We ride the ultimate BE (Before Electronics) middleweight sport bike.

[@1compaqedr8]

Most sport bikes from the mid to late 90s provide a very engaging and pure riding experience.

[@brianperry]

I sat on one of those in 1997. It was standing outside a local dealers shop....he came outside when he saw me looking at it...Thats a hell of beautiful Bike I said. Give it a try, I threw a leg over...It was a a defining moment. I knew my sports bike days were over..I was a Sixties 'Rocker', or rather had been. Thirty three years later had taken its toll on the once young and supple body...I guess the best accolade I saw was 916 in the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art.... A Object of Desire.

[@justinmckeown9029]

My favorite bike that I’ve ever owned was a Ducati 748S monoposto. I’ve moved on to an identical 996 (yellow with white tail), but the 748 was way more fun to ride. So much easier to turn in and power you had to work for. I’ll never understand why the 748 was viewed as the lesser bike for so long compared to the 9x6 bikes.

[@bobodriscoll]

I was 20 when it came out, and I still dream of owning one. 😍

[@emberducati9237]

I’m a fairly young rider, but I’ve only ridden carbureted sportsbikes from the 90’s. My Ducati has so much character

[@flyingdutchy01]

I own a 748. Wanted one since I was 14. Nothing can match its looks, sound or handling. But boy it can be rough owning an old Ducati. They need a lot of maintenance to keep running. Expect to pay well over a 1000€ for a full service, and even then they're not completely niggle free. Ducati ownership is a wild rollercoaster of ups and downs. But no bike in the world will give you a bigger smile on your face.

[@brianperry]

I owned a old Bevel drive 900SS years ago...looked like it was doing 120mph on the stand. poor electrics and finishing aways let them down... (Especially in UK climate) which was a great shame because in their time no Japanese bike came close as regards looks, handling and in a great many cases top speed.

[@willleavitt7156]

You think that’s bad, the R version had the WSB valve retainers. This requires cylinder head removal for valve adjustment. Figure ten hours and a several hundred $ in parts. Also the ti rods need to be replaced every 24000 km or so.

[@stevenmoore4078]

My 996 is my dream bike. It's as much fun looking at it or listening to it as riding it.

[@vanduc996]

Amen Steven! I've said exactly the same about my 996 countless times since I bought my first one in 2003. For me, for road riding, it's as good as it gets!

[@Adikxx]

brilliant

[@theonlyredspecial]

Wow great memories. Miss my 916. Wish I had never sold it now 15 years ago. It was a minter sp

[@JohnG-gu5wo]

I have a 1995 916sp

[@theonlyredspecial]

@@JohnG-gu5wo lucky you !

[@slvr1.618]

as a kid it was the aprilia rs125 and 250 and MV,and then this,I had the senna poster and watching "knee down" Don riding one makes me want one even more,thank you bike show for reminding us of the classics that made all this new stuff possible.

[@GiancarloFloyd]

This is what I think of when you say sportbike! I grew up with my neighbor having two of these and I thought there was no cooler motorcycle in the world than those two. One of them was a Matrix edition that was a dark green I haven’t seen one since.

[@marcusgeorge1825]

Having owned a brand new 748 in 95 was awesome from the looks department. The only reason it was made, just like its big brother, the 916, was so Ducati had a bike to compete in the WSB and Supersports! Where the premiere class then had a maximum allowed displacement of 750 cc for the 4 cylinder Japanese bikes (so the Ltwin 916 was allowed. Same for the Supersports which were all 4 cylinder 600’s and the 748 Ducati. Both Ducati’s (apart from the excessive heat) we’re actually harder to ride fast than the Japanese bikes. The one exception was Foggy! I was actually about 200 metres behind him when he had his famous crash at Phillip Island, in a part of the track that even to this very day I haven’t seen or heard of anyone drop and crash where he did! My only regret (as I updated the 748 to a Fireblade (as they weren’t actual race bikes for the road during the 90’s) was keeping it as they are now worth a hell of a lot more now than when brand new! 👍😎🇦🇺

[@Panos-xo9rc]

Actually compared to today's transformer and bug aesthtetics the likes of ZXR(my fav,especially the 1997 model)etc look pretty good.

[@fivespeed3026]

A customer of mine has a yellow 996. I drool every time I see it. I’ve never heard it run though.

[@Bow-to-the-absurd]

Still the most beautiful bike. Perfection.

[@gregkemp1389]

Let the mockers cackle like a pack of hyenas, you haven't lived till you've owned a Ducati. That rattling clutch, the thumping V twin sound, the best handling ever. Miss my 748.

[@woooster17]

I had an original ‘94 916 Strada 20 years ago.. spent a fortune on it, carbon front mudguard, 45mm Termis, and had the rear seat unit resprayed with a white number board a la ‘SPS’ & then.... I px’d it for an ‘01 Yamaha R1. That was a mistake. 😏 Edit: I only broke down once in 4000 miles use.. and that was due to the vibrations loosening the battery terminals. Once I sussed that was the problem, it was something I checked regularly

[@MJP3055]

I have one, and around town very uncomfortable, but in the hills, it's a different story.

[@beetleything1864]

Jesus that poor 748 - that dude makes the bike look TINY !!!!!

[@PeppyZeb]

What a stunner

[@LeTessier916]

Plus you have a 2002 model so the best of the best

[@frankfrank1480]

No!.. The 2001 is (was the best!) All the same features as 02-But not that stupid heat maintenance Sidefarings😎-without any exit for the damned Heat!

[@LeTessier916]

@@frankfrank1480 the '02 fairings have vents in the rear section close to the riders legs. I have both types of fairings on my bike (I swap every now and again) and there's no difference in running temps. I also live in a hot climate

[@lovelessissimo]

"...As you can tell from this racke....melodious racket behind me." Nice save.

[@minatormyth]

Love your videos 🤗

[@Westside7be]

A 748R with original factory exhausts, including baffles. Wow that's not something you see every day

[@WillPower46]

Joburg definition of a "corner"..."slight curve". Definition of "twisties"..."two slight curves".

[@zedddddful]

Ha uk definition of a curve tight as fuck potholed to hell and horse shit mid corner good times 😂

[@MitchellTaljaard]

talk about the servicing costs mate, else its just a expensive pipe dream that works sometimes

[@thepsychicpeach8425]

Why would you even ask about the service costs of a 27 year old rare sportbike? You gotta have a Ducati wallet if you wanna own a Ducati 💁‍♂️

[@interceptordave]

My 748 has a pair of Termignoni pipes and it causes birds to fall out of their nests when I start it. The bike in this video sounds like a CG125...

[@CCitis]

Its gorgeous. That rear wheel... single sided swing arm... the exhaust... the fairing. DROOL....

[@jarek916]

I head 916 back in 2002 sound mazing but I did spend more time at dealer then on route !! No more Ducati for me thank you.

[@sagittariusalba2851]

Lucky guy ‼️😍

[@pauloshea3741]

You don't let your bike warm up on the side stand. That's a feature not a bug! Drive it warm!

[@BigCarKilla]

Holy shit. If Don makes this look small, I’d make it look TINY!!

[@LeTessier916]

Not quite the same. The 748R had bigger cams and bigger valves than even the 996. Of the Desmoquattro superbikes, nothing rides quite like the 748.

[@frankfrank1480]

I know what you mean🙄.. these little holes behind mesh gratings. But I don't belief that works same as the traditional side flanks-since the beginning! I owned & race (for pleasure) both-my 01/748 R& my 916SPS - 1998 and belief these baby's getting damned hot on the track!

[@1956colinb]

I bet there’s no paint left on the back of that fuel tank 😳😂!!

[@HookerGaming]

lmfao so true XD

[@splodge57]

Looked beautiful but so uncomfortable. No Ducati has ever been as good as the 1979 Black and Gold 900SS. A real V Twin that sounded wonderful with the Conti silencers.

[@kalaharimine]

No not THE Ducati. There were many others before it.

[@minatormyth]

What are you talking about mate?🤔

[@darylclifford]

@@minatormyth Yeah wtf? Is he gonna nit-pick some other one was better?

[@industrialkhaos]

If you remember that era, the Suzuki GSXR-750 kicked the Ducati's arse. It was cheaper, more reliable and easier to maintain.

[@vanduc996]

Yes, you're right, in the cheap and easy to maintain department the GSXR does kick a 916s ass.. Those two bikes are chalk and cheese..., for some folks the utilitarian functionality of the GSXR will always win out over the Ducati. For other folks a GSXR is bland, soul less, and uninspiring, and will never hold a candle to a bike like a Ducati 916 ( which kicked GSXR ass all over the WSB tracks of the world, speaking of kicking ass )

[@lukethomas1323]

Awesome SA roads just watch out for the potholes my bru 🤣

[@ПёсдаЛис-н5ш]

hi from Russia

[@winklton]

I can’t believe they make leathers that size!! Poor motorcycle

[@jockmcthingiemibobb3014]

Wanted one as a teenager Got one in my 30s. Absolute shite on anything but billiard smooth tarmac. The most uncomfortable sportsbike I have ever owned. Ridiculously bad headlight. I don't miss it.

[@tommidahlberg1451]

Pretty it might be, but the 748 was the worst engine of the Desmoquattro lineup, by a long shot.