1997 DUCATI 900 SS FE

The FE made its way into my garage like many before it, shrouded in mystery. In an operation that was pretty much the exact opposite of a burglary the bike was whisked into my garage without anyone being the wiser. I’d expected it to go unnoticed for at least a fortnight but my plan had a fatal fl aw, I’d forgotten about the outside freezer. The dreaded “Is that silver Ducati yours?” was met with a feeble, doomed attempt at distraction “That seeded Warburtons is really nice…” As the door slammed I popped the kettle on, made a brew and retired to the garage.

I’d been looking at several bikes prior to getting the FE including SP1s, 996s etc but I decided that I wanted something a bit different. Amongst others I’d recently owned an SP2 followed by an HRC Fireblade and I was looking to slow down a little with a bike that offered a more involving ownership experience. I was after that elusive trait that Italian bikes supposedly have in spades, character.

However, I didn’t want ridiculous servicing costs so I looked at the slightly less glamorous two-valve range and particularly the 900 SS Superlight and FE. The Supersport ran for seven years culminating with the 1997 FE (Final Edition). The 500 European and 300 US FEs shared a similar specifi cation to earlier Superlights, featuring a solo seat, upswept exhausts, floating front discs and carbon fibre mudguards.


I bought my bike from an old boy who had an unbelievable collection of 17 Ducatis and he’d had the FE from new. The mileage was understandably low at around 8k and it was backed up with a wedge of paperwork. It’s an elegant machine, much narrower in the flesh and you’re greeted with a wonderful view of the trellis frame and Veglia clocks as you sit in the capacious (but rock hard) seat. It feels special. To me it’s the ideal modern classic, harking back to the wonderful Super Sports of the 70’s but without the crazy price tags and associated running costs.

Mine has been great, I had it serviced by Jeff at G-Tec Performance near Leicester when I got it, he adjusted the valves and changed the belts etc. Last year it just had an oil and filter change and this year it also had the belts done.

The belts are good for three years but I‘d rather have them done every two, they’re not expensive and it isn’t a time consuming job. Bruce Maus is now working in the workshop and did the last service for me, he was Wayne Rainey’s mechanic back in the Marlboro days and also worked extensively with Neil Spalding on Ducatis with Sigma.

I’ve loved every ride on the bike, the wonderful noise, the waves of torque and the modest performance that means that you can really use it all on the road. However, it’s time to let the bike go. Karma works in mysterious ways and I’ve slowly come to the conclusion that I have too many toys and not enough time to use them (as the mileage on the MOT’s proves) so I’m taking one for the team and will be replacing it with a little sports car that my long suffering wife and kids can
enjoy…