1990 Ducati Paso 906 Motorcycle

Description

Part of Ducati's family of belt-drive two-valve twins, the Paso was designed to broaden the appeal of the Ducati range and was aimed less at the hardcore, track-oriented rider and more towards normal street use. Designed by the legendary Massimo Tamburini, the Paso's name was a tribute to Renzo Pasolini, an Italian motorcycle racer who died at Monza in 1973. The Paso was the first Ducati to feature a fully enclosed engine and debuted in 1986 with a 750cc air-cooled twin in an entirely new frame design featuring aluminium swing-arm rear suspension and high quality Marzocchi M1R front forks. In late 1988, Ducati replaced the 750 Paso with the new liquid-cooled 906, featuring an engine derived from the 851 unit, albeit with only two valves instead of the 851's four. The big jump in horsepower (up from 72.5 to 88 hp at 8000 rpm) was complemented by a new six-speed transmission, Magneti Marelli Digiplex electronic ignition and a revised cooling system. In total just 1,802 906 Paso bikes were built over a two year period and relatively few came to Australia, making the example on offer here something of a rarity.