History of the
DUCATI 750 SUPER SPORT
by Ian Falloon
The 23rd of April 1972 was the day when a brace of specially prepared desmodromic 750 racers took on the worlds best, trouncing them convincingly. This was the inaugural Imola 200, the "Daytona of Europe", for Formula 750 machines, racing 750 cc machines with production based motors. The Imola win marked a transition for Ducati, from a relatively small and unknown Italian manufacturer, primarily of small capacity single cylinder bikes, to that of a marque equal to any other. Within Italy, and to certain cognoscenti in other countries, Fabio Taglioni and Ducati were known and respected for technical excellence and innovation. Yet, in production terms, Ducati was a minor manufacturer of motorcycles. Imola changed that and signaled the beginning of a new era for Ducati.
On race day, 70,000 spectators crammed into Autodromo Dino Ferrari at Imola. With works machines in abundance from MV Agusta, Honda, Norton, Moto Guzzi, Triumph and BSA, alongside works supported Kawasaki, Laverda, Suzuki and BMW, they had hopefully come to see the Italian factories beat the Japanese teams that had dominated Daytona. The best riders in the world were also there, including Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read, Roberto Gallina, Walter Villa, Ray Pickrell, Tony Jeffries, John Cooper, Percy Tait, Ron Grant and Daytona winner, Don Emde. Ducati arrived with seven desmodromic racers, the team lead by Paul Smart and veteran Bruno Spaggiari. The factory Ducatis had 750 GT-based frames, still with center stand mounts, desmo cylinder heads, 40 mm Dell'Orto carburettors, dual plug ignition, oil coolers and triple Lockheed disc brakes. They reputedly produced 86 horsepower at 9,200 rpm. lmola, with its fast sweeping curves, some smooth, others bumpy, and its up and down topography, seemed to suit the Ducatis.
Agostini on the MV Agusta led the start but after his retirement Smart and Spaggiari assumed the lead. Smart ultimately took the victory from Spaggiari and the race speed over 200 miles had been an astonishing 97.76 mph (157.35 km/h), with the fastest lap of 100.1 mph (161.11km/h) shared equally by Smart, Spaggiari, and Agostini.
“THE 750 SUPER SPORT WAS THE FIRST FACTORY REPLICA OF A RACE WINNING MACHINE AND WAS AS CLOSE A REPLICA TO THE IMOLA 200 WINNING RACER OF 1972 THAT COULD BE BUILT, AND STILL BE STREET LEGAL”
After the race, Ducati promised "Imola" replicas, but these were slow to appear and the 1973 lmola 200 came and went before any sign of a production 750 Desmo. For the 1973 lmola 200 Taglioni built three special short-stroke 750 cc racers, with a shorter, lighter frame. On race day the Ducatis were overshadowed by Jarno Saarinen on the Yamaha 351 two-stroke, but Spaggiari still managed a fine second place, this year run over two 100-mile legs. A few pre-production 750 Super Sports finally began to appear late in 1973.
Based on the 750 Sport, one was shipped to Cycle magazine in California and became the basis for Cook Neilson's famous "California Hot-Rod" production racer. But it wasn't until early 1974 that the one and only batch of round-case 750 Super Sports was produced. They were built as homologation specials for the FIM, regulations requiring 200 to be manufactured.
Taglioni personally supervised production and as it was presumed this would be the only batch, 401 were built so as to homologate the 750 SS for 1974 and 1975.
The 750 Super Sport was the first factory replica of a race-winning machine and was as close a replica to the lmola 200 winning racer of 1972 that could be built, and still be street legal. Only the barest concessions made for street legality. Silencing was minimal from the Conti silencers, and the 40 mm Dell'Orto's lacked air filtration. There was no provision for turn signals let alone an electric start. Whereas the quality of the fiberglass and some of the ancillary components was dubious, the engine was a masterpiece. A special computerized Oliveti milling machine was installed at the factory to machine from billet each individual con-rod, just as with the lmola racers, and all the rockers were highly polished. The 750 SS was the first Ducati twin with desmodromic valves and triple disc brakes, in this case Scarab on the front and Lockheed on the rear. Setting the 750 SS apart was a 750 Sport-style Azzurro-painted frame, and 18-inch Borrani wheels front and rear. The frame color seemed to be randomly chosen from the range of outboard motors produced at Borgo Panigale at the time and has resulted in the nickname for the model as the "Green Frame".
