RE: Ducati 750 Paso

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@domain.elided>]

Sorry, Nick, but you don't have your history correct on the Ducati Paso 
750.


> I know it's Italian, has a glorious-sounding V-twin motor and the usual
> sublime character. However, it's probably the least loved Ducati of all
> time. I've no first-hand experience of them but, from what I've read, 
> they
> are underpowered, beset by reliability problems (especially the 
> electrics)
> and I think they have suspect handling, too, due to small front wheel 
> but I
> may be wrong about the last bit.
The Paso 750 was the brainchild of Massimo Tamburini while still at 
Bimota (the "ta" in Bimota...), stillborn there for lack of funding, 
which eventually went into production when Tamburini went to work at 
Ducati. It was lauded as the bike that inspired the next generation of 
motorcycles with full enclosure bodywork (Honda Hurricane, CBR600, etc).

In direct comparison, the Paso 750 bested the legendary Ducati 900SS 
(1975-1985 vintage) in performance, handled like a motorcycle instead 
of a freight train (it would actually turn on demand, not later the 
same day... ;-), and was far more comfortable - capable of being ridden 
all day by normal human beings (see Cycle, about March or April 1987, 
for a two-bike heads up comparison between them).

The legendary "jetting" difficulties had to do with the fact that the 
electric fuel pump specified for the Weber carburetor was changed due 
to cost reasons at the last minute for a pump that could not maintain 
the required fuel pressure stably; the production bikes' pump was prone 
to surging, over/under pressure fuel delivery, which would wet the 
Weber's gaskets and cause its calibration to suffer. Fitted with a 
better fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator, as many Paso 750 and Paso 
906 owners did, the Weber is an outstandingly good carburetor and 
performs very well. Ducati never updated this situation, even through 
the 906 model, choosing instead to move to EFI with the 907IE model as 
being more marketable and a better overall solution.

The also-legendary electrical difficulties are 98% mythical and devolve 
down to a single substandard component, the solid-state, combined 
rectifier/regulator unit. Substitution of an Electrex or other reliable 
rectifier/regulator solves that issue permanently.

The worst issue to deal with in Paso 750 (and 906) ownership is the 
fact that the entire chassis was tightly designed around 16" diameter 
wheels and tires, both front and rear, and a particular model Pirelli 
radial tire at that. Those tires have been out of production for a long 
time already, only Michelin continues to make an older model tire in 
the correct sizing and then only in small batches on a periodic basis 
due to very low demand. Other tires have been use with degrees of 
success, conversions to 17" wheels have also been effected with varied 
success as well. The Paso 750 was a very tightly designed package, 
difficult to adapt in this fashion ... Even the 907IE model, modified 
by Ducati with different steering head geometry, swing-arm length, 
suspension rates, etc, had some compromises compared to the original 
bike's feel and handling.


> I think the larger engined Paso, the 906,
> was the foundation for the line that eventually became the 851 and 888
> superbikes ...
The chassis conceived for the Paso 750 and utilized with minor 
modifications for the 906 and 907IE models was not the basis of any 
subsequent or parallel developed models. The Paso 906 was the first 
model released with the then-new redesigned engine cases and gearbox, 
targeted at the larger displacement and 4-valve models, but they were 
not "derivative" one of the other in any way ... It just happened that 
the 906 model made its way to market slightly ahead of the 851.


> I think the 750 Paso is the last Ducati I would choose to own. Have a 
> look
> at reviews on the web. I may be wrong and you may end up finding that 
> owning
> any Ducati is better than not owning one but I think you may find that 
> the
> Paso provides all of the real and perceived horrors of Ducati 
> ownership with
> nearly none of the benefits.
The Paso 750 is probably not the model Ducati I would own either, but 
it remains one of the signal bikes in Ducati's history that affected 
both Ducati and the industry. It was a brilliant design, daring and 
forward looking, not like everyone else's ideas of a sport bike at that 
time.

The "real and perceived horrors of Ducati ownership" are mostly 
mythical, much like Alfa Romeo ownership, although the common thread of 
poorly marketed, poorly supported by parts and information remain much 
the same.

Godfrey
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