ENGINE

Despite the crank issues on earlier bikes, the 900SS (and 750SS) unit can be pretty reliable, according to John Fallon of Made in Italy Motorcycles. Replacing the Ducati ignition on early bikes and changing the oil frequently (every 1000 miles) are both recommended. The lubrication system uses the best part of a gallon of oil, so warm up the engine carefully before using it hard. If you need to rebuild an engine, budget on £5000-10,000 if you’re not confident about tackling the job yourself. There’s a lot of work involved and the parts are not cheap.