared by Ian Falloon

As this motorcycle has enjoyed continuous ownership since it was first sold it is unique. While some 750 SSs have remained with one owner for 45 years or more, few have been used like this one as the bike’s designer, the great Ing. Fabio Taglioni, would have intended.

In 1974 Keith Hale was 22 years old and living in Selma, a small Central California Valley agricultural town. Looking to replace a Norton Commando 850 Mark II that was a little the worse for wear after a crash, Hale spotted a brand new Ducati 750 SS being warmed up outside the local Ducati dealership one morning. Immediately hooked on the looks and sound he began looking for one. Although the US received 88 examples, by far the most of any country, they were rationed to one per dealer.

Hale learned that Jack's Motorcycles in Fresno had one squirreled away and over the next few months pressured Jack to sell him the bike. In April 1975 Keith Hale signed the loan papers and 075172 was his. It had 17 miles on the odometer and he ended up paying $3,600.

Jack performed the 500 mile service and the valves were all found to be within service limits. According to Keith, “At that time I was told that factory recommendations were to change the oil and check the valves ‘every 1000 miles or every race’. I asked a couple of friends to help me with the first valve adjustment. When we pulled the cover off the front exhaust valve a large piece of the helper spring was laying nestled in it. We weren't even sure what it was and we didn't have a shop manual. At the time Paul Ritter held the lap record at Sears Point Raceway on a Ducati. None of us knew him but we looked up his number in the phone book and gave him a call. He walked us through desmodromic maintenance and suggested we toss the helper springs out. I don't remember how many valves required adjustment but we got it back together and running properly.”

“After a few months and not many miles the front cylinder started fouling plugs and a broken piston ring was found to be the problem. A light hone and a new set of rings put things right. The Central Valley in California has long, straight, boring roads but the Sierra foothills are not too far away. I spent a lot of weekends riding there, sometimes all the way to Sequoia National Park and back. I also made frequent rides to the SF Bay Area, where I grew up, to hang out with friends and family. That was about a 450 mile round trip. At first I would check the valves every 1000 miles but after awhile found every 4 to 5k to be sufficient. My friend from childhood, Darrell Nealon, was key to keeping it running properly the first few years. I did all the easy maintenance but always made sure he was around for valve adjustments.”

Keith also rode the 750 SS hard, and his best time from Oakland to Selma was two hours and 10 minutes. On the two-lane back roads the Smiths speedometer often touched 130 mph.

After Cook Neilson won the 1977 Daytona Superbike race on the Cycle magazine 750 SS, in 1978 Keith incorporated some similar modifications to 075172. This included a set of Lester cast wheels, K-Mart coils and Accel condensers. He also reversed the fork legs to move the brake calipers to the rear. By 1979 Hale became tired of valley life, put the bike into storage and spent 3 months backpacking solo from Yosemite to Canada. When he returned to the Bay Area, living in San Leandro and working in Berkeley, as his only means of transportation the 750 SS became a commuter. Every day Hale rode Redwood Rd to Skyline, then Grizzly Peak Rd and back. As Keith recalled, “twice as far as on the freeway, and twice the fun”. It also resulted in the only time he dropped the bike. “The pipes would drag every time on that road but one day I was leading Darryl and ran too hot into a turn.”

At around this time Keith joined the American Federation of Motorcyclists. With the help of Chris Quinn of Wheel Works he began racing; the first season as a passenger on Chris' BSA sidecar, followed by a season on a 250 Ducati single. In 1981 Hale entered the 750 SS in Formula Twins and 750 Production classes. In order to run racing tires he put the original Borrani rim back on the front and a wider DID rim on the rear. “Chris gave me set of high rise exhaust headers and we replaced the Scarab front master cylinder with a Honda unit. The bike ran perfectly except for a points failure where I still got to the finish on one cylinder.”

Hale’s best finish was a 3rd at Laguna Seca in 1982. “There was a national race somewhere else and the fast guys went there instead,” he recalls. “I think there were only six guys in my class and I made the podium.” Hale raced the 750 SS through 1982 but as he became more aware of its value he decided to just ride it on the street. In 1983 he quit racing to go back to college. “Still working at the Berkeley factory I now added Livermore and Hayward campuses to my commute. I bought a beat up VW bug so I could haul books and art supplies to school. That gave me a chance to install a Rita Electronic Ignition and new rear wheel bearings. I also replaced the valve guides as well as the seals in the Scarab calipers. At this point I think I had over 20K on the odometer but the speedometer was frequently down with broken cables and at least one broken drive".

BACK TO COMMUTING

In 1986 Hale moved to Berkeley to be closer to work and started school at the San Francisco Art Institute. The 750 was again his commuter across the bridge and another set of piston rings was fitted. To fit saddle bags Grizzly Engineering in Sacramento built a 2 into 1 exhaust system. Hale took the bike on several camping trips, usually to Yosemite and beyond, but eventually put the high pipes back on because they made more power. In 1987 the Smiths speedometer stopped working. It was reading 71,000 kilometers.

Disaster struck in February 1994 when Hale’s house burned down. The 750 SS was safely across the street but lost were the original rear shocks, the front master cylinder, side covers, chain guard, books, magazines, photos and almost 20 years of collecting Ducati tools and shims. By the end of 1994 he had a new place to live and a new Ducati, a 1995 900SS CR. He also bought a used 1979 BMW R100RS for longer rides, but found it boring and sold it after a year. He spent the next few years modifying and riding the 900, painting it to match the 750, but still rode the 750 SS to races and events or when the 900 was apart.

In 1998 Hale replaced the Scarab front brake calipers with new Grimeca Lockheed replicas along with a new Brembo master cylinder. The Lockheed rear master cylinder was rebuilt and new carburetor slides fitted. After several patch ups the fiberglass fuel tank was resealed. By this time the mileage was probably close to 100,000 actual miles. After the latest tune up and valve adjustment the bike still felt off song. First and fifth gear shifts started feeling rough and insecure. And while there was now a fine patina drawn from age, hard use and loving care, the final straw was a cracked battery leaking acid all over the factory green paint on the frame and swing arm. It was time for a total tear down.

Fate took a turn in 1999 when Keith mounted an exhibition at the Bradford Smock Gallery in San Francisco. Titled “Steel Life”, this was a series of fine-art paintings inspired by the beautiful mechanical components of the Ducati 750 SS after Keith took them into his studio. The exhibition was such a success professionally and financially it ostensibly paid for the restoration. One of the art works was even purchased by an executive of the Texas Pacific Group, then the owners of Ducati.

Apart from the painting, that was subbed out to Rand Dobleman, Keith undertook all the restoration work himself. As he had religiously changed the oil with straight 50-weight every 1000 miles, the complete crank assembly was found to be perfectly serviceable despite 100,000 miles of hard running. With the help from the wellknown San Francisco shop Monroe Motors and their mechanic Matt Prentiss, new main bearings were installed, a new first gear on the layshaft and first gear selector, and new third and fourth gear shift fork fitted. A new main shaft and fifth gear was also installed and the engine finished off with a valve job and adjustment, decoked heads, new drive shaft bearing and clutch basket bearing, and all new seals, gaskets and rubbers. Keith resisted the temptation to modify the engine. “I once had a vision of flowed heads, bigger valves and Imola cams,“ he said, “but never had the funds and by the time I quit racing I respected the bike’s reliability so much it was best left well alone."

During the rebuild and restoration most of the previous modifications were retained. This included the Lucas Rita electronic ignition, rewired alternator and regulator, Brembo front master cylinder and Grimeca calipers, gold anodized wheel rims, the front still the original Borrani "5-slash" and the rear a DID, with stainless steel spokes, custom-made Works Performance rear shock absorbers and progressively wound fork springs for the stock Marzocchi fork. The stock Conti mufflers were painted black but Keith kept the original header pipes and crossover. The total rebuild cost was around $5,000, and the bike was returned to the road in August 2001.

When the last bolt was tightened it was 3AM. It started first kick. Keith was ecstatic, the neighbors not so much.

The morning after the rebuild was finished Keith went out for coffee before taking a test ride. On a sidewalk sale nearby he saw someone with stacks of old motorcycle magazines. This was Brian Day, a moto journalist and 900 Darmah owner. Keith told him he had a 1974 750SS and came back an hour later with the bike. After an interview and photo shoot with Nick Cedar, the story was submitted to Cycle World magazine and it appeared in the May 2002 issue.

Keith Hale’s 750 SS has been ridden much less over the last decade. Now with 85,000 miles on it with a working speedometer, and an Evan Wilcox hand-made aluminum tank, he still took the 750 out occasionally on sunny days for a quick blast through the Santa Cruz mountains, but at a more relaxed pace. Following eviction from his garage he was forced to store the bike with a friend 40 miles away. This made it inconvenient to ride and maintain. Now 68 Keith says this of his history with the 750 SS. “The bike made me a better rider and a much better mechanic.”

“I've used it as daily transportation, as a sport bike, as a race bike, as a touring bike and as a show bike. What more could I ask for?”

As the history of this 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport (engine 075172 frame 075327) is known from new there is absolutely no doubt as to its authenticity. 075172 is also verified by Phil Schilling and Ian Falloon as one of 88 examples imported into the U.S., and one of only 401 manufactured in 1974. But there is much more to this example than the fact it is authentic. This 750 SS must be one of a handful of examples left anywhere in the world with continual ownership from the day it was sold. And unlike most 750 SSs, along with this ownership came regular use. As it was still an expensive purchase back in 1975 many 750 SSs were used sparingly and only a few raced as their designer Ing. Fabio Taglioni intended. Keith Hale was unlike other 750 SS owners. Initially this 750 SS was his only transportation and he commuted on it, used it as a sports bike, and raced it. It is truly amazing that this 750 SS has covered over 100,000 miles and still features most of the original engine components. There is so much more to Keith Hale’s 750 SS than it being simply a fine example of a very rare Ducati. This 750 SS comes with a documented story of continual ownership and regular use for nearly fifty years. In that regard it is surely unique.

Ian Falloon, May 2021