Ducati Monster Forum

Does rarity alone determine value?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1992-Ducati-900ss-CR-BLK-White-Mint-Only-10-Produced_W0QQitemZ180472117193QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_motorcycles?hash=item2a04f9f7c9 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1992-Ducati-900ss-CR-BLK-White-Mint-Only-10-Produced_W0QQitemZ180472117193QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_motorcycles?hash=item2a04f9f7c9)

The current owner seems to think so...

I know a guy that has the same color bike...not sure of the year. He's a member here.

Too much?

Don't buy it.

Cool, thanks for the link.  I can now get an idea of what a white frame would look like w/blackish parts. 

It depends on your budget.  If you can swing it, and you really want the bike, then maybe it's a good price.  If it sells for what he thinks, then maybe it's the most expensive 90's SS ever.  I doubt he'd get that much though -- maybe he should have sold it to the appraiser.

32 to 35K, maybe more?  [laugh] Mayyyyybe 6 or 7K.

i do have to say that's a sexy bike. and if the numbers are right, could be a potential collector item in the future. how many people in the early 80's thought there green frames were going to be worth that much? but look at them now.

but at this time in this economy, bike speculation isn't going to happen. wonder what his reserve is.

6 or 7 on a good day maybe!  Right now, it's fairly hard to sell stuff on teh merits of it being a collectible -- which makes it a good time for those who can afford to sit on stuff until it becomes a collector's item....


wait, maybe my 1996 M900 will be a collector's item in a decade or so;

"Last year of the Ducati/Cagiva-brand!  Elephant logos in the belt covers I took off!  All original except for the parts I replaced and the other stuff I modified!"

Being rare doesn't mean a damn thing if there is no demand.  It will only fetch what someone is willing to pay.

If my insurance agent told me it was worth $32k then I'd make sure it caught on fire the next time I took it out for a ride.  [thumbsup]

I wonder what he was paying to insure it?

Exactly...  No demand, no one cares.  High demand, everyone cares. 

BTW, my good friend has a 1993 SS900 that is a collection of so many pieces of unobtanium that it's sick to even think about and it would be lucky, LUCKY to fetch $10K which is well below what the parts are worth.  It would make this one look sick on a tight twisty...

Even in '92 the CR was a cheaper version of the SS/SP correct? Or did they even have the SP then?

His rarity claim is suspect, as are his production numbers quote from Ian Falloons' book.

According to my copy of Falloons' book (4th edition), the 1992 SS (CR or not) was essentially the same as the 1991 version save some minor changes. In 1992, which was the peak production year for the 900SS, Ducati produced 8,545 of them. No mention is made of the black version being rare...although it is mentioned that a black model was produced for the US market.

The 900SS SP version replaced the 900 Superlight in the US in 1994 if I'm reading it correctly. The SP does appear to be fairly rare.

LOL!!!!

The guys is dreaming. Maybe $7k on a good day. Superlights only go for $7-9K

yeah, the current bid of ~$4500 seemed about right.

$35k for a paint job on a low spec bike?  nice try.

i'd be interested if it was offered for $4.5. I'd rather red/white frame or yellow/white frame. They didn't make a lot of black ones probably because people didn't get as hot and bothered by it.

(http://personalpages.tds.net/~aragorn77/images/Ducati900ss02.jpg)

This is a 92 owned by a member here.

much better looking imo. The white frames do look good. That one has nice upgraded rotors. Pipes look like Carbonpartz.net since they don't have the external rings.

I think the new Honda VFR's bodywork (large slabs unbroken with cut-outs)... it somewhat reminds me of these gen SS's.

but still. red or yellow for me... black's pretty nice, but the CR isn't anything special.

According to the Standard Catalog of Ducati Motorcycles; 1946-2005 (Ian Falloon  2004) there was no SP/CR designation in 1992.  From 1991 through '94, when the SP/CR monickers were intoduced, there were simply SS and SL models, the SL being the Superlight.  In 1992 the SS was offered in both red and black paint, both with white frames.  The red model with black wheels and the black model with white wheels.  The SS was also offered in both full faired and half faired configurations, both of identical spec except for their fairing lengths. 

In 1992, Ducati sold the following bikes in a half-faired unit with black paint:

42 for the non-US market (actually built in '91 and sold as '92 models)
24 for the US market (10 built in '92 and 14 built in '91 and sold as '92 models)
6 for the California market (built in '91 and sold as '92 models)
10 for the German market (built in '91 and sold as '92 models)

That's a total of 82 black half-faired units sold worldwide as '92 model SSes.

There were also an additional 248 built in a full faired configuration worldwide and sold as '92 models.

This makes the black SS a rare Duc, indeed.  However, rarity doesn't necessarily dictate value.  You have to remember but one thing to see why these aren't worth nearly as much as FEs (of which more were made), SLs (of which more were made..even in '92), and other desireable SS models.......there weren't many of them because folks wouldn't BUY them in '92.  They were considered ugly ducklings next to their red counterparts, and because of that lots of dealers were stuck with black SSes for years!  I remember seeing one in a showroom, brand new, in 1996 offered at the then bargain price of $6,000......BRAND NEW!!!!! 

For what it's worth, I can confirm that at least one of these black beauties is no more.  I have it's slightly dented fuel tank in my garage.  It's a pretty metal flake black.  8)

Your book is much more detailed than mine.  [thumbsup] Looks to be rare indeed.

Mine's a '92. I paid $5k for that bike 4 years ago. It was freshly serviced at BCM (including Nate lining the tank), had the ARC Fab exhaust, and all the CF on it already. I've added a few more farkles since  [roll]

I'm with Cloner on the rarity not equaling value. The charcoal 900ss were a sales flop.  Mine was in a collection before I bought it. It's worth what ever someone wants to pay. Mine had 16K miles on it when I bought it. It's got 37K now. I say "let's ride".

I had heard that some of the Black ones got painted Red so they'd sell.

at least the original reflectors are on the bike making it much more valuable. 

not to mention he lives in Pebble beach where prices don't exist here but in lala land

This just popped up on my local news classified thing.  Not mine but thought it was a strange coincidence if they are truly that rare.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=9862210&cat=&lpid= (http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=9862210&cat=&lpid=)

man.. there's a local guy round here that used to work on ducati's... and still does some on the side... he had this SS, black with white frame... that is one of the most gorgeous bikes i have ever seen.

I've heard the same, which is funny, because they were red to start with as well. The black bikes were all red first. They had some sort of paint flaws with their red paint to begin with and were repainted black over the red.

The black (charcoal) bikes are a very subtle color. In a row of red and yellow Ducs, my bike does not stand out and I'm fine with that. Hopefully it's a little less noticeable to the local police as well [roll]

As far as the '92 on Ebay goes, he had the reserve set higher than $5200! That's pretty good $$$$ for a basically stock  900ss. I guess we haven't seen the last of that bike.

owner claims he seen rogh cR's sell for $20K......not really a valuable  model  to start with ("CR" repalced the original modle designation of  'economy version", solde for $2K less than the regular 900ss, by using the suspension, wheels and brakes borrowed from ducati's 400 and 600cc bikes.
- i can't imagine a ducati collector placing much more than 10-20%  of  what that guy's asking.
-unless maybe they're smoking crack.