Description
Ducati 851 Superbike: 1991. The bike that saved Ducati
Model History
The Ducati 851 was the successor to the air-cooled two-valve 900SS. Development had lagged with the continued use of two valve engines, but new investment funded the technological advance that Ducati desperately needed. After buying Ducati, Cagiva invested in the development of another V-twin, but with liquid cooling, and four-valve desmodromic heads.
Introduced 30 years ago, initially as a racing prototype, then officially unveiled as a production road machine in the autumn of that year, the 851 was simply revolutionary - and not just for Ducati but for motorcycling as a whole.
The all-new, liquid-cooled, four-valve, fuel-injected Desmoquattro V-twin (or L-twin as Ducati call it) at its heart was not just a quantum leap from anything the Italian firm had produced before, it was also a true moment of change for both Ducati and the whole idea of modern superbikes. In short, without the 851 the 916 simply couldn't have happened.
This Machine
Another Vegas purchase acquired this in early 2014. I already had a 900SS and this seemed a natural progression although with water cooling and fuel injection it’s a world away from the humble 900. It comes with fastidiously detailed maintenance records and is in fabulous condition having covered relatively very few miles. The signal red paintwork is beautifully offset by the white frame and wheels. It looks as good today as it did when it rolled off the production line almost thirty years ago. The 851 has never quite achieved the classic status that frankly it deserves, as the Ducati brand goes from strength to strength I’m confident the 851 will find its place amongst the very finest bike produced by Ducati and I doubt you will find many (or indeed any) better than this. The motorcycle has recently been fully serviced and is running beautifully.
Bob’s blurb
How do I always seem to end up with a Ducati when I go to auctions? This one I spotted hidden away being sold by its elderly owner who had decided it was a little too sport orientated. The bike comes with some very detailed service records, a workshop manual (worth a few bob on its own), original owner’s manual spare key and other odds and sods. It’s a bike with a foot in both Ducati’s past and present, very focussed and demanding yet with water cooling and fuel injection making it a more modern superbike. Arguably it’s not a great looker the square headlight giving it a slightly Industrial look, but the sleek sides, white wheels and old school exhausts do make for what I think is a very handsome machine. Is it an everyday get to work bike, absolutely not, is it a practical classic that can still scare the proverbial out of you if you give it beans? You bet.
